The one with no theme

I have had several things floating around in my head that I have wanted to write about, but none of them go together... at all... so today you will be treated to a completely off-the-wall post.

Piece of Randomness #1: Drew, even when in a giggly, playful mood, almost instantly shoves his thumb in his mouth and rests his head on my shoulder when I turn on his lullaby music. I love it!

Piece of Randomness #2: Last week at work I was chatting with a co-worker. Another co-worker interrupted to ask me a quick question. When I turned to answer, I heard co-worker #1 whispering behind my back to another woman. She then whispered "ah... I gotcha!". When I returned to the first conversation, co-worker #1 asked me how old my baby was (our previous conversation had nothing to do with Drew). My suspicion was that she was asking if I was pregnant and was instead told that I had just had a baby. I know most likely I'm just being over-sensitive and self-conscious over my still somewhat flabby tummy. But, in response, I've been buckling down and getting to work once again on these abs.

To my delight, on the other hand, two women yesterday made me feel pretty good about how I look. One gave me a piece of chocolate so she would avoid the temptation of eating it herself. I told her I would certainly enjoy it as I have a very big sweet tooth, to which she responded "you wouldn't know it by looking at you!".  The other woman told me that if I hadn't told her I'd just had a baby, she would have never known. She said I show no signs of having had a baby. I told her how I've just started working on my abs because I was thinking just the opposite, and she insisted that I look great.

While I still think my belly could use some work, it was nice to get a little self-esteem kick when I was needing it most!

*Please note* I do NOT think I need to lose weight. You may remember me commenting that I'm already below my pre-pregnancy weight, which, as a CFer, is actually not a good thing. Instead of weight loss, I'm thinking more along the lines of recovering a little of my pre-pregnancy shape.

Piece of Randomness #3: In my job I test students from all over the world as they register to attend school in my county. I have to give them a simple 15 minute math test, then a more extensive English test to see what, if any, ESOL services (English for Speakers of Other Languages) they need. We have students who come from India, for example, who can speak English very well, and others who come from refugee camps and have had very little schooling at all, let alone any English skills. Yesterday I was supposed to test a refugee from Haiti. He had completed grade 4.... before the earthquake. Now, he can't write. He can't talk. He can hardly walk. He suffered severe brain damage and no one, not even the doctors, knew how much he can actually do. It made me so sad. I wasn't able to really give him the test, but this incident brought to my attention the fact that everything is not all better in Haiti. It won't be for a very long time. Many of us have already forgotten about what happened. I did! I had to look up on Google to find out when the earthquake was (it was just over a year ago, actually, January 12th, 2010). I say all of this to just say, please keep Haiti in your thoughts and prayers. There is still a lot of healing and recovery in their future.

Piece of Randomness #4: Some of Drew's 6 month photos have been posted! If you're on Facebook, you can check them out here. While you're there, please "like" Doll Eyes Photography because Cassie is fabulous! Thank you once again, Cassie!! (You may remember that Cassie did my maternity photos and Drew's newborn photos too, both of which may be found in my sidebar)

Piece of Slightly Less Randomness #5: This is the only one that's related to anything, because the pictures above reminded me. Drew has a new face he likes to make- an angry face. I think this is another "Bad Awnt Laura" trait because it resembles the "Simpson Scowl" an awful lot! Drew puckers his lips while scrunching his nose, then he "huffs and puffs" loudly. I can't help but laugh every time he does it. I actually think it's a good thing, though, that he's finding ways other than crying to convey his emotions. Check out his "Simpson Scowl" (is he allowed to have a "Simpson" scowl??)

I am not sure where he learned this.... do I make this face?? Or is Bad Awnt Laura really doing her Bad Awnt thing and teaching him little tricks behind my back?

*Another note* Before I had a chance to post this, my sister made this comment on the above photo on Facebook: "Oh my gosh! That is such a Diane face!". Haha, I guess I DO make that face. But for real? I don't feel like I've done it around him....

