18 weeks

Finally! 18 weeks is always the time I wait for during the first half of pregnancy. I know that gender can be determined a little earlier, but I've always had my ultrasounds at 18 weeks. This one is set for Friday morning so I still have 6 days to go, but still, we're finally here! Yay!

Baby is apparently the size of a sweet pepper at this point, though given my weight I really can't tell. I don't normally gain much weight during pregnancy and actually usually end up weighing less once baby is born. This pregnancy doesn't seem to be much different, though I conceived 20lbs heavier than I have ever been before. Im not really sure what happened, but a few years ago, I ballooned over a period of less than a year, gaining about 65 lbs. I don't worry too much about my weight but I have to admit, it's gotten to be a bit much.

The last time I weighed myself was before our honeymoon. At that time I was 228 lbs which is what I've been for at least a year. Once I found out I was pregnant, I weighed myself again and came in at 222. I've dipped down to around 215 while sick, but overall, I stay right around 222. So, even though baby is indeed growing, my size has made seeing any changes in my belly, impossible.

I can feel the movements quite strong, though Jay can't feel them from the outside. It's a little sad that I can't share this with him yet. He, like me was a little upset when we first found out, worried about what this means for the children we already have. Thankfully though, he's come around and is excited, even impatient, for this new little one.

We're both hoping for a girl, Jay even going so far as to ask what shade of pink we should paint the nursery!  Hopefully everything will go well on Friday and we'll have the chance to see our littlest member, and maybe even it's gender too.