I am
now 18 weeks (no picture this week since the bump really isn’t that much bigger
than last week). According to “What to
Expect When Expecting” the baby is now the size of a mango, about 6 inches long
and half a pound.
My pants
are definitely tight – I put on a pair of my regular jeans yesterday and was
barely able to button them. I certainly
couldn’t bend over when they were buttoned.
The main issue, until I develop a distinct bump, will be finding pants
that fit well. The maternity jeans that
I was raving about last week (which only cost me $8) got super stretched out
after only wearing them twice! The main
problem with maternity pants is that the only think holding them up other is a
stretchy elastic panel – and since my belly is not quite big enough to hold up
the panel, I find myself constantly pulling the pants up throughout the
day. Maybe if I buy a pair brand new the
elastic panel won’t be as stretched out and will last me more than two
wearings. Maybe after I wash the current
maternity pants, the elastic panel and the jeans themselves will shrink to the
point where they are not falling down every time I go for a walk around the
block. Ugh, I have enough problems
trying to find jeans that fit my short legs when I’m a normal size! Oh well, at least I only have to go through
this for a couple months.
Last
weekend my dad asked me if I was feeling any movement yet. I said, “I don’t think so?” Apparently, the first movements are supposed
to feel sort of like gas bubbles. I’ve
definitely felt gas bubbles – and a lot of those. However, over the past week, the “gas
bubbles” have started to follow a little bit of a pattern – after lunch it’s
pretty common to feel them . . . but again, those could be real gas bubbles and
not the faint movement of the mini me.
Then on Friday night, Aaron and I were sitting watching tv and all of a sudden,
I felt a jab from my insides . . . it was either the first real kick, or it was
just a muscle twitch. I really have no
idea, but I kind of like to think it was the baby. This is probably how I ended up going an
entire month without realizing I was pregnant.
I get too cerebral about things sometimes. I think too hard, and convince myself that
something “magical” is really explained away by something mundane: “I’m not
pregnant, that was just a light period.” “That’s not baby flutters, it’s just
gas bubbles.” “That wasn’t the baby’s
first kick, it was just a twitch.” At
least once the baby’s out, it’s milestones won’t be so nebulous. I will know for sure the first time it rolls
over or sits up . . . right?
Oh,
speaking of “it” – tomorrow we have our “big” mid-pregnancy ultrasound . . .
you know, the one where, assuming the kid is not being shy, we should be able
to find out the gender. So as of
tomorrow (hopefully) I can start referring to “it” as “he” or “she.”
Just wait, once you hit about 24 weeks you aren't going to be able to deny that it's the baby! You will start being able to see it moving! It's creepy but cool! And baby will respond to certain voices and activities. It's pretty neat.
ReplyDeleteBrenda, I to am at the 18 week stage, but I do feel every little bit pregnant, I am tiered all the time, I feel completely run down and shattered.
ReplyDeleteThis is my first child and I am filled with excitement and dread all at the same time. I run my own business but even this is suffering because I can not seem to concentrate at all.
I love your honesty in your blog, I will definitely return every now and again to see how you are doing, if that is ok by you.
Kind Regards
Lisa Mills
Creative Gifts Ltd
Baby Gifts