I was so sure I was having a boy. So sure that I was picking out "blue things" instead of "pink things" and scoping out little boy beanies.

Intelligender told me I was having a boy, so did the Chinese lunar calendar. I had to cheat on most of the wives tales test to get it to tell me I was having a girl. I didn't know anyone who had had as many thing pointing to "boy" as I did, so I was setting myself up for blue.

I was a little frustrated looking at the selection of boy clothing. Nothing seemed my style and well, blue just isn't as cute as pink. But I was accepting, and knew that at least it would help me keep from depleting our entire savings on baby stuff.

I was completely and utterly shocked when the ultrasound tech said we were having a baby girl. She had a clear shot of her lady parts, and I having studied gender-revealing ultrasounds for hours the night before also thought it looked like a girl.

I was so excited I couldn't help but cry, and I couldn't stop smiling. Having a baby is exciting enough but having a girl is just too much to handle. It's also a little too much for my wallet.

Ok, so it may seem like I've only thought about this for a week but in all actuality I've been thinking about this for MONTHS. But over the last week I've finally made my decision about a doula.

I emailed about 40 doulas, heard back from several. Did some cost-comparisons and thought about why I REALLY wanted one. I've been back and forth with the doula thing and weighing the pluses and minuses for me. Like a guidance counselor would tell me to do, I made a list of the positives and negatives of hiring a doula. Quite honestly, the list of positives was longer when it came to services a doula can provide...I've read the benefits over and over, I read many of your comments about doulas, many of you having them or even being doulas yourselves. But when I compared it to what mattered MOST to me: Feeling like my husband and I are experiencing and making decisions together, experiencing this special milestone alone (during the hours of down time between nurse visits and whatnot) and feeling a sense of accomplishment that WE did it...It outweighed many of the reasons I wanted to hire a doula, which is why I've decided against it.

I'm not much of a homemaker, or an organizer, or a clean freak. In fact, in our five years of marriage I've probably done the laundry about three times, and the dishes maybe a half dozen times. My husband and I share different duties of the household but he most definitely does most of the cleaning. It's usually bribery and begging that finally gets me to help.

When I was first explaining different symptoms I may experience during pregnancy, I told my husband nesting could be one of them, and that I'd probably start helping with the house chores. I was a little surprised when he stared laughing. I finally got him to tell me what was so funny and he said he just couldn't see that happening to me.

Well, believe it or not, it's happening! I'm not exactly doing the dishes or laundry yet, but I reorganized my entire closet (and color-coded it) and I've started crafting like never before.

I love advice. I love wisdom from people who have been through it before. I love learning from the pros, and the passion that comes from someone who wants to share their life lessons with me. But I’ve noticed the enthusiasm behind moms wanting to tell me the best way to be pregnant, have a baby, and raise a child is at a whole different level of intensity.

The topic of birth I think is where I’ve received the most advice, feedback, and warning… Everyone I come into contact with face to face seems to have the same kind of idea: “Don’t be a hero, get an epidural.”

But it seems as though 90% of the people I converse with online are the opposite: “Don’t drug your baby -- have a beautiful birthing experience drug free!”

Something I noticed this week that I kind of wished someone had warned me about was the feeling you get in your stomach as you start to get big. I'm 22 weeks pregnant this week, and it's the strangest feeling, feeling like you're completely overstuffed like you've just finished eating a big Thanksgiving meal yet...you haven't eaten anything yet today.

My skin feels all stretched out and my tummy feels heavy. It's not really a big complaint or anything it's just weird. And it's one of those things they don't tell you about beforehand.

Editor’s note: Welcome Jennifer Johnson! She’ll be blogging about her pregnancy twice a week here on Project Pregnancy. Read on to learn more about Jennifer.

Well…things are a little different now than they were five months ago. I’m a lot rounder now. In fact, I can’t see my toes when I’m standing up… and that’s a big deal since my feet are size 11. Speaking of feet, that’s another thing I hear changes while you’re pregnant. I don’t want to believe it but I hear your feet get bigger. I’m praying that won’t happen to me since it’s already hard enough to find cute shoes, but I guess it’s just a price I’ll have to pay for this little one.

Then, it happened. A horrible contraction began, we did the pushing thing, and Dr. Silverstein shouted, “There he is!” Aaron leaned over me and said, “Taylor, I saw him! I saw his hair!”

(Read the entire birth story, and see more pictures, in the post).

Taylor's baby has arrived! Kaspar Quincy Newman was born earlier today, weighing in at 7 pounds, 13 ounces. Taylor will post her birth story soon!

Stay tuned next week to meet our new Project Pregnancy blogger!

Next you hear from me, I’ll officially be a mom. I can’t believe it’s finally happening! I am so excited. So, so, SO damn excited.

It’s been taking me a while to get back to sleep at night every time I wake up to pee. It’s not the physical discomfort that’s keeping me up as much as all that’s racing through my mind—all of the last minute things to do, and of course all of the unknowns around this birth. I hope it’s not a brutal process getting the baby out, and that the baby and I both make it through labor and delivery safely. I’m crossing my fingers that we both get the hang of breastfeeding without any boob infections or cracked, bleeding nipples (got nipple cream on the recommendation of a friend, for extra measure), that the baby doesn’t develop colic, and that Aaron and I can handle the sleep deprivation. That’s a lot, right? And the list, of course, goes on.

I want to turn the attention to all of you for a moment. I knew I’d enjoy blogging about this experience, but I had no idea what an amazing community I’d encounter along the way...

I had my final pre-delivery doctor’s appointment on Tuesday. The ultrasounds have shown that the baby’s head has been down where it should be for a few weeks now, and I’ve been feeling little twinges in my lower abdomen—kind of like those I felt upon first becoming pregnant—for the past week or so. I was surprised when, after a brief internal exam yesterday, the doctor said nothing’s happening; my cervix isn’t showing any signs of preparation for labor yet. He added that this could change overnight, but so far—nada.

No matter what, we’re going in for induction next Wednesday night. It’ll probably be an all-night (and then some) affair, which is cool. I’ve been told I’ll definitely have my baby in my arms by lunch time next Thursday—how exciting! I’m glad to have a definite end date; I know some of you have gone far past your due dates— that must be torture.

I’m confused, though; I was sure that the twinges I’ve been feeling were the result of my cervix thinning or opening or doing whatever cervixes do to get the process rolling. I’m a total novice at this, obviously. Aaron and I dutifully watched a childbirth class DVD and I know all about the “mucus plug” (they’ve gotta give that a new name), the sudden bursts of energy, and the other early signs of labor—which according to the instructor don’t give you much more than a 2-week ballpark indication that you’re going to have a baby (um… duh?). So I want to know from those of you who’ve done this before: Did you know it before you went into labor, or did the contractions start—and not stop—and that was that? Did you experience any physical symptoms or, hell, inexplicable premonitions that clued you in sometime in the day or two before game time? Or was labor, to some degree, a surprise? And what’s up with these twinges?