18 Weeks

11 July 2013, Thursday

How far along: 18 weeks, 1 day (Well, not really... but more about that in a minute.)

How big baby is: 5 1/2 inches long, about 7 ounces

Baby is the size of: a bell pepper

Baby development: Cartilage throughout the body is now turning to bone. Baby is gaining more control over limb movements. Also, vernix is developing to protect her skin.

Mommy’s weight gain: Uh-oh. This can’t be right! It looks like I’ve gained two pounds this week making it eight pounds total! Yikes! I better watch what I’m eating! I was holding steady at a pound a week until this week!

Mommy’s belly: Super round! It is starting to get in my way and make me uncomfortable sometimes. Not that I’m complaining!

Baby’s movements: She has been super wiggly the past several days and I LOVE it! On Saturday, the 6th, I was sitting on the couch with David and she was wiggling a lot. I had David put his hand on my belly to see if he could feel any of the movements. It took a minute or so, but he did feel it! That was so exciting to me! Then I sat still and watched my belly for a few minutes to see if I could see her bumping me. It took a little bit, but eventually I did see little bumps twice. Feeling and seeing the baby move and kick are probably my favorite things about being pregnant. I can’t wait until the kicks are hard enough that Penny will be able to see and feel them!

Symptoms: Restless legs and even some leg cramping at night when I’m in bed. I also notice that after lying in one position for very long my limbs fall asleep very easily. Usually when I wake up in the middle of the night my arm and leg will be asleep and I have to roll to my other side. I wake up at least two or three times a night needing to use the bathroom anyway.

Food cravings: I haven’t had any cravings lately, but I do still have occasions where a specific food I usually like just doesn’t sound or taste good. One example would be Pizza Hut pizza - I haven’t liked it since I got pregnant. And these weren’t necessarily true pregnancy cravings, but I had a hankering for shaved ice from Josh’s Sno Shack (the BEST snow cones in Tulsa) and for a pot roast, which is simmering in the crock pot now!

Emotions: I haven’t had any days of panic this week - so that’s good!

Sleep: I am sleeping well, just waking up several times a night due to discomfort and a baby squishing my bladder. With the extra time that I am awake at night I find that if I don’t have at least a short nap during the day I am exhausted and ready for bed by 8:30 or 9:00.

Anything exciting or unusual: Last week I was so worried because there were a few days that I didn’t feel the baby move. This week she has been much more active! I’m so blessed and so thankful for the reassurance that this wiggly little girl has given me this week!

What I am looking forward to: I have a doctor’s appointment in an hour and I can’t wait to see how she has grown and watch her wiggle around! I love getting to see her on that screen!

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Update from our monthly appointment: I just got back from my doctor’s appointment. We were supposed to see Dr. N. at 9:00 this morning, but he was called away for a delivery. I rescheduled for this afternoon and saw the PA, Megan, instead. She did all the measurements for my "20-week ultrasound," even though I am not quite twenty weeks. She said the baby looked great and then said she was measuring just right for being due on December 6th. I was confused because I had been told I was due the 11th. So she did some checking and found out that my due date has been and should be the 6th based on the 8-week measurements and the fact that I have measured consistently for that due date ever since. How funny! We didn’t get any pictures that I thought were really great, just a profile shot and some other fuzzy shots. So now I know I am actually 8 weeks, 6 days. I don’t think I’ll go back and re-label any photos or anything, since they’re only off by five days. I’m just thankful that the baby looks healthy!

The nurse thought she put my ultrasound photos on my flash drive, but they didn’t transfer. So for today I have to use this photo of a photo taken with my cell phone. It’s better than nothing.  :)