Baby characteristics

So, I guess I can't help but blog about the baby growing inside of me "with our DNA" as our husband says. It's going to be so cool to see how he/she/they turn out!! haha. It's not declared multiples yet, so we'll just have to wait until our first appointment next Wednesday to find out all that fun stuff. I've inserted my thoughts in parenthesis. (Lame that I'm reading these things so early. But hey, it's the first one. What else can fill my nauseous life but reading weird internet articles?)

This is what the hokey internet quizzes/finder-outers say:

Congratulations! It's a boy! (The "necklace test", however, said GIRL!) According to the Chinese fertility calendar, you're expecting a son. Time to brush up on those baby boy names. (Are you kidding...brush up on our names? We have a list of 5 boy names and 5 girl names that we LOVE. It's going to be a difficult decision. I think we're going to wait until we see the baby to name him/her. Surprises are more fun!)

There's almost always a connection between genetics and environment. Musical talent is a classic example. People who have perfect pitch are four times more likely than those with only average singing voices to say that a relative has this natural gift. (I'm hoping for a future broadway star/worship leader... I'm just being honest. I love music/chorus/choir/madrigals/etc!). Yet research has also found that most people with perfect pitch started taking music lessons before age 6, and that only 3 percent of people who started voice lessons after age 9 have perfect pitch -- suggesting that both genetics and training affect one's singing voice. "It's simplistic to say that artistic and intelligence traits are determined by genetics, because even a gifted child needs the right environment to thrive," says Dr. Garber. Average IQ scores have gone up in the past 50 years thanks to changes such as better early-childhood education, experts say, not because we're innately smarter. And intelligence may run in families partly because bright parents tend to provide a richer learning environment -- by having more books, for example. In fact, two recent studies found that the IQ of firstborn children is slightly higher than that of their younger siblings -- possibly because they received more undivided attention. (this explains your ridiculous ACT score and valedictorian tendencies, and chemistry gifts Jill!)

"Almost all talents need to be practiced," says Dr. Carey. "Even if you're genetically predisposed to be a great basketball player, you still need to shoot a lot of free throws." The environment a child grows up in can also affect other genetic traits. "The impact of genes for height can be modified by the foods you eat," says Dr. Bodurtha. "And environment is enormously important during development and early childhood. For example, your child could have genetic potential for a high IQ, but if you drank alcohol during pregnancy, it may be lower." (good thing I didn't drink that apple martini that I wanted so bad the day before we found out. Our kids will need to get full rides for college since we're having like 5...or 3...or we'll see haha)

Sometimes, our children pick up traits we don't intend to teach -- just by living with us. Nora Flanagan's 1-year-old son, Kevin, was adopted but has definitely taken on some family traits. "My two brothers and I have the same up-to-something smirk, and Kevin's got it down to the last detail," says Flanagan, of Chicago. He also has a boisterous laugh that leaves him out of breath, just like both of his adoptive parents. "We keep in touch with Kevin's birth mother, who is more reserved, and it's been eye-opening to see how he's a combination of all of us," says Flanagan. (Babies laughing sounds are probably the cutest sounds I've ever heard.)

I'm hoping the kids get Kevin's laidback-ness, his sports abilites, his muscles, his hair, maybe my eyes or fingernails...ok I just love my hubby. I'm okay if they're just like him! Seriously, God has blessed me with such a leader and man of God in Kevin and I'm so excited to see how our little one turns out. More updates to come (like the actual gender in until June.)

We're off to Europe in 13 days....Itinerary to come...