The first step....

...to solving a problem is admitting you have one, right?

Well, I'm admitting it. I've finally come to the realization that my happiness is completely tied to food.  And not in the sense of, "food is the only thing that makes me happy," or, "when I'm depressed I shove my face with food." No, I mean if I'm grouchy or in any kind of bad mood it's almost 100% sure that I need to eat.

I've known I've had a problem for a long time, the problem was realizing the extent of it. See, if I'm grouchy or feeling down and depressed and I feel hungry, the solution is obvious to me. I've known for a long time that me + hungry = monster.

The problem is when I'm grouchy or feeling down and depressed and I don't feel hungry.

Let me illustrate: Yesterday I was trying to prepare a grocery list. At our house this actually involves quite a bit of time because I'm a coupon clipper. I peruse the grocery store flier for sales, then search my coupons for any spectacular deals (sales and coupons combined means only pennies for some items!), then I browse the internet (www.time2saveworkshops.com) for any other awesome coupon match ups, then I start making a list. Well, I was NOT feeling it yesterday. I couldn't even get myself to sit down to even concentrate on just clipping coupons from the Sunday paper. I stood up and told Jason, "I'm done with today. I don't care. I want today to be over with." (Because, you know, not being able to make a grocery list is the end of the world, right?).

So we decide to head to the grocery store with a very minimal list. I'm still feeling down and miserable. Then it dawns on me.... I haven't eaten lunch! It's 5:00 at this point, and I didn't eat lunch. I don't feel hungry at all, but I obviously am. I tell Jason I've forgotten to eat, so he, knowing just how much of a monster that can make me (and obviously sensing my already unstable state) quickly reroutes and takes me to the Taco Bell drive-thru.  After a quick snack of nachos and cheese and a delicious Limeade Sparkler I'm smiley, giggly, and practically prancing through the grocery store (I also got a big cupful of chili to sample when I walked in, so that helped too!).

My mom has been aware of this problem for a long time, but I've always snapped and snarled when she's told me I need food but I don't feel hungry (sorry!!!). There was always something about thinking she knew my body better than I did. "I am NOT hungry so WHY are you trying to feed me!?"

But it is a problem, and not just for Jason and my mom who have to deal with my moods, but for Drew too. Because when I'm hungry but don't feel hungry I get too easily frustrated by him. I get annoyed when he won't eat properly (remember me getting upset about him smiling instead of eating!?), or when he yanks my hair, or when he flails his legs and arches his back during diaper changes. All three of those things often make me laugh, or at least smile, but when the "hungry but not hungry" monster strikes, it is a completely different story.

So the solution? It's pretty simple, right? I need to eat all my meals, whether I feel hungry or not. This might take setting an alarm, or having something for lunch already picked out and set aside... I'm not sure yet. All I know is that it's silly to keep letting myself get to the point of feeling like "it's the end of the world" simply because I haven't eaten. Oh, and snacks! Keep snacks on hand, like in the diaper bag or my purse...

My CF doctors will be happy by this realization too as I am continuing to lose weight and falling farther and farther below my pre-pregnancy weight. While it makes me admittedly quite happy to fit into jeans I haven't been able to wear for years, it also brings the worry of having to quit breast feeding in order to keep on a proper amount of weight and not fall out of the "green zone."

So, I'm admitting this on my blog both as an apology to everyone who has had to deal with me (namely friends and family, but also poor strangers, like cashiers and well-meaning KFC workers) and as a way to hopefully make myself more aware of the issue and work on being better.

This is also a free pass to my mom (and any others who care to use it) to say "told you so" or even "I think I see some orange fur sprouting and some claws poking out... are you sure you don't need to eat something?"

What's up, doc?

I first have to comment that the students I teach would not get the above reference. Sad, eh? Or is it? I tried to explain Sylvester cat's "sufferin' succotash" to my News Team kids one morning... that didn't go over so well.  I didn't realize that kids don't watch Loony Toons anymore!!

Anyways... back to the point... in Drew's less than 2 weeks of life he has already been to 3 doctor's appointments!!  One for him, one for me, and one was simply a weigh-in for him.

 I don't want to go to the doctor!

Drew is looking healthy and strong.  The doctor was impressed with just how pink he is (absolutely no signs of jaundice).  Everything else looked good too... including his poop.  Yup, we had a great time with that one.  After the exam the doctor told us we could go ahead and dress Drew again, but he had a poopy diaper so we attempted to change it while the doctor continued to talk to us.  As we were paying more attention to the doctor than to Drew we did not realize that something wasn't quite right... until Jason felt something wet in his flip flop. Oops! We have a boy! We scrambled to cover up.  Just when I thought he was finished and lifted the "clean" diaper, off he went again, spraying in the other direction.  We quickly scrambled to cover again, then... SPLAT!  What was that? Oh, that was a pile of liquidy yellow breastfed baby poo.  The doctor hadn't noticed what was going on until the loud noise and looked down to see liquid dripping everywhere off of the exam table.  "Oh my! Did he get me!?" he exclaimed as he jumped back.  Thankfully Drew did not dirty the doctor, but he sure did make a mess of the entire table!  We had to keep pulling new paper to try and get a spot dry enough to continue changing him!!  The doctor did get to witness that Drew's poop is in fact "yellow and seedy" as it is supposed to be though!

The doctor said I can have my paci!

On that note his weigh-in went extremely well too.  Did you know that babies often lose weight in their first few days of life? Drew dropped from 8 lb. 6 oz. to 7 lb. 11 oz. before we left the hospital.  By his first appointment he had gone up a little to 7 lb. 12 oz., but they wanted to check him again in a week.  Well, he's already at 8 lb. 12 oz! That means he gained a whole pound in a week! Yikes! Babies are supposed to gain back their birth weight within the first 2 weeks.  He's gained it back plus some and he's not even 2 weeks yet!  I asked the nurse if there was a such thing as gaining "too much".  She told me he's good.  I guess breastfeeding is going well though! Not being able to see how much he's eating (or that he's even eating at all!) means a lot of breastfeeding moms, including me, worry that their babes aren't getting enough.

Looks like I'm getting plenty, doesn't it?

My own appointment went well too.  It was my first appointment with my CF doctors since giving birth.  My lung function is already back up the 10% I dropped while pregnant! Awesome! And I'm not even back on my normal meds yet! It seems pregnancy overall was pretty good to me.  Their biggest concern is my weight.  It turns out I'm already below my pre-pregnancy weight.  I'm still in the "green zone" as they call it, but I can't lose anymore.  I didn't realize just how hard it was going to be though.  Did you know breastfeeding burns 800 calories a day? You actually need to take in more calories while breastfeeding than while pregnant!  I'm trying to train myself to snack while Drew is eating... but I often forget. My mom has been great buying all sorts of goodies to fatten me up like cookies and ice cream and key lime pie! I guess I should probably get some healthy snacks in there too....

Mom's belly is still nice and squishy!

Why I'm NOT ready

 At 38 weeks I know a lot of women are just "done" with pregnancy.  They're over the whole thing, tired of sharing their body and all the aches, pains, and side effects caused by it.

I, however, am apparently not at that point yet.  It could be partially due to my long "to-do" list which looks something like this:

1. PACK!
2. Install car seat!
3. Clean carpets
4. Get glider cleaned and moved
5. Make curtains
6. Hang wall art
7. Find a solution for bookshelves
8. Finish organizing nursery

I need more time!

I'm sure there's a "fear" element too.... fear of not being a good mom, not knowing what to do, not being able to handle things, not getting enough sleep, and overall life changing so drastically!  But I'm also super excited to meet this little guy and get to see who he looks like, what he'll be like, and who he'll grow up to be!

