18 weeks Official Start of 5 Months

5 months pregnant!  Wow!  Where did the last 4 months go?!?

I'm a little late on this, Ben and I spent a great deal of yesterday trying to figure out my Mat Leave benefits and work out our budget for the coming year once I leave work, and after that was all said and done, I completely forgot to do a blog post!  But that being said, it's looking like we'll be just fine financially!  I have to admit I was stressed, merely because I fear the unknown, but once we crunched the numbers and put everything down on paper, it's not as scary as I thought losing half my income would be!  It's so great to have a plan!  I live for planning!!

Anyway, on to the baby!  It seems my little one has been growing!  And it's weird that I don't seem to notice how big I am, but you need to understand - this is my point of view:

According to what I can see, my tummy only really sticks out 2 maybe 3 inches, so it doesn't look that big to me - it's not until Ben takes my weekly picture from the side that I really realize just HOW BIG I am!!!   And this weeks picture was definitely a bigger than usual surprise!  For comparison's sake, here's my 17 week picture:

And here is 18 weeks, a mere 7 days after....

Holy crap is really all I can say to that!  I didn't even notice my tummy had changed shape like that until I looked at the picture!  And even Ben, who sees me every day didn't notice the change until he looked back at the other photo!  Kidlet had a growth spurt!!  According to TheBump.com my little one is currently the size of a Sweet Potato!  At 19 weeks, they will be a Mango!  Also at 19 weeks, they will hopefully no longer be a "they" as Ben and I go for our Gender Ultrasound on June 12th!  (But you guys have to wait another week, since we are doing a special announcement with the Family on the 17th, so we won't be telling anyone until after that!)

I'm still feeling really good, waddling more now, but that's expected with a watermelon hanging off of my midsection, and I actually discovered that I'm carrying absolutely everything out front.  From the back, I don't even look pregnant, which really surprised me!  Because of the way I hold my weight (everywhere) I always thought I would be one of those pregnant women that gain weight all over their bodies, rather than just in one place, but baby seems to be proving me wrong!  I'm okay with that!  It just means that I can still attempt to wear some of my old clothing with a few modifications made to the belly area (I can still fit jackets, I just can't zip them up etc)

But that's enough about the bump, here's the recap!

How far along? 18 Weeks

Total weight gain: Up to 5 Pounds now!
Inches gained in the waist: 4 1/2"

Maternity clothes? Yes!!

Stretch marks?  None on the belly!

Sleep:  It’s decent, I wake up every morning feeling completely exhausted, and my dreams have been extremely vivid!  Plus I’ve been having trouble falling asleep – I think it’s only 1 night out of 7 that I can actually fall asleep within a decent time frame when I’m tired at night!     

Best moment this week:  I think my favorite moments have been taking pictures, and just rubbing my belly and being happy! 

Miss Anything?   Energy mostly.  I’m not at all as fatigued as I used to be, but I’m still taking advantage of naps as often as I can, and I find I’m lacking motivation to get things done around the house and such because I’m tired.
Movement: Yes definitely!  

Food cravings: Still the suggestion cravings – I don’t crave something until someone posts a picture or something.   

Anything making you queasy or sick:   Hunger – the other night Ben and I got groceries right after work before going home, so I was absolutely starving, and I was starting to think that that would be the first time I would throw up in this pregnancy.  I was definitely feeling queasy!  

Gender: Unknown – Only 1 more weeks! 

Labor Signs: Too early! 

Symptoms:  Memory is just crap, and some days I get the fatigue again, but so far so good!  I’m developing quite the waddle, and my peeing seems to increased again.  Also the headaches are way more frequent - and I could do without them...     

Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? Off, but I'm still wearing my "replacement ring" which is my old junior high ring from my parents.

Happy or Moody most of the time:  Very Happy!

Looking forward to:  Finding out the gender!  And seeing our little one again!!