18 Weeks

How far along: 18 weeks

Development:  MiniDot is the size of an bell pepper

Movement: Sometimes in the morning before I get out of bed, I can feel weird pops.

Weight Gain: 16 pounds - it was commented on during last week's pre-natal appointment  The nurse told me, "Don't gain 8 pounds in a month again." I was pretty down on myself for a few days after that. Now I'm trying to get back on the bandwagon with the healthy eating and no night-time snacking. I've also finally found a pregnancy workout dvd that I like (Complete Pregnancy Fitness). I've tried a few dvds and they are pretty tame; I don't want to stretch, I want to move!

Maternity Clothes:  Lots; I love shopping for maternity clothes! 

Stretch Marks:  None. I've been slathering my self in cream (Glaxol Base) to help with the eczema I've been struggling with lately. I think (hope) that will help with stretch marks too.

Best moment of my week:  Being continually surprised at how caring and protective RDog is of me and my little bump. I mean, he has always been a nice guy but now there's a different element to our relationship and it's really awesome.

Worst moment:  Feeling yucky over my weight gain. It's my fault and I feel guilty that I went so crazy eating anything I wanted over the past couple of months. It's so different than my earlier ideals of how my pregnancy would go; I would exercise, eat healthy and gain minimal weight. None of those things have been happening so far and it has been a hard thing for me to adjust to.

Sleep:  Great - but for the first time in my life, I remember my dreams. Every morning, I wake up and tell RDog what crazy adventure I had during the night. 

Miss Anything:  My waist and pencil skirts

Food Cravings:  Oreo cookies. I limit myself to one every night after supper.

Aversions:  The look of some salads I used to love still grosses me out. 

Gender:  We'll find out in April. 

Symptoms:  Headaches. My pregnancy app tells me this is a symptom.  I've have never had headaches before and now get a few each week

Belly Button: In

Rings:  On

Moody or Happy:  Pretty happy most of the time. As a person who has fought the blues for long stretches at a time, I can honestly say this is the happiest overall I've felt in a long, long time. RDog and I had a talk with my doctor and nurse about post-partum depression. We both feel if anyone is going to get it, it's going to be me. The doctor was really concerned about how I am feeling now. I realized that I have been feeling generally really happy for the last couple of months. I hope it lasts! 

Looking Forward: Our anatomy ultrasound on April 12!