18 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along:  18 Weeks

Size of Baby:  Sweet Potato (5.6 inch, 6.7 oz)
Nicknames (Gma & Gpa W):  Henry/Little Sweet Tater.  Explanations:  "O Henry" is type of sweet potato.

Weight Gain:  14.8 lbs
Maternity Clothes:  almost every day.  Have new favorite grey corduroy pants.  No panel, just elastic waistband.  My tummy likes to be free! 

Milestones:  Many of the bones in his body are starting to harden.  Among these first bones to develop is the inner ear which is part of the reason why he might be able to hear sounds such as mommy's heart beating or tummy growling.

Symptoms:  happiness :)  and headaches.
Cravings:  not really anything lately...  starting to get some heartburn (need to add this to the symptoms)
Aversions: meat & BBQ & depends on the day!

Recap of the Week:  I'm starting to feel stronger movements... more of a poke instead of a tickle.  Still can't wait till these movements are consistent & stronger!  During one song at church on Sunday, the little angel moved the whole time then popped me a really hard one - it was fantastic!  That was the hardest kick so far and they've been light again since then. 

Please reference picture #1 for the MOST fun news of the week!!  Love my little angel boy! 

The doctor appt was wonderful!  Me & Tay left the house a little later than usual (nice) to make my appointment.  They had told me last time to make sure my bladder was full for the ultrasound.  I really wasn't excited about this..  but I drank a cup or so of OJ and I wasn't miserable and they seemed to be fine with it.  Also had some wheat toast and Reese's for breakfast (to get the little guy moving).  We were called back for the ultrasound fairly quickly.  The u/s tech led us into a dimly lit room with 2 monitors - one was a small one for her and one was a large TV monitor hung on the wall for us to see.  She first asked if we wanted to know the gender and I said "YES, hopefully!".  She replied that they usually didn't have any trouble finding out and that she'd let me know as soon as she saw.  She then started all the standard measurements, keeping us aware of what exactly we were seeing the whole time.  When she took a picture of the legs, she moved on to check for little girl or boy parts.  And since my baby boy wasn't shy, it was easy to tell!  I asked if she was sure and she said she was pretty much 100% sure :)  Little one was moving a LOT so obviously the crazy breakfast helped :)  He was kicking his feet so much that it took her a long time to get a foot shot.  At the end of the ultrasound, she told us he was measuring right on schedule - just a day off, so no change to my due date.  She finished the u/s and sent us back to the waiting room. 

Me & Tay were super excited & talking about names.  T was also talking about teaching the little one baseball & basketball, etc.  Very Sweet :)  Next, they called us back to get my weight and blood pressure (blood pressure pretty good.... weight not so much - this based on my assessment b/c the nurse didn't actually tell me anything).  Then she handed me the u/s pictures (posted above) and DVD (which I'd like to post but can't get it to copy to the computer!). We were sent back to the waiting room to wait for the actual appt with Dr. Hix.  This is when I TRIED to text everyone.... I downloaded a new app to create contact groups and it seems that some of the people got my group text and some didn't....  Jenn was actually the first to know b/c I wanted to ask someone if they got the group text (she never did).  We waited a while and were called back to see the doctor.  Dr. Hix said that everything looked great on the ultrasound (placenta, cord, fluid level, growth, etc).  This was great to hear even though the u/s tech had already said everything looked good!  He then answered my couple of questions...

Q:  Had spotting again (3rd time).  What is causing and is it ok that I didn't get the Rhogam shot since I'm A Neg blood type?

A:  Probably sensitive cervix & it's usually nothing to worry about (there was a lot more discussion than just this but this was the final conclusion).  It's ok not to get the shot with a small amt of bleeding & that they worry more about it when there's a lot of bleeding, car wreck, or in the 3rd trimester.  Since I'll get the shot anyway at 28 weeks, that should cover it.

Q:  hot baths?

A:  As long as you run the hot water first and don't run more hot water into the bath later, it's fine b/c the water begins to cool immediately.  Never use a hot tub or sauna b/c the temperature is constantly reheated.  Hot baths are fine & nothing to worry about.  The point is to never raise your core body temperature.

Q (Taylor's):  How far along would she (me) need to be for the baby to survive birth?

A:  Normally, 34 weeks would be out of the danger zone but babies are born much earlier than that and are fine.  Dr. Hix actually said his first son was born at 26 weeks, weighed a pound and 1/2 and was 14 years old today and doing fine.

After questions, Dr. Hix told me that my next appt will be my glucose test and he instructed me on what I could eat/drink before the appt. 

Also, g-ma read some nursery rhymes to the little one this week: