18 Weeks

Welcome to the pre-life and times of Baby Rakes!

My goal here is to keep all family and friends updated on Baby Rakes's progress, so if there is anything I leave out or am not clear on, please let me know in the comments. Secondly, my goal is to have a kind of living record of the last half of my pregnancy (and possibly beyond) for Baby Rakes to reflect upon once he or she is able to appreciate such things, so please feel free to leave personal messages to Baby Rakes and/or Sam and I in the comments section. Lastly, I simply hope to give you all the updates you need without me forgetting someone on emails or simply telling someone the same prenatal story over and over again...man, these hormones really mess with my head sometimes! =)

So, today we are at Week 18, and Baby Rakes is simply loving life, especially when I get up in the morning. This kid really knows how throw some punches and roundhouse kicks! Yesterday, I noticed a new movement from Baby Rakes; I'm not certain if it's a roll or a flip or a somersault...whatever it is, it is quite the unusual sensation.

Perhaps the biggest news of all today is that Sam felt Baby Rakes kick (or punch) for the first time tonight as we watched the Tom Cruise movie Valkerie! Baby Rakes gave him a wallop through my belly! Sam found it endearing, while I found it a little uncomfortable. =)

Aunt Lacey came by for a visit today, and I showed her an image of how big the baby is now. Lacey was surprised to see "how much it looks like a real baby." She looked at earlier images in Your Pregnancy Week by Week and was a little freaked out by the tail that the 8-week-old fetus image shows. It is true a mother is blinded by her love of the child because I just oooh and ahh over those images every week!

That's it for now. I will try to keep this blog updated as much as I can, memory allowing. Sam will also be writing in sometimes. Thanks for reading!
Laura