Just because I like filling in forms...

 Ok, so I am the first to admit that I don't know much about the conventions of blogging, and a lot of the jargon and standard practices are lost on me. But I do know that I like filling out forms and doing questionnaires, and so I'm going to start doing this one:

How Far Along: 18 weeks, 2 days.

How Big is the Baby?: Well I don't know exactly because the doctor doesn't seem too worried about the length of the baby any more, but What to Expect tells me it's as big as a mango - about 15cm from head to rump. (I love that word 'rump').

Total Weight Gain: I really don't like to think about this, but actually the weight gain hasn't been too bad. The problem was BEFORE I was pregnant :) I lost about 7 pounds in the first trimester, and have gained them all back now + 1. So I'm 1 pound heavier than when I first found out, which is 167 pounds. And my DH loves to check the BMI chart in the doctors office and tell me that I'm in the 'moderately overweight' area. Great.

Maternity Clothes: Last week I caved. I schlepped out to Target and Motherhood and bought some new clothes. The best buy? Motherhood's 'secret fit' leggings. They come right up under my boobs (which DH thought was hilarious), but are SO comfy. My old leggings crush my uterus area and I was scared I was squashing the little one. Next weeks mission: to find a swimsuit for Mexico.

Stretch Marks: Nope.

Sleep: Completely dysfunctional. Either DH or I ends up on the couch every night. I cannot sleep for longer than about 3 hours straight, although the constant peeing has abated for the time being. It's just that I wake up as if it's morning, even if it's only 4am. And I have to then drink some milk (for the burning tummy) and read my book. And DH has a serious snoring issue which only makes my wakefulness worse. This is one thing that is really bothering me and I hope our holiday can remedy it in some way.

Movement: Sometimes. Yesterday I could feel the baby ALL day. Just fluttering and tiny prods. But this morning - nothing. I can't wait until I can feel her/him all the time, and especially until DH can.

Food Cravings: Sweet things mainly. I have never had a terrible sweet tooth, but at the moment I find myself throwing twizzlers and maltesers into the shopping trolley without a second thought.  I am trying to be good though and moderate how many lollies I have per day. Apart from those small lapses, I am eating pretty well. I eat tonnes of fruit every day and am still drinking gallons of V8 and milk. I also cook dinner 6 nights out of 7, so we're all eating pretty well. Cannot even contemplate fish or chicken still...so weird.

What I Miss: My friends and family. Being pregnant on the other side of the world from all the females in my life is horrible. I love being pregnant, and there is no food/activity that I miss at all. It's just people.

What I’m Looking Forward To: So much stuff. Anatomy scan (and hopefully gender) next Wednesday is the first thing. So excited. 3 days later we fly to Mexico for a week in the sun, just me and DH. Then the day we get back my best friend from NZ arrives for 2 weeks. She is about to start her 2nd round of IVF so it's a nice break for her. And she's never been to NYC! Then when she leaves I will join DH in Stockholm for 6 weeks while he fills in for a colleague in the Sweden branch. It's all go!

Milestones: Looking pregnant. Ok this happened about 2 weeks ago, but there is no mistaking it now. And I marvel over my big belly.

Other stuff: I have started researching nursery things. I think DH and I have different views on how much we will be spending :) It's so much fun looking at all the things, and thinking 'oh my god will I really have a baby to put in here?' 

The home doppler is still my favourite thing, and I find it so reassuring. And last but not least, I have discovered that excess mucus production (in the nose and throat) is a common symptom of pregnancy. It is disgusting.

That's all for now, except for one note:

 - I was watching the movie 'Lantana' last night on H.BO, and there is a scene where the detectives pull up at an apartment block, park and go in. Well lo and behold it was our old apartment in Balmain, Sydney. I could not believe it, and then they even went up to the same floor our apartment was on, and filmed in one of the apartments. For some reason this made me extremely emotional. I felt so wistful for life in sunny Sydney.  When DH got home and I told him, he seemed so indifferent while I nearly cried while cooking dinner. Oh, the life of a pregnant woman :)

PS. sorry for the annoying line breaks - I can't fix it for some reason.