Without Further Adieu...

...Ella's tap performance at her dance recital last month.

For those who can't tell, Ella is third from the right. :)

What I Woke Up To This Morning

I was hurting yesterday. Not pain, necessarily. But, pressure. And lots of it. I felt like I was expanding from the inside out.

And, sure enough, when I woke up this morning, I see that I really was!

I realize the baby can't grow that much overnight, nor can my stomach, but goodness, I just felt bigger when I woke up. And, when my mom saw me, she's like, "Whoa, did the baby grow since yesterday?" Moms always know. :)

Take a look for yourself!

I know little rockstar is measuring a week ahead, but seriously! Wow!

And, aside from a larger waistline, I also woke up to the sweetest image and I'm so glad I was able to snap a picture of it.

As you can imagine, Ella is the best of friends with our pug, Bob. She carries him into her bedroom and they are gone for the longest time. If you peek in, you'll find her reading to him, dressing him up, holding him, dancing with him...anything a 4-year old would do with a younger "sibling" that just so happens to be a dog.

And the most patient, understanding dog he is.

I guess since he's grown up with Ella (we got him when he was 2 months old), he's learned to trust her and love her. And there truly is a special love between the two of them.

So much love that lately, Ella is insisting on Bob sleeping in his crate in her bedroom. And, the nights that we don't haul the crate in there, we wake up to this.

We're not quite sure when she crawls out to join him, but she says it's light when she does it, so it can't be any earlier than 6:00 or so.

But, isn't that the cutest thing you've ever seen???

18 Weeks

How Far Along: 18 weeks!

Size of Baby: He/she is the size of a sweet potato, which we found out at our last ultrasound is 6 inches from head to rump (not including legs). Wow! It's no wonder I feel him/her all the time.

Picture of Baby: None. My OB-GYN didn't print any and I forgot to ask.

18 Weeks: He/she is busy flexing his/her arms and legs — movements that I will start noticing more and more in the weeks ahead. His/her blood vessels are visible through his thin skin, and his/her ears are now in their final position, although they're still standing out from his/her head a bit. A protective covering of myelin is beginning to form around his/her nerves, a process that will continue for a year after he/she is born. (Information from BabyCenter's website).

Maternity Clothes: I think I'm going to delete this one for future weekly updates because, obviously, I'm wearing maternity clothes.

Weight Gain: I am about where I was when I first found out I was pregnant. So, I lost 5 pounds in the beginning, but now I've gained it all back. At least I know 1/2 pound of it is baby! :)

Belly Pic: None this week. Sorry!

Stretch Marks: I'm going to delete this one from future weekly updates, too. If/when I get stretch marks, it likely won't happen at the very end of my pregnancy. With Ella, I was good until the very end and then I got them! And they sure aren't pretty. :(

Sleep: I'm really tired, but then I have a hard time getting comfortable. Mostly from the heat (our bedroom is the hottest in the house), but also because I can't get truly comfortable on my side. Plus, getting up three times a night to pee can really put a damper on sleeping soundly.

Best Moment of the Week: The ultrasound, even though we didn't find out the sex of the baby.

Movement: Baby is moving A LOT, but not at the most critical moment...the ultrasound! Stubborn little peanut.

Symptoms: Still throwing up, but not nearly as much. And it's usually a result of smelling something.  Mornings and nights are the worse. Also, heartburn is now a daily nuisance, but nothing a Tums can't fix. I guess my newest symptom is round ligament pain. Whenever I move from one position to the next too fast, I get sharp pains on either side. So, now I try to remember to move slowly when switching sides in bed or when getting up from sitting. Just goes to show my uterus is expanding!

Food Cravings: No major cravings this week. I got some hummus from Trader Joe's that is gone already, so I guess that was a main attraction this week. I love hummus! :)

Gender: We'll *knock on wood* find out July 18th.

What I Miss: Nothing. 

What I'm Looking Forward to: Finding out the baby's gender and my first baby shower on July 30th. I know it's early to be having one, but Aaron, Ella and I are driving up to Oregon to visit family and this will be the only time we see them before the baby comes. So, yay for a baby shower!!! They all know how long we waited for this baby, so they are all so happy for us! :)

Weekly Wisdom: Drink some juice or eat something sugary before going in for the gender reveal ultrasound! Otherwise, you just might have a snoozer, like me.

