How far along: 18 weeks and 1 day

Sex of Baby W: We find out at the end of this month.

Weight gain: I am down to a total 5 pound loss. My doctor told me that I needed to start gaining weight, so it’s not for a lack of trying I promise.

Size of Baby W:  A bell pepper or a sugar glider

Maternity clothes: The belly really popped out this week, and it is much more obvious that I just didn’t eat too much mac and cheese at lunch. The maternity clothes are making a regular appearance now.

Baby items: We got a few baby clothes for Christmas. I also couldn’t help myself, and I bought a couple “punny” onsies I saw on Zulily.

Stretch marks: Still stretch mark free.

Belly button in or out:  It is flattening out, but it is still in.

Sleep: Sleeping has been hard this past week. I get up at least once to pee. The dogs also practically push me off the bed almost every night. I have a hard enough time getting them to move when I don’t have a belly to keep in mind, so basically they own the bed. I have been having some vivid dreams, but they’re very different than the ones that I had with George. With George, I had really violent dreams. This time they are more like movies that you would find on the Disney Channel.

Best moment the past few weeks: This seems very trivial, but Tom FINALLY brought up an old Xbox to our living room. So now we can watch DVDs and Netflix upstairs instead of on my computer. It has been life-changing! One of my close friends from grad school visited us on NYE on their way back home after the holidays. I can’t believe we hadn’t seen each other for FOUR years! It was great to see her in person and for her to meet George.

Worst moment the past few weeks: Honestly, things have been pretty low-key these past few weeks. I guess if I had to pick a moment, it would have been this particular student who pretty much said what I do for my job was worthless. It’s hard to keep your emotions in check when you are pregnant.

Miss anything: Warm weather. I. Hate. The. Cold. I am so glad my maternity leave will coincide with the summer.

Cravings: Eggs. We have been eating sunny-side-up eggs almost every day for dinner. I also really want Taco Bell because of a commercial I saw…And in case you were wondering, I am still eating almost a whole jar of marinated mushrooms every day.

Movement: I started for sure feeling movement on Christmas Eve. I feel baby more when I am laying down. I haven’t really felt much during the day.

Symptoms/how I am feeling: Overall, I have been feeling a lot better. I have had heartburn really bad this go around. I never had it with George, so this is a new experience. I get light-headed a little bit each time I stand up. Just in the last week, I started breaking out a lot more. Why are there no pleasant symptoms?

Looking forward to: We will find out the sex of the baby before my next update. This big anatomy scan will be the first time Tom has seen the baby since it was 6 weeks old, and it will have been 7 weeks since I have seen it.

You can read about George at 18 weeks here.