I pulled back the dress in the picture on the right again to show you the full bump.

How far along: 18 weeks..holy moly

Sex of Baby W: We will be confirming the sex today at our appointment. It will be fun to actually see everything because the last time I had to close my eyes while she looked and wrote it on a note so I can take it home to open it with Tom.

Weight gain: Still at a 7lb total loss. The bump is growing (which is a weird feeling), so I am sure here soon the scale will jump some. Some days my bump disappears, and then other days it is very much present. Anybody else have this experience?

Size of Baby W: The size of a bell pepper (Last week was a turnip, so Tom and I were calling him Turnip all week.)

Maternity clothes: I have bought a few tops that I can easily wear not pregnant. I am all about the long term investment here people. I also purchased the Be Band from Target, which is amazing. There is nothing like knowing that your pants are undone all day, but no one else can tell. Super awesome and freeing. Also, maternity yoga pants are the best thing ever.

Baby items: We have not been successful with finding a dresser. We have a backup plan for Tom to construct something if we are still unfruitful come the middle of the summer. We have made a giant list of things that will go on a registry when the time comes. Any recommendations on what store to register at or if we should register at more than one place? We are still doing well with not buying anything else yet, I am sure that will change once I allow myself to go into baby sections to actually create the registry. Folks, little boy things are super darn cute, and it is hard not to buy every pair of overalls and bow ties!

Stretch marks: Nope. I have started a strict regimen of lotion and tummy butter morning and night.

Belly button in or out: Still in.

Sleep: I have been sleeping pretty well, but I still have some wicked dreams. (Last night I had was a superhero trying to defeat an evil man who was killing off my family and students. I could freeze things and shoot freeze balls out of my hands…) I have started having to get up when Tom leaves for PT (at 5:30am) to go to the bathroom, and there are usually a couple nights of the week that I wake up several other times to go pee.

Best moment the past few week: Hanging out with our friends in Indiana

Worst moment the past few weeks: Finding out I didn’t get the job at Austin Peay

Miss anything:  This last weekend I really wanted wine, but little guy doesn’t need to be a party animal more than he already is in there.

Cravings:  Not really anything special that I can remember. I am still in the phase of if I see it or hear it, I want it. I am doing good sticking to a pretty healthy diet though.

Movement: I think I felt something last week, but I am not sure…It felt more like a punch in the gut instead of a flutter which is what people told me I am supposed to feel.

Symptoms/how I am feeling: For the most part, I am feeling pretty good. I still have moments of nausea. I also learned that I cannot sit in the backseat of a car anymore because I get motion sickness. Super fun. I do take a lot of naps too. I have been walking the dogs a lot and yoga, so I think that is helping. I did try actually running the other day, and it felt super weird. I might have been a little paranoid that he was going to fly out with all the jiggling that was going on, so I probably will just stick to walking.

Looking forward to: Our checkup appointment today. It will be the first time Tom has seen the baby since Week 9. He got to hear the heartbeat a few weeks ago, but did not see him. I can’t wait to see his reaction on how much little man has grown.