April 10 - 18 Weeks

Head to rump, our baby is approximately 5 1/2 inches long (about the length of a bell pepper) and weighs almost 7 ounces. PB is busy flexing his/her arms and legs — movements that I'll start noticing more and more in the weeks ahead. If our baby is a girl, her uterus and fallopian tubes are formed and in place. If our baby is a boy, his genitals are noticeable now, although he may hide them during an ultrasound! lol



So since the due date changed at last week's doctor's
appointment, our baby is actually 18 weeks today!



Our baby's ears now stand out from their head. So in just a few weeks, I'm thinking we should start reading to the little one. And if I haven't said it enough, in just two more weeks we will know the gender! Not sure if this means anything, but in the midst of all my crazy dreams, I had one last night that I gave birth to a little girl. :) While that sounds beautiful (which she was)...the dream was rather vivid! I actually cut the umbilical cord myself. I am hopeful that is not the actual case in 6 months (I don't think that will happen - someone will make sure of that)!! I have had a handful of strange dreams, but I think this one is up there. Some people wonder why pregnant women have such crazy dreams... Well, hormone levels are all over the map and we're about to undergo one of the biggest life events imaginable — which is enough to give anyone the occasional nightmare. In fact, vivid, bizarre or even terrifying dreams during pregnancy are probably the mind's natural way of dealing with the anxiety, excitement and fear that accompany childbirth.



Another change that I'm having to deal with is the lack of sleep and comfort at night. I have heard that pregnant women should lie on their side, preferably their left, and not on their stomach (obviously) or back. Wondering why? Well, when a women lies flat on her back, her uterus can partially compress a major vein (called the inferior vena cava) that returns blood from the lower half of her body to the heart. Lying on her side (or even tilted just a bit to the side), particularly the left side, prevents this compression and improves her blood flow. Now I'm starting to think that it's time to upgrade the mattress, since I toss and turn from left to right all night long. My hips have been bothering me more lately, even during the day. My cousin, Kelly, let me borrow her Leachco Back 'n Belly Contoured Body pillow and my mom just finished making me a new pillow case for it. So I may try that out tonight. Although the bed is a queen size, so it's going to be a tight fit! If it means mommy sleeping better at night, it's well worth it! Right Daddy??