18 Week Bumpdate

How far along: 18 weeks and 4 days today

Weight gain: 2lbs total (down 1lb from last week)

Maternity clothes: Nada. To make my favorite pair of stiff skinny's more comfortable, I did the whole hairband trick. (Just because it zips, doesn't mean it fits...) This eliminated a squished baby and an unsightly muffin top.

Best Moment this Week? I had been looking forward to seeing one of my oldest friends this weekend but their travel plans had to be cancelled. Bummer! Still, it was a nice week in general.
Joe and I made the formal decision that we'd like for the baby to learn Spanish. He is Puerto Rican (first generation born in the contiguous US) and doesn't speak a lick; whereas I have a very high Spanish aptitude. He started doing lessons over the weekend and it made my heart oh so happy. I'm looking forward to speaking to both of them en español. 
Then, last night, Joe was craving ice cream (this is a rare occasion and I took full advantage of it) so we set out at 9:00 p.m. to pick up some Ben and Jerry's. It's the little things, right?

Sleep: Other than being unable to get enough, sleep has been absolute perfection. 

Gender: Only two more weeks until we know for sure, and for some reason, it's really stressing me out lately. I think I'm feeling guilty that I want a girl so badly because I know I'll be happy either way but it pains me to think that I might be even a tad disappointed. It felt necessary to 'assign' a gender to the baby so I wouldn't call our little Chirpie 'it.' And now, what if my 'gut' is wrong and I've been hopelessly wishing for a girl when I could have the most perfect little boy on the way? Twenty weeks is entirely too long to wait. I have no idea how people go entire pregnancies without wanting to know.

Movement: I'm gonna have to say YES! Thursday through Saturday I felt new and distinctive sensations. I'm a little worried/stressed because I didn't feel anything yesterday nor today, but I'm trying not to fixate on that too much.

Looking forward to: Finally being 'in the know' about what gender this little baby is. Maybe it's best if I 100% check out for the next two weeks. I can't possibly be any good to anyone anyhow.

Food cravings: FRUIT, fruit, fruit! I loveee being pregnant in the summer because fruit is cheap, fresh, and oh so sweet. Yesterday afternoon I bought a few pounds of strawberries, cherries, peaches, and plums. Without a doubt, I'll finish it all by Friday.

Anything making you queasy or sick: It's all random at this point. Sometimes pictures of food gross me out, while at other times they do not. I still haven't had much of an appetite for ground meat (we only due ground turkey/chicken) so I have been avoiding it like the plague. 

Labor Signs: None.

What I miss: It's going to sound so vain because it's not like I'm a tiny girl to begin with, but I miss having 'thin' days. My bump is not very obvious so I'm sure I just look chubby and I feel very self conscious at times.

Symptoms: The swelling is still getting on my nerves. It's not bad everyday but it's something I could gladly do without. I also had my first bout of back pain yesterday which is completely abnormal for me. Mind you, I was doing a ton of yard work at the fixer-upper but it's still the first time I could barely stand-up comfortably afterwards. 

Nursery: Joe will be away all weekend so we won't worry about the nursery for at least a week. I think he'll prime it over the holiday weekend that way it'll be ready for our paint selection once we know the gender on the 7th. 

Belly button in or out? In. 

Wedding rings on or off? On, for now. Thankfully, my wedding band is a half-size too big so hopefully it'll fit for awhile.

Mood: Stressed. I felt like last week was a good week. Nevertheless, I feel like I'm ridiculously overwhelmed right now.

Workouts: I'm embarrassed to say none. Maybe tonight I'll take Quinn for a really long walk to the park and it'll help me unwind.

And some instagram goodies featuring the growing bump:

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