It could also be due to the fact that I'm simply not miserable.  What I'm about to write makes me nervous because I could be ruining everything, right here, right now, as I bring up all the things I have yet to suffer.  I could be "jinxing" myself to say these thing "out loud" (okay, in writing, but still...).  But here goes....

Overall I feel I've had a really good pregnancy.  Except for the pretty rocky beginning (see these posts: 1, 2, 3) I've skipped out on a lot of the typical complaints, as I've mentioned before.  I have been happy not to suffer from:

• Morning sickness- except for the one morning I actually threw up and an overall sense of "bleh" for a little while, I never really had a problem with morning sickness
• Itchiness- I don't know if it's been the stretch mark creams, or what, but I am thankful that my belly and skin haven't been driving me nuts!
• Moodiness- even ask Jason, he'd tell you overall I've probably been more level-headed than normal.  Until the last few weeks that is... I'm getting a little irritable and the stress of the unknown with my job is getting to me too... but still, I don't seem to have "whoa, watch out for the pregnant lady!" mood swings.
• Trouble sleeping- okay, this one is kind of surprising me.  I still only get up once, maybe twice, a night to go to the bathroom, then I go right back to sleep!  Sleeping is not as comfortable as it used to be, but it really doesn't take me long to fall asleep, nor do I wake up out of discomfort or from Floodling squirming around.  I used to be an incredibly light sleeper, but things have changed and now I sleep like a rock.  I swear this kid could kick me right between the ribs and I wouldn't even roll over.  Kind of makes me worry about when he arrives.... will I wake up when he cries!?
• Painful kicks- I've heard a lot of people complain about their little ones getting their hands or feet all tangled up in their ribs, or getting really painful kicks.  Every once in a while Floodling will do something that makes me go "oof" (especially if he hits my bladder) but it hasn't been bad at all!
• Swelling- unless I sit in a chair for too long I really haven't had any swelling!
• Food cravings/aversions- I've had a few things that I've had "hankerings" for- spicy pickles in the beginning, steak in the middle, and right now it seems to be s'mores, but I haven't sent Jason out in the middle of the night to grab me anything because I haven't needed anything "right now!!".  Nor is there anything that just completely turns me off.
• Weight gain- I've put on the appropriate amount of weight, not too much, not too little, so I feel good and mobile still! 
• Stretch marks- I know I still have 2 weeks to go, and he's going to grow a lot in those two weeks, so I really shouldn't say anything yet, but so far, so good!  My secret? Check here!
• Heat- I really haven't been overly hot at all. I think, though, that I've really just become more like a normal person.  I am usually always freezing cold and my husband and I would always argue over the house temperature.  I think he's fairly pleased that I am now happy to have the temperature set where he likes it!

Now I'm not going to say I haven't had my complaints....

• Back pain- if I move the wrong way, or sit in the wrong type of chair, my back gets so achey that the only thing I can do to make it go away is lay down.  I can't even do the stretches I love at the gym because they make my back hurt!  And spending more than an hour at a restaurant? No thanks!
• Bending- it's getting incredibly difficult these days, and so, of course, I seem to be dropping everything!  I can thankfully still tie my shoes, though that is a long and annoying process in and of itself!  I'm loving that it's summer break and I can wear flip flops all the time!
• Getting around- getting up off the couch, out of the car, out of bed.... everything takes a little extra effort these days and it's getting a little old.
• Exhaustion- trying to get my "to do" list finished seems impossible sometimes because I get half a task completed and am just too tired to keep going!
• Bras- This is probably THE one thing that is getting to me the most.... the pain I posted about earlier has still not gone away!  Even after giving the bra a break for a bit.... the doctor thinks Floodling must have a foot there or something and it's stretching the muscles or skin.  I don't know, but living with this stabbing/burning sensation constantly is one thing I am looking forward to getting rid of!
• Bathroom- for someone who used to go maybe 3 times a day, it's hard sometimes having to go 3 times in one hour!  But I do have to admit that's not the norm for me.  I think I went from peeing like a camel (hardly at all!) to peeing like an actual normal person.

