18 weeks!

Today marks the start of week 18! It's been an interesting experience thus far. Over the last few months, so many things have happened. Let me just say this first - I will admit that I had no clue about the changes my body and hormones would go through. I never assumed it would be easy but I certainly did not think it would be so uncomfortable. In the first 10 weeks, my biggest complaint was the lack of energy and occasional spotting. I did not mind taking my afternoon naps...in fact, I really enjoyed them. The midwife and physicians told me that spotting was nothing to worry about so long as it did not get worse. Then around 11 weeks, the back aches were full fledged! I could barely walk in the store for 10 minutes before I started hurting (and I'd pay for it when I got home!). The only way I dealt with this issue was minimal movement or stress on my body. Fortunately, this seemed to lessen a lot by the time I hit week 15. Then it happened - I could no longer sleep on my back and was forced to become a side sleeper. Before pregnancy, I preferred to sleep on my stomach or back...sleeping on my side was rare. Now that I have to do it, I hate it. It took me several days to find the right position and get comfortable. A month later, I'm doing better but I still have my rough nights. I'm just praying I'll get use to it cause I've got about 22 weeks to go.    

As far as eating habits and morning sickness go, I don't feel like much has changed. I like to graze and eat small portions all day...seems like I'm hungry every 2-3 hours. I was fortunate enough to avoid morning sickness and only went through a little nauseous for a few days in the 1st trimester. I found removing artificial sugar from coffee made all the difference with that. I still crave salty and sugary foods, some of my favorites being McDonald's French Fries, Quaker Tomato and Basil rice cake chips topped with onion and chive cream cheese, and of course, ICE CREAM! Dairy Queen or store bought, I'm not biased. My favorite meals have been pancakes with bacon and BLT's with avocado....yum.  


The one thing I am really enjoying about the pregnancy right now are the babies movements. Every day I feel the bubbles rising in my tummy, mostly in late morning and afternoon hours. I am so ready for the day when those bubbles turn into real kicks so Erich can start experiencing it with me. :)

We've got a couple of appointments next week - the anatomy scan on Monday and then our biweekly check-up on Wednesday. This is when we'll find out what we're having! I've had dreams about having a boy and a girl, so it would be sweet if that came true. I'll post on FB and in my blog after we find out!