Week 18

At 18 weeks, Banjo is now the size of a sweet potato.

We had a great babymoon weekend. Galena was beautiful – a little colder than we expected but we had a great time checking out the town, the shops and walking around. We toured some old houses and mansions and the b&b we stayed at was perfect. I was worried about staying at a b&b because I didn’t want to feel like I had to be social to the owners and the guests and was afraid I’d have to check in with them on what our plans were. That wasn’t the case at all. We had breakfast with them (which was delicious) and they were there to answer questions but that was about it. They were very outgoing and knowledgeable of the area. The Balloon Glow was canceled because it was too windy but we still went to the Halloween parade and the ghost walk. It was very relaxing and only 3 hours away. I think we’d definitely like to go back some day – but most likely a kid-free trip. I’m hoping we can find a babysitter for 2 nights in a few years.

Not too much going on baby-wise. Still not feeling those flutters again but after talking to the nurse I’m not as worried as I was last week. But I did order the Doppler monitor because with a little time I know I’ll start worrying (and probably panicking) again. I’m sleeping better which I know won’t last so I’m trying to relish each lovely moment of sleep. I know one day I will look back and want to remember what good uninterrupted sleep felt like. As I get bigger, I’ve heard sleep becomes more of an issue.

I got a great care package in the mail on Friday from my mom. She knitted me some “magical slippers” as she calls them. They’re pink and blue and white and she told me to wear them and then think really hard on what the gender is and I’ll magically know what it is. I think she sewed in some baby girl mojo into those slippers because she is convinced that Banjo is a girl. The majority seems to concur that it’s a girl. 71% of the votes on the poll voted for a girl. I also took some silly online quizzes based on how I’m feeling, what I’m craving, etc. and that along with the Chinese gender predictor say it’s a girl. 3 weeks is such a long time to wait to find out – there’s no way I could wait until April!