But overall I don't have the feeling yet that I'm just ready for this to be over.  (Of course, nor do I feel like I want to do this forever!)

My grandmother said that her mom told her not to wish away the pregnancy because "they're easier to take care of on the inside than the outside!".  So for now I'm happy to go with the flow and not wish away my time. 

We'll see how I feel in another week or so........

Body Image

This photo is currently being displayed on my refrigerator right now.  This was Easter a year ago (my sis and I had a blast dyeing Easter eggs and decorating cupcakes! And no, we didn't mean to match our shirts!). It is on a wonderful photo calendar that Jason's step-mother gave us for Christmas.  At the moment my head is covered with an important bill hung using the same magnet holding up the right corner of the calendar, so I walk past every day and see.... my belly.  And it shocks me every time!  Look how small it is! And I was feeling fat at that point... I was weighing more than I ever really had.  Now I wonder if I'll ever get back to that size and shape!

And don't get me wrong, I love my big belly now... but there are times that I just feel so enormous.  I have had to plan new routes to get around in my garage because I can no longer squeeze between the trash bin and the car... I have to ask people to pull in chairs so I can walk by in food courts and restaurants... even reaching the soap dispenser at my counter is difficult!

Before getting pregnant Jason and I had purchased a number of personal training sessions at our gym and it was really helping us get into shape.  I could have continued while pregnant (and did for a bit) because the trainer knew I had to take it easy, but in the end I decided I didn't want to "waste" the sessions doing silly little "weak" stuff- I'd rather hold onto them to help me get back into shape afterward.  I'm still going to the gym  but I do light stuff just to keep myself healthy (and mobile! I've seen friends who could hardly move in the last few weeks because of weight gain and swelling).

In any case, there's no use dwelling on the past.  Here's to my new body, and whatever shape it ends up being!

 
P.S. I finally uploaded the ultrasound photo in the blog post below.  You can also see another one here. The doctor gave us one more that I'm not sharing... it was a picture of his "turtle".  For anyone who knows anything about ultrasounds these days the technicians look for a "hamburger" or a "turtle" when determining gender. His "turtle" was very obvious... again, apparently he's not very shy!

I'm late! (No, not that kind of late... well, actually....)

I am actually a day late posting!  Sorry if you've been waiting on me. I've posted my Saturday posts late in the day before but never a whole day late... there is a first time for everything though and I have a feeling that once Floodling arrives I will have a whole new meaning to the word "late"!

I was actually out of town without a computer on Friday and Saturday.  I attended a FLAG conference (Foreign Langauge Association of Georgia).  It was actually very fun and informative!  I have a TON of new stuff to bring back to my classroom, and not just ideas!  I did a "make and take" seminar on Friday morning and actually made some games and things to use.  This was one of the first conferences I've been to where I didn't feel like it was a complete waste of time.  I usually sit in the seminars falling asleep because they're boring or it's something I already know.  Especially now that I teach elementary school I have a hard time finding sessions that apply to me (I don't teach grammar, I can't really use computers or internet.. and overall my kids are just not teenagers!). Elementary school language teachers are few and far between so most conferences are geared towards middle and high school.  But there were a TON of seminars for elementary teachers this time.  And every one of them had us either up and moving, or singing, or coloring, or doing something fun!  Besides the awkwardness of having to share a hotel room with a complete stranger I had a really good time.

I left the conference a bit early on Saturday so I could get home and actually visit with my mom!  That was a nice surprise.  My dad was driving down to Birmingham, Alabama for a motorcycle track weekend and my mom decided to go with him and just drive out to Atlanta to visit me.  She got here yesterday afternoon and we just sat and talked the afternoon away, went to Longhorn's for dinner (yay steak!) and chatted some more.  She stayed the night and left this morning... thus the reason my blog post is late.  It was so nice to see her, even if it was just for an evening.  And she got to feel Floodling wiggle for the first time!  Actually she felt lots of wiggles!

