18 weeks: bell pepper'd

Eighteen weeks: 12.28.11








Size of baby: a bell pepper according to Baby Center and a sweet potato according to The Bump. I think bell peppers are super cute and prettier than a sweet potato, no?

Cravings: Not much but we had burgers on pretzel buns the other night and I'm still salivating over it. And sugar is still the bomb.

What I love: feeling baby move so much, looking pretty darn pregnant, and inching towards that halfway mark. Love.it.all.

What I'm looking forward to the most: Anatomy scan in 2 measly little weeks!! A BIG huge pregnant belly. And let's just jump right to it: having a newborn baby in my arms.

Worries: Now that I'm feeling baby move so much, I get a little panicky when I DON'T feel the child kick all day long. On Sunday I felt a little worried thinking back about how I hadn't felt any real kicks in about a day. Had to bust out the doppler again, but the great thing is that I'm not even using it every day anymore! This is big news, since I used it daily from 9 weeks until about 17 weeks. Gotta love feeling movement for reassurance!

What is different this time around: I read back over my 18 weeks post from Truman's pregnancy and first laughed out loud at my puny belly pic, then smiled when I read that I had just started unbuttoning my regular pants for added comfort. Oh, things are different now with this belly and I'm definitely in maternity clothes for good.

Symptoms: Seems like I'm getting a bit of the lovely pregnancy acne. And I did need two hour naps both days last weekend, so apparently I'm still tired.

Sleep: Love it, no issues here.

Movement: Lots. Definitely stronger jabs this week, daily, and usually most in the mornings and at night when I'm the most still.

The belly: It's large and in charge. Sometimes it seems smaller on certain days but overall it's still mind-blowing.

Boy or Girl: Ugh, I just don't know. Used to think boy, then a girl, now it's more boy thoughts again. I seriously cannot wait to find out!

Milestones: He's 5.5 inches and 7 ounces now, nerves are finalizing, ears are in position, and external genitalia are formed. This baby is growing into a real little creature that we are going to meet in the not-so-distant future and I just can't handle the anticipation of meeting this new little life.

Best moment of the week: Getting the call from my OB that the Quad Screen came back negative. This was a HUGE cloud lifted away from my head and I don't even think I realized how nervous I was to hear bad news from this test. Now I feel much more confident going into the anatomy scan and can embrace this pregnancy even more. Plus, Christmas was a pretty amazing moment this week. I love being pregnant over the holidays, being so thankful for 2011 and looking forward to 2012.

It's been a wonderful and extremely challenging year all in a matter of 12 months and I can't help but feel a little emotional looking back on it all. Truman's first birthday, first steps, first words. A positive pregnancy test, dreams of a November baby, then devastating news in April. My 30th birthday. A prolonged, painful, expensive miscarriage. Nate graduating with his doctorate, getting a fabulous job, and turning 30 himself (I'm a cougar, 4 months older than my man). Me switching jobs and dropping my hours again, to just 20 per week. A fun Florida vacation. Another positive pregnancy test. Dreams of a May baby. Getting pre-approved for a mortgage, meeting with a relator, and finally moving forward in our first home journey (much more later). A wonderful Christmas spent with loved-ones and the feeling of gratitude to God for giving us so much in this life. Here's to another amazing year in 2012!