18 Weeks!

okay here we go!

this is the last week (hopefully) that I will be using "it" and "the baby" instead of he or she to refer to the baby in these posts! I'm excited lol

can you believe i'm 18 Weeks pregnant already??



This week the baby is the size of (and get ready, it's totally a weird one)...




lol a sweet potato! (what the hell? lol and seriously could they not at least photoshop out the weird hairs on it on the lefthand side there??)

So yes, baby is a sweetpotato (i'll give you the sweet part and i DO like potatoes buuut i'm not too sure about this one haha). Baby is about 5 and a half inches long and weighs around 6 ounces! Another site said that the baby is about the size of a bell pepper. That would explain why i've been craving spicy food! lol Oh and somewhere else said that it's about the length of a pickle! lol



The baby is gaining layers of fat which will make it look cuter and less translucent in there lol. You can still see the blood vessels through the skin at this point but as the baby gets more fat, they will become less visible.

The baby's ear bones are developed by now definitely and it can definitely hear in there! So exciting! It's learning the sound of my voice, of Ry's voice, of daily activities and things like that. If we are around dogs a lot the baby will get used to dog barks and when it's born it won't be startled by those sounds. Also, the baby is getting used to the sound of my heartbeat and the blood in it's umbilical cord and all of that cool stuff. So cool!



the baby is getting used to the outside world through it's sense of sound. It can become startled by things and it will often move around in response to new sounds or things like that.

Along with that, the baby is SUPER active in there (while it still has the space to be!) It's busy flexing it's arms and legs and doing flips and swimming all over the place. It can suck it's thumb as well and probably does so often. It can do somersaults or even sit cross-legged! wow



a protective layer called myelin is coating the baby's nerve endings. That process will continue for a year after the baby is born. The nerves are continuing to make connections and form pathways and things like that.

If the baby is a girl, her fallopian tubes and uterus are in place and all set up and if it's a boy all of his stuff is in order too. We will definitely be able to see the sex in an ultrasound now (provided that baby cooperates of course).

As for me, my uterus is now about two finger widths below my belly button (i can't feel anything when i press there? i dont know how to know where it is) and it's the size of a cantaloupe (good lord!)

My cardiovascular system is going through a big overhaul right now trying to pump enough blood for everything that's going on. Dizziness is common so i hafta be extra careful (and seriously, that's so true, if i stand up too fast i like can't see anyhting for at least a minute). I'm at the point now where its important that i don't lay on my back for long periods of time (you can compress a major vein and cut off blood flow) and that I lay on my side (left side is preferable).

lol according to one site i should have gained between 10 and 13 pounds by now. That so hasn't happened. I probably have gained about 3. but whatever.

Other stuff: I FINALLY HAVE AN APPETITE! This is so awesome for me! Today alone i already had a bowl of cereal (cheerios in soy milk) and a bowl of angel hair (wheat) spaghetti with sauce! This is like big news for me lol i haven't had an appetite at all until this week and now I'm like actually hungry a lot! progress! thank god! now i just hope that i don't gain too much weight hahaha

Carbs are important to eat right now so that's kinda awesome...but it's important to make good choices obviously and not eat donuts as my carbs lol I've been sticking to all whole-grain carbs and things like that.

so yay! that's 18 weeks! only 5 days until we get to find out the baby's sex! omg so excited!