Pregnancy: Week 18

At our last appointment the midwife-in-training told us that if we opted to do the blood test at our 18-week appointment, it would screen for any possible birth defects, so we agreed that was a good idea. She also said that these blood results would tell us the gender of the baby! We've been sooooo excited for the past month thinking we'd find out soon! Turns out... that's not true. The initial blood test does screen for birth defects based on my blood results, but it does NOT show the baby's DNA, therefore these results will not show the gender. Bummer! 

I'm really okay with waiting another month. I've felt pressured to find out the gender ASAP (my daughter is DYING to know! haha), but not knowing doesn't bother me right now. Yes, I want to know eventually. NO I'M NOT WAITING TILL HE/SHE IS HERE TO FIND OUT. But knowing the gender just isn't the most important thing on my list right now. I simply want a healthy baby! Right now I'm anxious about these screening results... no phone call = good. SO, for the next week or two I'll probably jump and worry every time the phone rings. I'm sure after that's over I'll start wondering about the gender again, but by then we'll only have a couple more weeks of waiting. Patience is a virtue, right!!?

********************

Today's Date: 7/21/17

How many weeks: 18

Trimester: 2nd

How big is the baby?: About the size of a bell pepper (5.5 inches from head to rump)

Weight gain: 10 lbs (ummm... why did I think it was a good idea to include this information!?) 

Food cravings: Sometimes I want lemonade but that's about it. 

Food aversions: None

Gender: Unknown

Prediction: Girl. Or maybe boy. *sigh* I really have no idea! 

Diet: Eating healthy isn't a problem, but refraining from also eating allll the junk food is a BIG problem. I'm fine during the day... and then the sun goes down. It's over from there. I wish I could say this is a pregnancy thing, but I've been this way forever. So yes, I've gained 4 lbs over that past two weeks. Oops. 

Exercise: Still going! 

The midwife said I can still keep doing everything I'd been doing pre-pregnancy. Woot! I asked about my heart rate (sometimes cardio = 185+ max HR) but she said not to worry about it. As long as I feel okay, it's fine. I avoid lifting anything super heavy, but really that's more for my shoulder! 

Aches and pains: Hip pain... I feel like an old lady every time I stand up. I think I need a hip replacement. Also some lower back pain when I wake up (just stiffness). And my feet are still swelling, this will only get worse... 

Maternity clothes: Yup. I broke out some of the maternity clothes my sister-in-law gave me and WHY DON'T WOMEN WEAR THIS STUFF YEAR ROUND. Good grief, they're so comfortable! I can still wear most of my jeans... they button but it's tight and uncomfortable so I started using a rubber band to keep them "buttoned." I wear dresses most of the time anyway...

Favorite moment this week: Baby appointment! I loooooove hearing his/her little heartbeat! 145 bpm

Also, date night with my husband! The kids are in Houston visiting my sister so hubby and I have the house to ourselves, which means we stay up late watching Netflix every night. Such party animals! 

Looking forward to: My next appointment at 22 weeks, we should find out the gender! They say that mothers just "know" what it's going to be, but obviously I don't have any maternal instincts because I literally have no idea...