Week Eighteen

So far, March has been treating me pretty well. The week started out with me running to the store in the morning to grab some milk and some water. While I was there I went over to the donut section and got the very last chocolate frosted sprinkled donut. It was delicious. 

The baby has been more active this week. A day hasn’t passed that I haven’t felt a little nudge here and there. I didn’t realize this, but many people are telling me that I’m feeling the baby move unusually early and that most 1^st time Mom’s don’t feel anything until they are 20 weeks or more. Someone told me that I couldn’t possibly be feeling the baby back at 15 weeks, that it’s simply way too early and I was just feeling gas. I’ve learned to block out negative comments and let me tell you, it is absolutely the baby moving-not gas. I definitely know that now that I’m 18 weeks and still feeling the same movements. I don’t even think the two feel that similar. I’m going to chock it up to me being very relaxed and being a thinner build. 

My big ultrasound is on March 11^th, followed by my regular OB appointment on March 16^th. You guessed it, we will officially know the gender of our baby on March 11^th! My step Mom and Dad are going to try to visit us on the 12^th for a little gender celebration lunch. Once we find out the gender, we are planning on painting the spare bedroom (hopefully we can do this on the 18^th and 19^th). So far we stripped the wallpaper, got new floors, and primed the bedroom. It currently looks like this…

Although this is hard to admit, I can’t fit into my pants anymore. I tried wearing a pair of my size 6 work pants this week and couldn’t even zipper them, not at all. I wore them anyway but with a very long shirt and belly band. Even still, they are too uncomfortable for me to wear that way, so what did I do? I went shopping! I was a little scared, so I started out going to JCPenny, Boscoves, and Bonton. None of those stores carry maternity clothes (even though the websites state otherwise). Then Emily and I went to the mall. I had hopes to get a few new tops and dresses at Forever 21. A big fat plate of reality was served up when I realized that I didn’t fit into anything and that my body was rapidly changing. So, there I was, forced to shop at the Motherhood Maternity Store *gulp*. I went in and was greeted by Brandi who showed me around the store. She helped me pick out my size in pants. I started small. I picked a pair of basic black pants. As I was pulling them up I thought to myself, wow, these are extremely comfortable. I then looked in the mirror and to my surprise, they were actually very flattering! Ok, I now felt a little better about trying clothes in this store. Luckily, I had Emily to help me and support me while I try on maternity clothes. I tried on a few t-shirts and they also fit great! Then I got really brave and tried on a swimsuit. I knew I needed one because the thought of me hanging out in my pool all Summer with everything hanging out like a whale was not appealing to me at all. I tried on a retro style one-piece and again, was shocked with how cute and flattering it looked on me. My shopping experience was very successful and I definitely feel more comfortable in my new clothes. To my amusement, I also made Emily try on “the bump”, which ironically Jen did to me just three months before I fell pregnant.  

Since I did all of this great shopping for myself, I couldn’t resist but to buy the baby something too. I bought the baby a handmade teddy bear hat from Etsy.com. It so soft and cute and I can’t wait to put it on the baby for newborn photos.

 

Week 18: Sweet Potato

Average size: 5.6 inches, 6.7 oz.

Your fetus has become amazingly mobile (at least compared to you), passing the hours yawning, hiccuping, rolling, twisting, kicking, punching, sucking and swallowing. And, baby's finally big enough that you'll be able to feel those movements soon.