18 Weeks

18 Weeks

How big is baby: Baby is the size of a sweet potato this week! Baby Voorhies is about 5.6 inches in length from head to toe and weighs about 6.7 ounces.

Pregnancy Symptoms: The unbearable headaches continue. It has been 5 weeks now since they hit. Caffeine is the only thing that works.  Tylenol does nothing for these suckers. I also am notice what they characterize as “ligament pain”. Minor aches and pains in my stomach region and pubic bone.

Maternity clothes: I’m very close to boxing up the rest of my pre-pregnancy clothes. The last two weeks I have really poped!

Stretch marks: None  

Sleep: Same. Some nights are great and others are lousy.

Best moment of the week: I have been feeling the baby move! Absolutely amazing. I only feel it when I am sitting down and things are quiet. For instance, right now as I am writing this blog. I felt the first “for sure” movement on Friday last week. Something I definitely couldn’t characterize as gas. The feeling is just like they say in the books. It’s like popcorn popping or little bubbles bursting. I feel so much more connected to the pregnancy now that I can feel the baby!

Food cravings: Pretty much anything sounds good right now. When people start talking about good food they ate recently, I can’t get that particular food or restaurant out of my mind. Thanks to Rawley’s work lunch yesterday, now I want fajitas from Casa de Matador!

Food aversions: I wish I had some aversions rather than wanting everything!

Labor signs: None

Belly button: In

What I miss: Life without a daily headache.

What I am looking forward to: Seeing the baby tomorrow in our 18 week ultrasound! I am so excited to see how much our little bean has grown.

On the to-do list: Designing the nursery. We pretty much took care of the baby registry over the weekend and I have to admit, I felt a little silly being only 18 weeks pregnant and doing a registry. Then I saw all the 8 months pregnant women waddeling around the store doing their registry and felt relieved that we did it now while I have the energy and no back pain!

We also need to decide on nursery furniture. I heard from my cousin that it takes a few months to get those things shipped in so we need to make those decisions now.

Milestones: Baby is busy flexing their arms and legs — estremely mobile now! Blood vessels are visible through their thin skin, and their ears are now in their final position, although they're still standing out from the head a bit. A protective covering of myelin is beginning to form around their nerves, a process that will continue for a year after he or she born. If we are having a girl, her uterus and fallopian tubes are formed and in place. If we are having a boy, his genitals are noticeable now, but he may hide them from you during an ultrasound.

We recently decided to find out the sex of the baby. Tomorrow, the ultrasound tech may be able to tell if we are having a girl or boy. We plan on having the tech write this down and seal it in an envelope to announce to our family as one big surprise for Christmas!

Something funny/memorable from work: I was talking with a few girls in my womens choir around the piano this week and they mentioned how much more noticeable my belly was. I jokingly said that I woke up that morning and noticed a big change in size too, not just my belly but my other “bumps”. Oh, how I love having a girls group with no boys! Funny stuff! I told them I was excited for Thanksgiving because I can get away with a little extra “holiday weight”. I said “Tis the season!” and one of the girls said “Tis the season or tits the season?” I laughed for a long time over that one! I had to write it down to make sure I remembered it for the blog!