Week 17 and 18

On a happy note, I got our blood results back for the birth defects testing (triple scan) and everything is completely normal! On a not so happy note, I had an inner ear infection this week that was the worst thing imaginable. It was so bad that the room was spinning which made me throw up. It is much better now though! We got to have an amazing Father's Day weekend. Saturday, Rich and I went and picked out our oversized Victorian looking chair. It is an elegant chair, but it glides. It is the first thing that we have picked out for the nursery! We got it at a place in Franklin that will let you pick the fabric from hundreds of different choices. Then we went and got Rich some golf shirts, went to Blue Coast and Maggie Moos, then headed home. On Sunday, I surprised Rich with some new Nike shorts to work out in and a new playstation remote. We also went to church and went to my parent's house to swim and for dinner. Get ready for the best part of the day... Rich and Nana (my mom) got to feel the baby move on Father's Day! The baby always moves like crazy when I put my belly in the water, and they definitely felt some jabs. They say people can't feel the baby move until a few weeks from now, but this was actually at 18 and a half weeks. The baby is 10 days further than what we had originally thought. Anyways, enough of my ramblings. Here are the Baby updates for weeks 17 and 18.

Week 17 Updates:

How your baby's growing:Your baby's skeleton is changing from soft cartilage to bone, and the umbilical cord — her lifeline to the placenta — is growing stronger and thicker. Your baby weighs 5 ounces now (about as much as a turnip), and she's around 5 inches long from head to bottom. She can move her joints, and her sweat glands are starting to develop.

Week 18 Updates:

How your baby's growing:Head to rump, your baby is about 5 1/2 inches long (about the length of a bell pepper) and he weighs almost 7 ounces. He's busy flexing his arms and legs — movements that you'll start noticing more and more in the weeks ahead. His blood vessels are visible through his thin skin, and his ears are now in their final position, although they're still standing out from his head a bit. A protective covering of myelin is beginning to form around his nerves, a process that will continue for a year after he's born. If you're having a girl, her uterus and fallopian tubes are formed and in place. If you're having a boy, his genitals are noticeable now, but he may hide them from you during an ultrasound.