Speaking of... Floodling is obviously getting bigger these days!  I can feel him more and more and his movements are getting a LOT stronger.  I can actually feel him "shifting" now.... not just the little kicks and pokes, but I can feel my whole belly kind of shift as it feels like he slides around inside.  It's still not painful, but I can only imagine if he's moving this much now what it's going to be like later on and he has even less space!

In fact, Floodling definitely is bigger these days.  I had my monthly high risk OB appointment on Thursday.  He's a whopping 2 lbs. 6 oz. or so now!  He's still "above" the curve (somewhere in the 60th or 70th percentile... I don't remember exactly).  Turns out last time when he was "right on target" it was because they had my due date in the computer off by a whole week!  They had it as 6-11-10 instead of 6-17-10... someone read the 7 of my actual due date as a 1.  While it's not a huge deal (I know it's highly unlikely he'll actually be on time) it does make a difference when it comes to measurements, and that's the whole purpose of these appointments!  I actually caught it because I noticed that my last ultrasound pics said 22 wks 6 days but it should have been 22 wks 0 days, so I asked about it and the tech went to check on it.  She came back and asked where I got the date 6-17-10 and I said "my OB/GYN" so she left again and came back and was like "oops...".  Kind of scary!  The doctor apologized several times... I know they don't like to be caught in mistakes like that.

Floodling is about the length of an English cucumber at 26 weeks, but instead of a fruit/vegetable picture, or a drawing of a baby inside the womb, how about a picture of what he actually looks like?

Isn't that a cool picture??  That's the front view, by the way.  Can you see it?  It took me a second, but once you see it it's really cool! (Kind of like a "Magic Eye" picture)  I think it's much better than this front view at 18 weeks...

You can really see the shape of his chin though in both the pics!  So cute!!  My friend Stacey says it's my chin... I wonder if he'll have a dimple in his chin like Mommy too!  I think that's much cuter on boys than girls...  (And he is definitely still a boy.... once again he was flaunting it, the tech laughed.... I'm a little worried!)

The network of nerves in your baby's ears is better developed and more sensitive than before. He may now be able to hear both your voice and your partner's as you chat with each other. He's inhaling and exhaling small amounts of amniotic fluid, which is essential for the development of his lungs. These so-called breathing movements are also good practice for when he's born and takes that first gulp of air. And he's continuing to put on baby fat. He now weighs about a pound and two-thirds and measures 14 inches (an English hothouse cucumber) from head to heel. If you're having a boy, his testicles are beginning to descend into his scrotum — a trip that will take about two to three days.

P.S  I uploaded 2 other ultrasound pics on my "Ultrasound Photos" page (in the right-hand bar or you can click here).
P.P.S Don't forget to vote on my poll also in the right-hand bar!  Do you think Floodling will arrive early, late, or right on time??

Feeling good!

Posting a little late today, sorry!  I decided to get up and get going this morning rather than laying in bed as I usually do, but it's during my lazy laying in bed time that I usually post my Saturday weekly updates.

It's been a long week since our Tahoe trip brought us back home at nearly midnight on Monday night, putting me to bed around 1 before getting up at 5am (yes, I get up at 5... I have to be at school by 7:15, it's a 40 minute drive to get there, and I have to do meds, etc. before leaving).  Starting off a week that way generally leads to a very long week.  And it certainly did!

So, I am thankful to have a restful weekend this weekend.  I say I got "up and going" this morning, but I neglected to mention that I didn't wake up until 9 and would have slept even longer if it hadn't been for the lovely Charlie Horse I got in my calf.... ugh... hoping that's not going to become a frequent thing as I've had a couple in the last week or so and I keep reading that at this point they become fairly common in pregnancy.  I think it was from not drinking enough water (for me it tends to be from dehydration).  I slept so solidly last night that I didn't wake up once.  I usually wake up thirsty as a camel several times throughout the night, but I didn't wake up at all so I didn't drink a drop!  Thankfully that means I didn't wake up to go to the bathroom, but it apparently also left me somewhat dehydrated.

