18 Weeks

Baby's skeleton is changing from soft cartilage to hard bone. The umbilical cord is also getting thicker and stronger. Baby is the size of a bell pepper this week, measuring in at approximately 5 1/2 inches long with a weight of about 7 ounces (that's almost half a pound!). Baby is busy flexing arms and legs.

The changes in Nutter don't seem to be as drastic as they were in the beginning. Now that most everything is developed, it just seems like this is the fine-tuning period--and growing! I'm in maternity clothes now, some still a little big to wear. And while I'm still fitting in my regular clothes (minus the waist) it's just more comfortable to wear those elastic bands. Plus I feel much more pregnant when I wear maternity clothes. My bump is also big enough now that I feel like it's baby and not just fatness. I asked the nurse my starting weight and she told me, but it didn't sound right. So when she walked away I looked at the chart and the only weight on there was from last month. So I don't know exactly how much weight I've gained, but since last month I gained 3 pounds-eek! I started feeling little Nutter moving around last week. At first I wasn't sure. I felt these "feelings" that I've never felt before (like the typical gas I often experience). As soon as I would feel them I would freeze, hoping for another feel. But the feelings come and go quickly and are faint. But since then I've been feeling those feelings a lot. It's a hard feeling to describe...most people say like little flutters...but it's weird, like a light movement that just grazes my insides. I had a doctor's appointment last week. Everything was fine, I guess. It felt very rushed but the doctor said everything looked good. Oh, and the pain in my butt isn't necessarily sciatic nerve pain, but is probably nerve pain, although I haven't felt it much lately. I've been feeling pretty good too. I haven't gotten sick in a few weeks, which is the longest time since this all started. I wouldn't say I'm back to myself because I don't think I will be until I'm not pregnant, I have those aches and pains and discomforts, but I feel really good.