Eighteen Weeks...

(I won't lie, y'all.  I'm kind of in love with my belly.  Micah laughs at me because I stare at it in any and every reflective surface. :))

How far along?  Eighteen weeks.

Baby is the size of... a bell pepper.   

Best moment this week?   Getting the house decorated for Christmas.  I keep thinking about the fact that we'll have a little eight-month old crawling around next Christmas and it blows. my. mind.  (Oh, and I finally broke down and got a hair cut and color.  I heard mixed things about coloring my hair, but the general consensus is that it's deemed safe after the first trimester, so I went for it.)   

Miss anything?  I miss not getting up several times a night to pee.  Even before I was pregnant, I had the bladder the size of a toddler's, so I occasionally woke up in the middle of the night to use the restroom.  But this is insane, you guys.  I shudder at the thought of how often I'll have to pee when I have a watermelon sitting directly on top of my bladder.

Movement?  I haven't felt quite as much movement this week as I did last week (which, I won't lie, is a bit concerning).  But I seem to feel the baby only when I'm sitting still, and I haven't done very much of that this week.  This momma is worn out from all the running around I've done in the last few days!

Sleep?  Apart from the frequent potty trips, I'm not sleeping too terribly.  Although I do keep waking up on my stomach, which freaks me out.  I'm so terrified I'm going to smush our little bell pepper!

Food cravings?  Still lots of water.  And LOTS of orange juice.  And I actually wanted Mexican food today, so we took advantage and enjoyed some chips and queso and a shrimp-stuffed avocado (so, so yum!). 

What makes you queasy/sick?  Not a whole lot this week.  Whoop whoop!

Morning sickness?  Almost no nausea.

Other symptoms?  Hair and nails still looking strong.  No headaches.  A teensy bit of lower back pain, and my feet hurt a bit when I walk around too long without comfy shoes on. 

Gender? Micah thinks it's a girl. I'm pretty positive it's a boy. :)  Can't wait to find out in a few days!!

Looking forward to...  finding out the gender and beginning to plan the nursery, registry, etc.  I am a firm believer in living in the here and now, and I try not to focus too much on the future because I don't want to miss all the beautiful little moments that are happening now.  So throughout this pregnancy, I have tried to avoid looking too far ahead so that I could relish each and every milestone:  getting past the nausea, watching my bump grow, feeling those first little flutters.  But now that the next phase is almost here, I'm so happy to be able to think of our little pumpkin as a he or she, rather than an it, and to start getting ready for our lives to change in the most wonderful way possible.