18 weeks

7/9/08

18 weeks

The baby is now about 5.5 inches long (length of bell pepper) and weighs almost 7 ounces. He is busy flexing and extending his arms and legs, and I have started noticing the movement more and more everyday. If this baby is a girl, her little uterus and fallopian tubes are now formed. If I am having a boy, all his parts would be noticeable now on ultrasound. During ultrasounds, Owen was not shy about showing everyone he was a boy! : ) He would have his legs spread apart, with his feet up by his head. Seems real comfortable, huh? The big ultrasound for this baby is coming up, and I am so ready for that day to be here. I just want to know that everything is okay in there.

My appetite has really picked up, and I find myself eating all the time. I try to make healthy choices so I don't end up gaining a ton of weight. So far, I have gained a total of 6.5 pounds. I am hoping to gain 25-27lbs like I did with Owen. That weight seemed to come off really quick, especially with breastfeeding, which I plan on doing again.

I have had a couple issues come up with my midwife that I was not particularly happy about. I am considering changing practices once again. I have a consultation with another midwife in the southern Indiana area this Thursday. Hopefully it will go well. I just want to find someone that I mesh well with, and is respectful of my wishes. I am still hoping for a totally different delivery this time around. George and I have decided to try the Bradley Method again. We are not going to take the entire course, since we really just took it last year. We are going to take about half of the course to refresh our memories. The trouble is going to be trying to find someone to watch Owen once a week.

This past week George has been on vacation, and he has let me sleep in everyday. He gets up with Owen, and allows me to get some much needed rest. A couple days he even cooked breakfast for me once I got up. I am so lucky to have such a wonderful, loving husband.

Here are some recent pictures of my growing belly. I finally had to bring out the maternity pants. The rubber band around the button just wasn't working anymore. : )