18 Week Ultrasound

Wow, I had my 18 week ultrasound this week and it was absolutely amazing. We got too see our little munchkin up close and get all of her measurements. The technician zooms in to see all 4 chambers of the heart, the bladder, and even the rate & direction of blood flow. She confirmed 100% that we are having a girl, yippee! It's funny because at first I was definitely preferring a little boy, but once I got used to the idea of a girl it would have been emotionally draining if the sex had changed. The average weight of the fetus is supposed to be 6-9 oz. at this point and our little one is 9.4 oz. which means she might come earlier than originally anticipated. I'm gaining weight too so it's nice to know at least some of it is going to the baby. I only gained 2-4 pounds in the first 4 months, but I sure made up for it last month by gaining almost 9 pounds! I'm seeing numbers on the scale I've never seen before :) There is a strong chance she could come on her daddy's 30th b-day, which would be June 3rd. I hope that they each have their separate days, but it would be a great present! (Not that sharing birthdays isn't absolutely spectacular Johnny :) The main thing is that she appears healthy at this point and spinabifida has been ruled out which runs in my family. Luke is determined that her name is Ella Grace (I wanted Saylor Grace, but it was rejected by the entire family). I was pushing for a unique name since I grew up with the same name as every other girl. I had a perfect boy name picked out so I promised Luke that if it was a girl, he could have the final say. Not to mention, Lindsay got me the perfect diaper bag with the baby's initials embroidered on it, so Ella Grace Carlson it is.

We've been preparing for our big move from Newport Beach to Dana Point (goodbye Fashion Island, South Coast, 56th Street, & Rusty Pelican). Our new place is much more appropriate for a baby, but I absolutely hate to leave Newport and Noah & Nikki. Luke and soon-to-be Uncle Joe Joe and Aunt Katie spent the weekend with us painting the baby's room and making the preparations for the move this Friday. We painted the room baby blue so that the pink curtains will really "pop" :) I even got paint on my black pants which you can see in the picture! It's funny because up until about 16 weeks or so, I just looked full all of the time and then, out of nowhere, my belly just popped! It really is crazy to see your body change so quickly. So far, I've had no cravings, nothing out of the ordinary except now I have this belly :) I'm dying to feel her move or kick any day now, but all I have felt so far are weird cramping pains at the bottom of the uterus. So far those cramping pains are my excuse to avoid the gym, but hopefully soon I will drag myself to the treadmill, if nothing else, at least to walk. Any other preggo moms out there, if you have any advice on getting to the gym please let me know :) I'm trying to post the ultrasound pics a.s.a.p. It was hilarious because the technician asked us, "Which one of you has a second toe that's larger than the first?" The answer was Luke, but it was incredible that she could already determine that the baby had the same thing on both feet!