Week 18

Description (from Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy):
This week your baby's bones are beginning to harden, a process called ossification. Bones in your baby's legs and inner ear are among the first to ossify. With the bones in the inner ear now well developed enough to function and the nerve endings from your baby's brain now "hooked up" to the ears, your baby can hear sounds. He or she may hear your heart beating, your stomach rumbling or blood moving through the umbilical cord. Your baby may even become startled by loud noises.
Your baby can also now swallow. Inside, your baby may be swallowing a good dose of amniotic fluid every day. Scientists think this may have something to do with keeping your amniotic fluid at the appropriate constant level.

Comments:
It's really neat to think that our baby can hear now. I'll have to start singing to the baby. Kris has already started talking to my belly a lot. I bet the baby's hearing lots of stomach rumbling...I'm starting to feel hungry a lot more often!

Total Weight Gain:
Not sure (still no scale), but I think I've gained a little weight since my doctor's appointment. Maybe I'll find a scale to use somewhere in North Carolina during our Christmas travels...

Maternity Clothes:
All of my shirts still fit, but most of my pants are too small. I have two pairs that used to fall down that are just about perfect now. Thank goodness for the Bella Band...it's allowing me to wear all the others unbuttoned. I'll have to start looking harder for maternity clothes after Christmas.

Stretch Marks:
None. The skin on my belly has been feeling really stretched after I eat the last few days, though.

Sleep:
Hadn't taken a nap in almost a week...until yesterday's 2 1/2 hour marathon!

Food Cravings:
Again, nothing new to pregnancy, but...pizza after church yesterday.

Movement:
Haven't felt anything yet...maybe the baby's waiting until Christmas...what a great present that would be! Keep reminding myself I may not feel anything until around 20 weeks.

Gender:
?

Labor Signs:
Absolutely not.

Best Moment of the Week/Belly Button:
I'm still an innie, but I discovered my belly button is not nearly as deep as before! When I'm standing up or laying down flat, the bottom half of my belly button is almost flat!

What I Miss:
I would say the glass of wine that everyone else had with dinner on Saturday night, but my Cherry 7Up was awesome!

What I'm Looking Forward To:
Introducing our nephews in North Carolina to the baby on Thursday!

Milestones:
My belly button, I guess...