Even with being as tired as I've been this week, I'm thankful to say I have been feeling a lot better overall.  The achiness in my sides and belly has seemed to go away.  My back has been hurting, but not as frequently as it had been.  I'm really thankful for this as I had been starting to wonder why people say the second trimester is the most comfortable.  I kept thinking "if this is the best it gets, how bad is it going to be later!?".  Hoping the last month of the second trimester will continue this way... :)

I had fun shopping today with my gal pals in Athens.  My friend Lisa is getting married in September.  She's very busy finishing up in vet school so she's trying to pace herself in wedding planning and is trying to get things done as she can.  She ordered her dress a few months ago and it arrived this week, so she went for a fitting and for Sarah and I to try bridesmaids dresses.  Obviously I couldn't really try anything on right now, which makes me sad!  I love trying on dresses!  I will also have to order the dress by May, which means it will be a guessing game as far as sizing.  I'm hoping I will have dropped my weight by September (that gives me about 3 months), but I guess we'll see! They recommended buying a size larger than I normally wear (pre-pregnancy) that way it can be altered smaller if necessary but I won't screw myself over by having a dress that doesn't fit at all if I don't loose the weight.

For whatever reason, the site that I get my weekly development blurbs from (babycenter.com) says that at 23 weeks our baby is the size of a large mango, but the picture for 23 weeks from the same site is a corn cob... strange.  I was using two different sites before for my pic and development update as I liked the pics from another site better (thebump.com) because I liked how it showed the week number, and approximate weight and length, but that site only had a brief development blurb.  Anyways.... since I can no longer use the weekly photos from thebump.com as there are no weekly photos anymore, this is what I've got! :)

Turn on the radio and sway to the music. With his sense of movement well developed by now, your baby can feel you dance. And now that he's more than 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound (about as much as a large mango), you may be able to see him squirm underneath your clothes. Blood vessels in his lungs are developing to prepare for breathing, and the sounds that your baby's increasingly keen ears pick up are preparing him for entry into the outside world. Loud noises that become familiar now — such as your dog barking or the roar of the vacuum cleaner — probably won't faze him when he hears them outside the womb.

I've been saying it for a while now, I'm glad that the baby gets used to sounds now.  I was scared for a while that my frequent coughing would constantly wake him up or scare him.  I'm glad to know that he should be used to it by the time he gets here!  Maybe he'll also be used to our loud cats! They are worse than our dog!

Almost forgot!

With all the excitement of getting to see our little one, finding out we're having a boy, and feeling the first real movements, I almost forgot that today is Saturday and time for the weekly growth update!!  This week he is about the size of a sweet potato.  The technician told us he weighs about 9 oz right now (as you can see below he's a little above the average for 18 weeks, and the scan was done at 18 weeks 0 days! Hoping this doesn't mean he's going to be a large baby... Jason did weigh over 9 lbs. when he was born, he says). I have no idea how they can tell how much he weighs... I assume it's estimated based on measurements of head, tummy, etc.  (She did a lot of measuring during the scan).  She didn't tell us how long he is though!

Head to rump, your baby is about 5 1/2 inches long (about the length of a bell pepper) and he weighs almost 7 ounces. He's busy flexing his arms and legs — movements that you'll start noticing more and more in the weeks ahead. His blood vessels are visible through his thin skin, and his ears are now in their final position, although they're still standing out from his head a bit. A protective covering of myelin is beginning to form around his nerves, a process that will continue for a year after he's born. If you're having a boy (which we are!), his genitals are noticeable now, but he may hide them from you during an ultrasound. (Which he definitely didn't!)