I love my belly!

So at week 18 I have started showing so much that I think I look really pregnant. I dont' know how much others agree with me but I am constantly looking in the mirror and touching my growing belly. I am so happy to look like I am growing a baby and not just chubby. Garrett has begun touching my belly more and even at night when we are going to sleep he reaches over and rubs my tummy to tell the baby goodnight. It makes me smile.



On to Week 18 development:

How your baby's growing:

Head to bottom, your baby is approximately 5 1/2 inches long (about the length of a bell pepper) and she/he weighs almost 7 ounces. The baby is busy flexing its arms and legs — movements that you'll likely start noticing more and more. The blood vessels are visible through the thin skin and the ears are now in position and stand out from the head. Myelin (a protective covering) is beginning to form around the nerves, a process that will continue for a year after the baby is born. If you're having a girl, her uterus and Fallopian tubes are formed and in place. If your baby is a boy, his genitals are noticeable, though he may hide them from you during an ultrasound. (http://www.babycenter.com/)

I am getting anxious to find out the baby's gender. Unlike Mari and Liz I haven't a name for the baby in utero... so its been challenging to limit the reference to "it". Hopefully we will be able to schedule an ultrasound before Christmas and do a big reveal when all the family is home. But we will just have to wait and see.

I am excited to start calling the baby by name once we know the baby's parts. All that depends on us deciding upon a name. Little boys names are hard.... Any suggestions? I know that is a dangerous request, but at this point I am starting to get desperate. I refuse to have a child that is three weeks late because his daddy can't/won't decide on a name:) ha ha!

I think I felt the baby move in the middle of the night the other night as I lay awake between 2:30 and 3:45 am. It felt like I had a butterfly flying inside my tummy. I felt something move and I wasn't moving. It was surreal, but I am still waiting to feel the baby in a way that makes me know with out a doubt that he/she is moving around in there.

I have a doctor's appointment on Wednesday and will hopefully be able to schedule the ultrasound then. So until I have more news...

I think Ill go and eat some Ice Cream:)