Today marked 18 weeks pregnant and it’s been fun to be in Florida to share it with my grandmother!
Here are baby’s milestones at 18 weeks…
- Baby is yawning, hiccupping, sucking, swallowing and twisting, rolling, punching, and kicking too. Just wish I could feel it! 🙂
- Nerves, now covered with a substance called myelin that speeds messages from nerve cell to nerve cell, are forming more complex connections. And those in the brain are further developing into the ones that serve the senses of touch, taste, smell, sight and hearing.
- Baby’s hearing is growing more acute, making it more conscious of sounds that come from inside your body. (uh…baby is probably hearing lots of gas bubbling from mom!)
And with me!
Weight Gain/Body Changes: well, the week after Thanksgiving I was coming in 11 pounds up at my doctor’s appointment but I think some of that was post-bird bloat as this week I seem to be hovering around 8-9 pounds. I’m kind of whatever about it and trusting my body to do what it needs to do.
Bump is definitely getting more noticeable and my grandmother is loving how I wake up looking relatively normal but then have a pretty decent belly by the end of the night. She told me she thinks it’s grown in the few days I’ve been here. Haha.
Workouts/Workout Modifications: as of about 2 weeks ago, anything on my belly is officially no bueno. No sphinx or cobra in yoga and definitely no super mans. I think my last few full burpees all the way down to the ground have happened.
I stopped doing most crunching/ab compression type core work mid-first trimester and I am having a hard time going from laying down to sitting up these days without rolling to my side and pushing off my hand. Crazy how fast this all happens! I’m still doing some plank variations as it feels okay but I have WAY cut back and only for class teaching purposes. Most of my push ups are on my knees.
During the core work potion of yoga classes that I take, I do things like spinal balance, glute bridge lifts squeezing a block between my knees and pelvic floor exercises sitting on a block.
Symptoms: feeling good overall and honestly can’t complain. Gas is…not fun. (for anyone…haha) And I’m peeing so much. On Monday I tried to go back and count how many times I peed and couldn’t do it. It’s a joke at this point!
Food Aversions: none. Gimme allllll the food.
Food Cravings: nothing specific although I was SO looking forward to an apple fritter from The Donut Hole while visiting my grandmother and THEY’RE CLOSED until December 16 for renovations. I’m devastated!
Sleep: since I’ve been at my grandmother’s, I’ve been sleeping on my side with the spare pillow between my knees and that’s been nice. Sleep overall has been good and sound but getting up once or twice a night to go to the bathroom.
Maternity Clothes: none but my sports bras are getting SO tight! I just ordered a few more a size up today. Taking off my bra/sports bra at the end of the night has never been so glorious. I’ve also retired quite a few pairs of Lululemon shorts that will not be seen again until after baby or maybe never!
Miss Anything: I would love some sushi with raw fish right now! I’ve had sushi with cooked fish/shrimp once in pregnancy but missing the real stuff.
Fun/Weird Stuff Shares: oh I have a few things…
- I think my grandmother helped me pick a boy name. I’ve always been really drawn to family names and I’ve been quizzing her on names for a while. I have a few girl family names that I know I love but on Monday my grandmother remembered a boy name that she said she thought I’d like and I instantly fell in love. I didn’t think I’d be set on a name this early but it just seems so right. My heart was beating when I shared it with Tanner because I was so scared he wouldn’t like it and I was thrilled when he replied back quickly that “he loved it.” And “should we go with it?”
- My spina bifida screen came back negative.
- I started a baby registry. I’m keeping it private for now but I thought I should start getting my mind wrapped around what I need for baby and shower dates are already in talks which is crazy to think about! I’m thinking I’m going to do Target and Amazon for my registry and then possibly something like Pottery Barn Kids for bedding. I’m trying to avoid Buy Buy Baby if at all possible unless y’all think that’s a bad idea? That store has always traumatized me for some reason. It’s so overwhelming!
Looking Forward To: my anatomy scan on Thursday. I’m also nervous about it. I am eager to learn if everything is growing and developing properly because I feel like I might be able to relax a little after that. We’ll also find out the gender!
Also, movement. I still haven’t felt any and I’m so ready. Every night when I get in bed I try to be very still and see if I can feel anything but nothing yet.
Where did you register? And I know so much of this stuff depends on the mom/baby but if there is anything you think I absolutely can’t live without on my registry, I’d love to hear it!
For those of you who found out gender (I cannot believe how many of you didn’t!), did you find out in the office during the visit or did you have it put into an envelope and wait for a private moment or a reveal party?
