18 Weeks, and Happy New Year!!

Wow! These past 2 weeks have flown by. I’ve been so busy with Christmas, New Years, my wonderful nieces coming to visit, my wonderful Melissa coming to visit, starting a new job, and FEELING OUR BABY KICK to write up a blog post.

You know, the usual. I’ll make this the baby post, and move along with the 18week photo:

I think I understand why my belly is sticking out so far-- sweet potatoes are HUGE!

How far along? 18 Weeks
Total weight gain/loss: +8 lbs O_0  I blame this on cannolis and pizza.
Maternity clothes? Yep. I converted at 16w, 5 days, and haven’t looked back. I found that I can wear most of my shirts if paired with maternity jeans and leggings.
Stretch marks? Not so far.
Sleep: Sleeping great!
Best moment this week: Obviously, feeling baby and knowing for sure that I was feeling baby. So strange, yet hilarious and awe-inspiring all at once.
Miss Anything? Eh. Not really. I’ve been eating delicious food for 2 weeks. I love the holidays + second trimester!
Movement: Yes!! Still light, but very frequent.
Food cravings: None that I can think of. Well, avocados. Lots of avocados.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope!
Have you started to show yet: Yep! Strangers are now noticing. =)
Gender prediction: Still leaning towards boy…
Labor Signs: No
Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy! And energetic! Wooooooo!
Looking forward to: My parents coming to visit this week. I’ve been DYING to see them, and for them to see the house.

So now I have a sweet potato kicking around in there. Actually, as I type this, I can feel him/her getting more comfortable. I felt the first little kicks on the 30th of Dec- there was just one or two while lying in bed trying to fall asleep. I wasn’t positive that’s what I was feeling until almost a week later. I was driving back up from Manchester at 6am (taking the nieces to the airport before my first day at my new job). I had a long day ahead of me and stopped for coffee. About 20min into my cup, I felt kicks. Lots of kicks.

I spent my work day staring into space with a stupid grin on my face, waiting for the next kick. I felt them off and on all day, and ended up having to explain to my coworker (who was trying to orient me to the job) why I was acting like such an idiot. Totally worth it.

Anyway, I still rarely feel it from the outside (Luke hasn’t gotten lucky yet), but it’s frequent enough for me to spent the majority of every day waiting for more. Yoga was an interesting endeavor. It’s even harder getting into a pose when every time I squish my squirmy I can feel him/her even more strongly. I also feel more kicks when the Apple Smuggler takes up residence on my ever diminishing lap.

Baby is now over 5 1/2 inches long from rump to head- that’s big. All the parts are where they belong, and the protective coating (called the myelin sheath) around the nerves is developing. I’ve decided that means I need more fat in my diet, as I’ve been wanting lots of avocados and cheese this week. =)

2012 is starting with a bang, and I’m so incredibly happy with the course this year will take. Thank you All, for joining us on this adventure!