Milestones: I can't believe I'm 18 weeks already. I'm officially 4 months pregnant...only 5 more months until my due date. You would think that 16 weeks is 4 months, but that's only if every month was like February. :)

Emotions: Happy. Excited.

It's A...

Healthy, stubborn baby!  And, by stubborn, I mean...he/she didn't move ONCE during the entire ultrasound. The back was turned turned upwards, so the baby was looking down, and other than a few hand waves, he/she was contently sleeping. With the legs tightly squeezed. Immovable. Uncooperative. Just sleeping.

Aaron was nervous at first. Since the baby was bigger, it was harder to find the flickering heart right away, and because he/she wasn't moving, he immediately started thinking the worse.

And, I, uncharacteristically, was the calmer one. Mainly because I had felt this baby moving most of the morning and, in fact, during the 1-1/2 hours we had to wait. So, in other words, if the doctor was ON TIME, we likely would've been able to see the goods.

In an effort to get the baby to open those legs up just a little or to get him/her to move into a more cooperative positive for a little looksy, the doctor shook him/her, but there was not even a slight budge. This baby is a deep sleeper...just like Daddy! :)

So, my big gender reveal post will have to *knock on wood* wait until my next scheduled ultrasound on Monday, July 18th.

My doctor had Aaron and me SO convinced at our 13-week ultrasound with the "most likely you're having" prediction he gave us. He looked at our file and saw that he his notes had a strong conviction a month ago, but that he cannot match that today. Simply because there was nothing to see. Nothing.

But, that's all for the complaining, because other than that, our little Johnson is growing right on track and is a healthy little bugger.

The heart rate was 142 bpm. Average.

Baby Johnson measured 18 weeks 2 days. On the calendar, I am 17 weeks 4 days. Above average.

Baby Johnson's femur bone measured to be 1 inch long. Random fact, but interesting.

Baby Johnson weighs a whopping half pound. Woo hoo!

17 Weeks

How Far Along: 17 weeks!

Size of Baby: He/she is the size of an onion! (About 5 inches from head to bottom).

Picture of Baby: I will have some in a few short days to share with ya'll. :)

17 Weeks: Baby Johnson's skeleton is changing from soft cartilage to bone, and the umbilical cord — his/her lifeline to the placenta — is growing stronger and thicker. He/She can move his/her joints, and his/her sweat glands are starting to develop. (Information from BabyCenter's website).

Maternity Clothes: Completely all that I wear!

Weight Gain: Didn't weigh myself this week, but I'm sure I'm up.

Belly Pic: None this week. Sorry!

Stretch Marks: None from this pregnancy...yet!

Sleep: Lousy! I just can't sleep good at all! I don't know what my deal is. I just toss and turn from side to side. I hug Aaron, I hug my pillow, I sleep on my back, I lean on Aaron, I throw the covers off, I snuggle them up tight, I pee. And then I do that all again a dozen more times. It's going to be a long five months of sleeping if I'm already having a hard time getting comfortable.

Best Moment of the Week: Talking baby names with my parents. That was a lot of fun!

Movement: Baby moved A LOT this week!!! Constant flutters that are starting to feel more solid. When he/she moves, I put my hand on my stomach and I can feel the movement from the outside. So exciting!

Symptoms: Throwing up, still. I don't necessarily feel nauseous, I just all of a sudden need to hurl! And now, embarrassing enough, I "dink" every time I throw up. And, by "dink," I mean I pee in my pants. With the baby getting bigger and pressing on my bladder now, every time I throw up, I pee, too! One time, in fact, I threw up at work and Aaron had to bring me a change of clothes. How embarrassing! :( Other than that, I've been feel round ligament pain, especially when the three of us go on our evening walks.

Food Cravings: Waffles! (I craved these when pregnant with Ella, too). We got some Kirkland ones from Costco. Yum!

Gender: We'll have a definitive answer on July 5th! Eeeeek!!!

What I Miss: Sleeping well, and by that, I mean sleeping on my tummy. 

What I'm Looking Forward to: Finding out the baby's gender (for sure)! July 5th can't get here soon enough!

Weekly Wisdom: I got nothing this week!

Milestones: Nothing extraordinary this week. Just getting through yet another week, which means I'm one more week closer to meeting this little bean!

Emotions: Just happy. Still hard to completely wrap my mind around that I'm pregnant. It still feels so surreal to me!