Week 18

As the baby develops more, it gets infinity cooler. I mean, from the beginning it is pretty amazing, but by the half way point the baby does stuff that developed people do, and somehow that is super cool to me. The baby can hear and sense light now, which totally makes me want to start a laser light show with some flashlights against my belly, but I will refrain since I am not sure the baby actually likes laser light shows. I am still super anxious to find out the gender, although I am sure it is a boy now more than ever. I still want to know, and I want to see it. We only get two ultrasounds, and the first one was at a little less than 8 weeks, so it has been a long time. I can feel the baby move sometimes, but I am also anxious for it to become more consistent and pronounced. We are almost half way now, I can't wait. However, on some days I don't even look pregnant. Hell, sometimes I don't even look fat. I don't understand where the baby goes. Some days I look pregnant, so the baby is there, and then other days, like yesterday, I could be just a little chubby. I hope everything is okay in there.

Your baby is about 5 to 5 1/2 inches long from top to tail and weighs a little more than five ounces, about the size of a lobster tail. While in earlier weeks, your baby may have been able to sense sound with her primitive ear structures, this week, the bones of the ear become fully formed along with the part of her brain that processes signals from his ears. There's still plenty of room in your uterus, so your fetus can be quite active with her new muscles. She may change positions frequently, cross her legs, recline, suck her thumb, and turn somersaults. Her retinas have become light sensitive, and your baby may be able to detect a glow if you shine bright lights at your belly (even though her eyelids are sealed).

Baby's become amazingly mobile (compared to you, at least), passing the hours yawning, hiccupping, rolling, twisting, kicking, punching, sucking, and swallowing. And baby is finally big enough that you'll soon be able to feel her movements.

I guess it is good that Mike got me a prenatal massage because according to all of the stuff I read, I will really need it soon :)

As your growing uterus starts shifting your center of gravity (belly forward, bottom out), hormones are causing your ligaments to relax and joints to loosen. The result? Back pain and soreness. On the bright side, if you want to know baby's gender, this might be your first week for a sneak peek.

During this week, and the next few weeks, you may feel your baby's first movements—a fluttery sensation in your pelvis. Called quickening, many cultures believe that this is when life begins. You may have aches and pains in your legs, tailbone, and other muscles. Now is a good time to talk to your partner about how your house will be managed once the baby comes. For the first few weeks, until you establish a new routine with your new baby, you'll be too occupied to cook meals, take care of pets, open the mail, pick up the phone, or do anything but breastfeed, soothe the baby, and sleep. We hope your partner is up to the challenge. If not, prepare to move your mother or another relative in for a time. Also consider hiring a postpartum doula or baby nurse to help out.