Baby #2: 18 Weeks

Baby #2 Highlights

How Far Along: 18 weeks (Need to catch up? Here’s last week.)

Size of Baby: 5 1/2 inches or about the size of a bell pepper. Just so you know, this bell pepper is not 5 1/2 inches. I got the biggest one I could find and iIt’s an inch short. A whole inch. And knowing that, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a bell pepper that’s 5 1/2 inches tall/long. The people who made this little chart must be using some giant bell peppers.

He didn’t bite into this one, but he did have fun squeezing it. He loved it.

Big Brother Caedmon: Caedmon has been dealing with his first-ever case of Strep throat this week. I knew something had to be wrong when he asked to lay down in the cart while we were shopping at Walmart. Thankfully, we caught it early and were able to get him on antibiotics quickly. I talked to him a lot about not sharing germs (because I do NOT want strep), so he was hesitant to kiss the baby (my belly) the other night. He didn’t want to share his germs with his little brother/sister. So sweet.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: +3 pounds according to the doctor’s scale at my last appointment. But in case you hadn’t noticed, that was four weeks ago and yesterday was Thanksgiving. I don’t even want to know.

Maternity Clothes: Pretty much only in public. At home, I still wear my regular sweats & t-shirts.

Gender: We don’t know yet. Appointment is scheduled, though! Can’t wait! Mimi did the “pencil test” last week and says it’s a girl. When Caedmon heard that, he pretty much had a fit because he so badly wants a little brother. I thought it was sweet, but if we really have a girl, he might need counseling.

And I’m re-thinking my decision to take him to the ultrasound appointment. Can you just see me laying on the table, apologizing to the ultrasound lady for my child having a tantrum in the exam room floor?

Of course, Husband may be right there along with him, having passed out at the thought of one day having a teenage daughter.

Awkward.

Movement: Yes, and getting more noticeable and regular.

Sleep: I’m sleeping pretty well these days. I’ve tried to sleep with the pregnancy pillow Husband got for me, but I haven’t figured out how to make it work for me yet. I have a feeling it’s going to be more of an awake-time thing than a sleeping thing.

Symptoms: Crazy dreams. A little bit of reflux. Round ligament pain, which seems crazy since I don’t think it bothered me this much when I was pregnant with Caedmon.

And I have no idea if this is a pregnancy thing, but I have had a hard time going to bed at night. I’m exhausted in the morning and rarely get a nap these days, but I just can’t settle down at night. My night owl tendencies are coming back. Too bad Caedmon is an early bird!

What I Miss: Nothing, really. Except maybe not having second thoughts every time I lick the batter from something I’m baking. Or when I want to order a hamburger medium instead of well-done. Small price to pay, really.

Cravings: Nothing in particular right now.

Best Moment This Past Week: Realizing that Caedmon is really becoming attached to this baby and he was really upset when Mimi said she thinks it’s a girl.

What I Am Looking Forward To: The ultrasound appointment this coming week! Just as I told Caedmon before his first ultrasound, I will tell this little one that this will be the only time I will condone pictures of their hind-end, and will they please be a dear and spread their legs for Momma. Hey, it worked for Caedmon. We’ll see if this one is as compliant as he was.