18 Weeks

Our official ultrasound is coming up Monday, and we are praying that everything goes well as the doctor checks him from head to toe! We are sooo looking forward to seeing him again! The technology in ultrasounds just amazes me!  I also have to do the dreaded 24 hour urine test on Monday to check on my BP... Which has still been great but the Dr. wanted a baseline in case it goes up the third trimester. Jason has been working so hard lately and hasn't had a day off in months! I have been appointed the web designer for his new firearms manufacturing company, Patriot Defense Arms, which has been a HUGE undertaking! I am still having some problems with formatting the site (much of it has to be done manually though the html language of websites...Blah). I am also having trouble getting it show up in google, but I think I have it registered with google now! Check out the website if you have time... it is changing every week-
http://www.patriotdefensearms.com. As for me, I am still loving my nursing job, and looking forward to being out of orientation and setting my own schedule within the next month. I still feel completely incompetent on a daily basis, but they tell me that is normal and they would worry if I didn't feel that way.

As for a name, Jason finally slowed down long enough last night to help me think about names. We still have not picked one yet... but Jason had a couple of ideas. Jameson and Garrett. Jameson is a name that I have had on my list, but he says he came up with it on his own! Harrison is still in the running though...I just love it! Jason likes Harrison, but he is afraid the kids will call him Harry. We have also made some progress on things we would like for the nursery. We have decided on the Stanley Young America Basecamp Crib and two drawer dresser...now we just have to shop around and find the best price! I have also been shopping for an upholstered glider. I have found one at Costco online that looks to be exactly what I want with an EXCELLENT price tag! I have ordered a fabric swatch, and I am hoping it is what I want! I have also talked with friends and family (and consumersearch.com) who have young kids, and got some recommendations on car seats, stollers, high chairs, etc, and I think I am getting these choices nailed down as well!

Development this week:
The baby's nervous system continues to become more refined and detailed in development, with this week the myelin, or protective covering over the nerves, forming. This aids in messages traveling across the nerve pathways. The myelin continues growing until the baby is one year old. Other not so easily seen development includes the formation of the alveoli, or the tiny air sacs in the lungs. The vocal chords are formed, but without air, the baby is just going through the motions without the sound now. If the baby is a girl, the fallopian tubes and uterus have settled into their permanent position now. The baby's skin is being protected from the watery environment of the uterus, by vernix-a cheesy, greasy substance, and the lanugo-a fuzzy hairy growth on baby's skin. The baby is now between 5 and 6 inches long and between 5 and 6 ounces.


After being in scrubs for most of the last week and half, I had not noticed the changes in my body until I went to put on my jeans yesterday...they would not zip! Since I was not prepared for this and had lots of work to do with Jason at the shop... I had to walk around all day with my pant unzipped! I just covered it up with a wide belt! HA! I am going to Target today to find a solution to this problem! Here are the most recent belly pics. The pictures do not look like much of a belly, but I can definitely tell a difference in how my clothes are fitting!

I also played with a logo/sticker to mark all of his stuff... Diaper Bag/Bottles/Wipes/etc... Anything I might send with him to Mother's Day Out that I want back. This is just the first attempt, and I used Harrison as a sample. I thought it turned out cute! The black part would be the sticker and the white would be cut out... I have lots of colors of sticker paper too!