Are boys easier than girls?

I'm not going to lie...after the gender reveal, I went straight to the mall and went shopping.  The next day, I did the same.  And the next day?  The same.  And each time I stopped at the baby girls clothes first oohing and awing at the adorable ensembles.  It took about three visits before I stopped going to the girls section to see what I was missing...  But now, I've know fully embraced baby boy clothes and am counting down the days before I could put baby Mac in his little polos and loafers.

I've also fully embraced the idea of having a son because for some reason, I feel a sense of relief.  As if having a son will be less taxing on me, less stressful, more drama-free and overall just more manageable.  Am I completely wrong?  I am not sure why I feel this way.  Maybe its because the mothers I've met with all boys all seem to be a lot less stressed and more carefree than those with daughters.  Maybe its because the little boys I know all seem to be a lot more respectful and caring to their parents than their sassy daughters.  I'm not saying its better to have a son, because I CERTAINLY will adore any sassy daughter of mine as much as a reliable son, but for some reason, I feel like I have less anxiety in becoming somebody's mother because its a boy.  Like they are harder to screw up or something. As if there is a prescription to follow and they'll turn out okay.  Love, food, support = good boy.  Right?

Am I off my rockers?  Are sons more work than daughters?

2nd Trimester Symptoms

I think its finally safe to say the nausea has subsided, woo hoo!  I still experience bouts of dry heaving but its not accompanied by the miserable nauseous feeling so I hope that part is over for good.

However, the second trimester has brought on a whole new onset of symptoms.

Breathlessness
I find it difficult sometimes to take deep full breaths.  I need to concentrate and really work on my breath to make it happen. 
Changing shape
Pop!  I can no longer suck in my stomach.  I popped and its all hanging out there for everyone to see.  Some women pop and they look all cute with a teeny baby bump.   I popped, and immediately gained what seems the size of a watermelon.   Let's be honest here... my stomach has always been my problem area...so I already had a bit of a pouch to begin with.  Once the baby/uterus popped my belly, the previous "problem zone" popped with it, so its ALL hanging out and there is nothing I can do.    I don't really mind it, you see, because its now CLEAR I am preganant and not just packing on the pounds.  In fact its like heaven, I don't need to suck in for the next five months!
Bad dreams and Insomnia
Maybe the insomnia is caused by the bad dreams.  But one thing is for sure, when I wake up from one in the middle of the night, I cannot do anything to make myself fall back asleep.  I've had a few pretty bad nights begging myself to go back to sleep for HOURS.
Heartburn
To tell you the truth, I never really knew what heartburn was or what Tums were for.  Now I do.  Daily, I feel heartburn and its not so pleasant.  But its better than those awful first trimester headaches. 

Cinco de Mayo Party

We bought our home last July with the intention of hosting friends, family and parties here often.  We had a smashing housewarming party in September and hosting the Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Group of Houston's holiday party in December.  We were due for another party B.C. (before child).  So we settled on Cinco de Mayo, since it would be right after my 2nd trimester began and hopefully I'd be feeling good and we can share the news with friends at the time.  It was the right choice.  It was the first week where I really began feeling well so I went into overdrive in terms of party planning.  I rented a margarita machine, bought  hundreds of decorations, designed and ordered custom beer koozies, and even creating a photobooth  -- all of which helped pull off a successful fiesta.   Our last guests left at 2:00am.  We hope to host this again next year with Baby Mac in our lives.  Those might be famous last words, but its our intention at this point.  And next year, we'll hire a mariachi band too.

Some pics below:

3rd Prenatal Appointment

Just had my third prenatal appointment which was uneventful in a good way.  Baby Mac's heartbeat was 144, right in the middle of the 120-160 average.  My stomach is measuring at exactly 16 weeks.  And I learned some recent symptoms like insomnia and leg/foot numbness is considered normal.  Our next appointment is at the beginning of June when the doctor will do a full anatomy scan measuring each and every body part and organ. 

All Clear - Cystic Fibrosis Screening

We FINALLY heard back from the doctor's office on my hubby's Cystic Fibrosis screening - and it came back negative.  He is NOT a carrier.  That means this baby will not have CF nor will any future babies.  We are greatly relieved to say the least.  But this scare so early on also got us a bit prepared for any other scares we may have in the future.