Gender ultrasound scheduled for...

November 9th! Almost a month earlier than originally scheduled- the doctor's office had a cancellation. And it's only a month away! I'm very excited to find out...

Also, here's a belly shot- 18 and 1/2 weeks.

18 week pregnancy survey

How far along? 18 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: Unknown... and I will never know!

Maternity clothes? Most definitely. I love that I have sisters that just had babies and are about the same size. We went to visit to pick up clothes and see the little babies.

Sleep: Waking up a lot but thankfully able to fall back to sleep pretty quickly.

Best moment this week: Hmm, I can't think of one. Since I did the last survey though, it's been visiting the family.

Movement: I think I've been imagining some. I'm SO looking forward to it!

Food cravings: Fruit and fruit flavored things for a while.

Gender: Unknown though the husband thinks it's a girl.

Labor signs: Nope.

Belly button in or out? In. I'm pretty sure it's never coming out.

What I miss: Sleeping on my stomach.

What I am looking forward to: Movement!

Weekly wisdom: Don't try to rush things... people keep saying they can't believe we won't be able to find out what we are having until December (long story about doctor's office issues.) But, I'm trying not to be impatient about anything. I know pregnancy takes awhile and I know things aren't going to happen quickly. And they are already saying how miserable I'll be at the end of pregnancy and how I'll just want it to be over. Another pearl of wisdom: don't listen to them!

Milestones: I'm showing... We need to start taking belly pictures to post on Facebook and the blog.

It's been awhile!

But, I'm 18 weeks pregnant today! It seems like it's going so fast... I've been feeling great. A little heartburn but nothing that sitting up straight doesn't help. I'm showing and Dave and I have decided that we'll start taking weekly belly pictures so we can watch the change. I might try to post some, but it also may never get done!

I've been reading the book "Pushed" by Jennifer Block. It gets me so riled up and frustrated that Dave told me I'm not allowed to read it before bed anymore! I just can't understand how maternity care in the United States got to this point. I'm so glad that we've decided to have a natural birth, free of interventions as long as there are no problems.

I don't think women- or anyone really- in the US understands how far birth has gone from what is normal. Dave has a few coworkers who have been giving him "advice" about birth. When he told them which doctor we were seeing, they said they didn't like her. The reason? She's not quick enough to do c-sections, apparently. Well, that's good to know and I'm glad. I would very much like to avoid major abdominal surgery.

There's so much I've been learning since I got pregnant. I've subscribed to Mothering magazine and I love it. So much wonderful information about natural birth, breastfeeding and raising healthy kids. I like to lurk on the natural birth boards over there as well and read birth stories that are inspiring rather than scary (the ones that everyone seems to think are appropriate to tell pregnant women.) I'll try to remember to post links to the sites I've been reading and talk more about the natural birth that I want.