18 weeks

At 18 weeks pregnant, our baby is hitting the height chart at five and a half inches long (remember, that's crown to rump) and weighs about five ounces. And now for the skill of the week (drum roll please…): The art of the yawn has been mastered (someone's sleepy!). In fact, we might catch a glimpse of that adorable yawn at our ultrasound this month. We'll also catch a glimpse of all the fetal movement the baby's doing — twists, rolls, kicks, and punches. I have definitely been feeling the movements the baby is making. It's so precious and I can't wait til it happens more often!

The baby's nervous system is maturing rapidly at this time. Nerves, now covered with a substance called myelin (which speeds messages from nerve cell to nerve cell), are forming more complex connections. And those in the brain are further specializing into the ones that serve the senses of touch, taste, smell, sight, and hearing. Talking about hearing, the baby's is growing more acute, making our little one more conscious of sounds that come from inside my body (which means we could both be listening to each other hiccup — a skill that the baby has by now).

As much as I want the baby here in my arms right now, I believe I'm going to miss being pregnant. The one thing that I enjoy more than anything is feeling the baby move. Butch has not been able to feel the movement from the outside yet, but I am feeling the baby kick and roll around inside. It's an awesome experience! We also listen to the heartbeat pretty regularly. It's so neat to be listening to this rapidly beating heart and when I start talking the beating gets strong and loud. So I know the baby is hearing me!!

I have felt so great since I dove into the second trimester. I have more energy and I'm not sick at all! The only problem I really have is the round ligament pains, but that has to happen in order for the baby to get bigger. They are real quick and sharp, but over in a matter of a few seconds. So needless to say, the pregnancy is still going great. We are very anxious for our ultrasound this coming Thursday. We've been counting down the days (just like our friends and family!!) I'm just hoping the baby will give us the money shot so we will be able to see what we need to see in order to determine a gender!!!!! =) I'll keep you posted...as always.