Week 18

How far along:  18 weeks – began September 11, 2017.

Size of Baby: Sweet potato (5.5 inches, 7 ounces)

Milestones: Baby Bear's nervous system and facial features are developing and he or she is starting to kick up a storm! Throughout the day, I experience flurries of movements, some of which I manage to catch with my hand! With the nervous system developing, it's key to get enough healthy fats to help the process along. Luckily, my oatmeal and other foods I eat are fortified with omegas and my multivitamin has algae-sourced DHA, so I don't really have to think about adding extra foods to my diet.

Best Moment This Week: Again, the increased movement has been magical! Little Baby Bear is actually fluttering along right now as I type, maybe he or she knows I'm thinking about him or her! It's been pretty interesting feeling the kicks rotate around my lower abdomen. A lot of the time, the movement is in the center or off to the left, but once in a while, I'll feel a jab on the right. The other day before work, Leif said "Hope Baby Bear gets lots of exercise today!" At this rate, it seems like he or she will come out an Olympic swimmer lol. I also signed up for most of my prenatal classes, including ones about birth, breastfeeding, baby basics, and a tour of St.Luke's Labor and Delivery Center. These will be in March and April. There are some others like car seat safety, CPR, and "happiest baby" that I plan on taking too.

What I’m Looking Forward To: The countdown continues until the big ultrasound! Only 12 more days to go! The other night I had a vivid dream that I was having a boy... but I guess we'll see. ☺ Also looking forward to feeling more kicks. Leif was able to catch a couple movements last weekend, so that was really exciting too.

What I Miss The Most: I feel like every week a new quirky symptom pops up for me, so that wears on me a little bit. This week, my left ear kept popping and it would turn into this obnoxious whooshing sound, almost like I'm breathing through my ear and all other sounds are amplified. It had happened once or twice before over the last few months, but never to the extent it did throughout this week. It gets better after laying down or putting my head between my knees, but that's not useful while at work. After a little research, it sounds like Patulous Eustachian Tube which pregnancy is a risk factor for. It's been better today, and it doesn't sound like doctors can do too much for it anyway, so I plan on just mentioning it at my next appointment if it doesn't get a lot worse.

Symptoms: My stomach has been in much better shape this week, so I'm grateful for that and hope it lasts for a while. Dry skin, especially on my hands, has become more pronounced, but I think that's mostly due to washing my hands more excessively to avoid getting sick. Work got pretty stressful this week, and I was feeling panicky for a while one evening, but luckily I was able to bounce back by the next day. Besides the ear trouble, I haven't really had many other symptoms, so it's been a relatively quiet week.

Cravings: I just had the tastiest bean, ham, and turkey soup at Greyhound Deli... it had a little kick to it, but I think it was worth it. I keep wanting cheesecake, but that's one of those cravings I'll probably want to deal with in moderation haha. Still eating cheesy popcorn and making sure I incorporate healthy snacks like almonds, apples, bananas, and yogurt.