Week 18

18 weeks already! This stage of the pregnancy was great because I was finally starting to feel like my normal self. When I say normal, this means despite the fact my feet are swollen and I am consuming food at the rate of a teenage boy, I am now able to comfortably walk long distances (3 miles) and have been going to the pool twice a week.

Now that morning sickness is gone, I realize that all those bubbles in my stomach are not indigestion. I'm already starting to feel the baby move! People describe the sensation as "fluttery." This seems like a pretty good description to me, but many people associate fluttering with morning sickness. It doesn't feel like morning sickness. I guess you could say it feels like you just ate a big meal, then a piece of food came alive in your stomach and started crawling around. It also feels similar to when you eat too much garlic.

I look a little awkward and angry (I was hungry!), but here is my 18 week bump.

Breakdown

How do I feel?

Hungry and completely energized. I can now understand why women love the second trimester

Weight gain?

12 lbs. Now that I am able to get up and move around, I actually lost a little bit of weight.

Food cravings?

I'm going to break something if I don't eat a cheeseburger soon.

Food aversions?

Not really. We went out to Thai food with a friend, and I was worried I wouldn't be able to handle the spices. But it was amazing. Pineapple curry you have saved my life...I guess pineapple is still one of my cravings too.

Sleep?

Sleeping great, still with crazy dreams. Said dreams are not all G-rated.

Movement?

Yes! 

Gender?

Boy?

What have I learned?

Now that we know the gender, all sorts of name suggestions are coming in. When we tell people our ideas, many polite smiles or pursed lips are the result. Our friends decided to keep their baby's name a secret until he was born, and I'm kind of wishing we had done the same. We chose the names we did because they have special meaning to us, not because we want to name him after your favorite celebrity.