17 and 18.

Okay, okay.... I apologize for my laziness in keeping up with my blog, but come on-- give me a break, I have been working my butt off (not literally, considering it's just getting bigger...) and the holiday has got me in a tizzy. Week 17 went by mostly smoothly, except I've been getting sick again, usually after dinner and it's pretty random. I finished up training at work and now am actually on the phones, anddd Christmas was a blast! Jack proposed to me and got an incredibly gorgeous ring. :) I am ecstatic to be engaged to the man I love, and it's a pretty exciting time for me. The baby has been moving around like nobody's business and has been making it difficult to sleep... but thankfully, Mom had got me a pregnancy pillow for me for Christmas and it is AWESOME! :)

Anyways, here is what was up with week 17....
"Don't be too shocked but... your baby is EVEN bigger than it was last week, not to mention getting cuter, and smarter every day! As you’ve come to expect, there’s no shortage of growth and development this week: your fantastic little bean stalk has added yet another half inch to their overall height-- making them nearly half a foot long! Their little limbs have reached (or are within one week of) their relative proportions, and will continue to grow evenly with the rest of the body after this week. Reactive listening has begun for your baby, even though their ears are not yet structurally complete or fully functional. Meanwhile, different parts of their astonishingly complex brain are developing to process your little one’s hearing and other senses, (you know, sight, smell, taste and touch). Mind boggling factoid of the week: if you’re having going to have a little girl, her ovaries have already produced millions of primordial egg cells, which, within a few weeks, will develop into actual eggs! Phew… just wait till she’s a teenager eh?"

and here's a little about week 18....
"We have two more ounces! Your "getting bigger-n-better by the minute baby" is already up to 7 ounces and 6 inches! This is a big week for their baby skin. There are now two distinct layers—the epidermis (or the surface skin) and dermis. Currently, their skin is covered with a greasy, waxy, cheese-like substance, known as vernix caseosa. Sure, it sounds pretty nasty, but this mixture of fatty secretions covering your little swimmer from head to toe is the best way to protect their oh-so-thin skin from bruising and abrasions as well as chapping caused by amniotic fluid exposure (and your little one is swimming in that stuff!). Still don’t like the fact your little darling is currently slathered in fatty cream like a greased pig? Well, you know the birthing process? Where you have to push something the size of a watermelon out a hole the size of a grape? That adorable little greased piglet would have a lot harder time getting through the birth canal without the vernix caseosa. Fun fact for momma’s with baby girls: it’s a uterus within a uterus! Your little girl will have developed a uterus and vagina canal by the end of this week."

Ew. Cheese like substance? Uhm... that doesn't seem too cute. ha ha.

I also had a doctors appointment during my 17th week and they set up my appointment for find out the sex of the baby. It's set for January 5th, 2010 and I can NOT wait! :D

So, I ask you... what do you think? Is it a boy or a girl? :)

Mama Bear says Bye!