Eighteen Weeks

Apparently 18 weeks equates a hairy, pointy baby with really ugly dimples and a giant crack down the front. Attractive little sweet potato, right?
And the belly shot, bare tummy:



And shirt down:


Yeah, nothing really new this week to report except that last Wednesday, or 17w3d for those of you detail oriented peeps out there, I started to feel the baby's kicks go from little taps to much stronger jabs. It will catch my attention even if I'm doing something else now which is pretty freaking cool. I even put my hand on my stomach last night as the baby went to town hoping I could feel it from the outside but alas, I think it's still too early for Nate to discover his child's forceful kicks:)

Another big event? I finally succumbed to unbuttoning my pants. It just feels SO good, you guys, and although I can still zip and button just fine it's not very comfortable. It was the last straw when right after lunch one day at work, I couldn't take it anymore and let it all hang out. Of course the rest of the day I was worried I looked like white trash with pants that were gaping open and falling off. So immediately Nate made a trip to Target to get me a Be Band. I was skeptical at first since I really thought they had a hook system to hold on tight to my unbuttoned pants but really, it's just a tight band of fabric. I gave it a go on our way to Chicago with some jeans and I really liked it! It just looks like a long tank under a shirt and you can't even tell my jeans are open in the front, right?



I wore it again today to work and was so much more comfortable. Sure, it's a pain to rearrange it after every bathroom trip but I think it beats sucking it into my pants and feeling restricted. I know I still have a long way to go until maternity pants fit me so this will do for now.

Baby is now a regular gymnast in there, doing flips and kicks and sucking his thumb. Of course, part of me thinks, 'Oh man, if the radiology department would have let me I could be getting my big US this week!' But then the other part thinks that the next two weeks will fly by and we'll be seeing our son or daughter very soon. So.freaking.weird.

Eighteen weeks equals Be Bands and stronger jabs....we are making progress here, people! :)