Week 18: All Things Baby!

Week 18 was a busy one!

• Thursday I got a much needed hair cut and brow wax
• Friday we met some friends downtown to celebrate my birthday and some other fun summer celebrations
• Keith and Amy (my BIL and his GF) came up to visit for the weekend!
• Saturday we went to MOSH and out to lunch then shopping Saturday night. Amy bought me my first pair of Gap maternity jeans for my birthday. Thanks Amy!
• Sunday Keith and Amy left and we lounged around the house
• Yesterday (Monday) Carl had lifeguard training and I had a meeting in the morning and then spent the rest of the day looking at stuff for Baby and attempting to find clothes for work. More on that later.
• Today we are watching movies and I may venture down to the Outlets to try shopping again

Whew! I’m tired just thinking about it! We only have three weeks left of summer vacation and while parts of it are winding down there is still a lot going on including another trip back to visit our parents and other family members while we’re there. I can’t wait to see everyone! We are also waiting to share the results of our anatomy scan tomorrow until we get down there so as excited as we are to share if Baby is a boy or a girl we are going to wait until next week. Assuming I can keep it in that long 🙂

How big is Baby?

Baby is the length of a bell pepper!

According to Babycenter.com this week:

Head to rump, your baby is about 5 1/2 inches long and he weighs almost 7 ounces. He’s busy flexing his arms and legs — movements that you’ll start noticing more and more in the weeks ahead. His blood vessels are visible through his thin skin, and his ears are now in their final position, although they’re still standing out from his head a bit. A protective covering of myelin is beginning to form around his nerves, a process that will continue for a year after he’s born. If you’re having a girl, her uterus and fallopian tubes are formed and in place. If you’re having a boy, his genitals are noticeable now, but he may hide them from you during an ultrasound.

How am I changing?

This week I’m up another two pounds from my pre-pregnancy weight for a total weight gain of four pounds. I know that it’s only four pounds but I have decided that week 19 will bring more veggies and less carbs/sweets/chips now that I can eat them. I’m not excited with my growing thighs (seriously, they are growing) and while I know some of it is normal (especially since I tend to gain weight in my thighs) I know that I can do a few things to combat them. Don’t worry, I’m not going to go crazy or anything, but I certainly don’t want to look back on my pregnancy and wish that I had been healthier and that is one of the few things that I can control in this pregnancy! Not to mention that I feel so much better when I’m eating better and exercising regularly. Doesn’t everyone?

The skin on my belly is still super dry. Something even less desirable is that my face and back (!!) are breaking out like I’m a teenager again. Yuck!

This week I felt a few more flutters but mostly when I’d wake up to go to the bathroom around 3am (I’m getting up one or two times a night now). For me, it feels a little like the tummy tickles that you get when you go on a roller coaster. I can’t wait until they get more frequent and Carl and feel them too.

How have I been feeling?

This week I’ve only gotten sick three or four times this week, usually in the morning. No rhyme or reason for it, it seems other than being pregnant. When I’m feeling gross going outside, even in the heat, seems to help. I also pop a piece of gum in my mouth and that is like my miracle drug. God bless Trident gum!

What am I eating?

I’ve been able to add cherries, oranges and apples into my diet! I wasn’t able to keep down apples or oranges in the first trimester so I’m excited that I’m able to eat them again.

Things I’m loving right now:

• Still enjoying my gum, PB filled pretzels, bagels with cream cheese and tomato, eggs
• Shrimp! I don’t normally like seafood but I’ve been craving shrimp like it’s nobody’s business
• White pizza! I’m able to eat cheese again, in small doses. Sure I get cheese belly, but sometimes a good slice of pizza is totally worth it!
• Potatoes, specifically potato skins from Friday’s. Yum! I’ve also been craving mashed potatoes/twice baked potatoes and I think I’ll have to make some this week

Things I’m not loving right now:

• I still can’t bring myself to eat tomato sauce or drink soda
• The smell of french fries is actually a little nauseating to me now. If you knew how much I love french fries you’d be totally surprised but to be honest I wouldn’t be too sad if this one stayed with me post pregnancy, too
• Salads but I’ve never been a huge salad person to begin with
• Black beans and lentils, both of which I love and hopefully this will go away post pregnancy

Shopping for Baby

We haven’t bought anything other than the Poang chair for Baby but I’m definitely collecting ideas and am totally obsessed with Pinterest. I think after the appointment tomorrow we are going to Babies R Us to take a look at some of the things I saw yesterday while I was there.

What do you think, boy or girl, based on the way that I’m carrying. Keep in mind that I’m short (only 5’3″) and have an incredibly short waist. Heck, I don’t even know that I’d carry a boy or girl differently based on the space that my body seems to have. Still I think it would be fun to hear your guesses. I’ll let you know if you’re right next week 🙂

Check out my other All Things Baby! Posts:

Week 17 (onion)

Week 16 (avocado)

Week 15 (apple)

Week 14 (lemon)

Week 13 (peach)