18 Weeks

Hellooooo baby bump!

Bebs: Head to rump, Bebs is about 5 1/2 inches long (about the length of a bell pepper) and s/he weighs almost 7 ounces. The baby's busy flexing his/her arms and legs, blood vessels are visible through thin skin, and ears are now in their final position, although they're still standing out from the head a bit. A protective covering of myelin is beginning to form around his/her nerves, a process that will continue for a year after the baby's born, too! If Bebs is a girl, her uterus and fallopian tubes are formed and in place. If Bebs is a boy, his genitals are noticeable now.

News from Maternal Fetal Medicine: I received a voicemail from one of the nurses at the hospital to give me the results from my sequential screening ultrasound and bloodwork. Everything with Bebs is great! Baby tested 1 in 10,000 for a genetic disorder such as Down's Syndrome or Trisonomy 18, and tested 1 in 6,000 for Spina Bifida. We were ecstatic with the good news! :)

The Furnace: Lots of things have been happening around our house lately! First of all, I am happy to report that Merry and Pippin only lasted at the SPCA about two weeks before they were adopted. :) That makes Hubs and I feel much better about giving them away.

Our new bedroom is completely finished! I'd still like to get curtains and some artwork on the walls, but in terms of all the work that was done to it, moving furniture, etc....we are done! I don't know if this is a psychological thing or what, but we both said that our bed is much more comfortable and we've both been sleeping better since moving into that room! I've been happily sleeping on my side comfortably and hugging my KU body pillow all night, too. I can only lay on my back for a few minutes before it gets uncomfortable, and laying on my stomach is pretty much impossible now.

Mama Hebs painting the trim

Hubs and Dom prepping the installation of the ceiling fan

Hubs and Hebs!

Jason has already moved all of his clothes into his dresser, but alas, all of my clothing is still in piles in what will eventually be the nursery. I spent quite a few hours organizing my side of the closet, ironing maternity clothes and arranging shoes. (Hubs just LOVED that, lol). I'm just at a loss for what to do with all of my "pre-pregnancy clothes" that no longer fit. So far I left all my jeans, dress pants and dresses in our old bedroom closet and I think I may do the same with my other shirts and sweaters. Even looking at those clothes makes me a bit sad I can no longer wear them. Ridiculous, I know!

We also went out and purchased 4 baby gates (AKA pug gates!). The gates are really more for Dexter's sake than the baby's...or let's face it, my sake. There is a large gate separating our kitchen from the weird open space living room/computer room, and a small gate separating the kitchen from the dining room. This has become Dexter's area. We have left him out of his crate during the day (and overnight!) with no accidents. So far, so good! Every morning I come downstairs I find him in his crate, and every time I come home from work, he's been sitting in his crate, too. I would love to know what he does all day with this newfound freedom!

"Mommy, what the heck is this??"

We got two more gates like this, also. One for the top of the stairs (when baby is here) and one at the top of the little steps leading down to our TV room (for Dexter)