17 Weeks

I am so terrible at keeping up with this! Good thing I don't write for a living!

I am 17 weeks now! In a few days I will be 18 weeks and we will FINALLY know what 'it' is! I can't wait to be able to say him or her - not the baby called 'it'! I can't believe we are almost half-way there, either. It seems crazy! My belly finally 'popped' last week. To others I'm sure it just looks like I ate a little too much ice cream, or worse, a beer belly! But I can definitely tell. And Jamey is fascinated by it. I think it's finally starting to sink in with him. He loves to talk to the baby and it's really cute - except when he's warning the baby about his/her crazy momma!

I read that the baby can now hear us and other noises. Loud noises such as a doorbell or dogs barking will even startle the baby! One really great thing I read was that babies who hear dogs barking from inside the mom's belly will be likely to sleep through the night when dogs bark. Which is really good news for us since we (Jamey) has one pesky mutt who LOVES to bark! I love to think that when we are at church the baby can hear the beautiful praise music! I bet he/she wishes it couldn't hear me singing along to KLOVE in the car, though!

So how could I sum up my pregnancy at 17 weeks?

• I have a terrible sinus/cold problem that will not go away. Yuck!



• I am finally sleeping better. I only wake up once (rarely twice) during the night, but I always wake up between 5 and 6 am.



• I have started gaining weight instead of losing - which is a little hard for me! But so far it's only been a lb. or less a week.



• I had my first major craving! The other night I was laying in bed and all of a sudden I NEEDED a Pizza Inn thin crust pepperoni pizza! Of course we didn't have one and nothing else would satisfy it.

How far along? 17 1/2 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: 2 lbs. (But I'm still down 12 lbs from pre-pregnancy!)

Maternity clothes? Sometimes. I have found some awesome maternity jeans from Gap that look normal!

Stretch marks? No - and I dread the day I find one! :-)

Sleep: what's that???

Best moment this week: seeing Jamey get so excited after feeling my belly - he was amazed! And hearing him talk to the baby is the greatest thing ever!

Food cravings: They're random and come at inconvenient times!

Gender: I will know in 4 days!!!

Labor Signs: not at all

Belly Button in or out? still in - and praying it stays there!

What I miss: Being able to take some really good cold/sinus medicine whenever!

What I am looking forward to: Friday morning at 10:00 - we will finally know what 'it' is and will spend the weekend shopping in St. Louis!

Weekly Wisdom: A pickle and a ding dong are not a good snack! You will regret it later!