I meant to update this place sooner. Things have happened so gradually that I forget to write it down. So this will be a long one.

I am just under 18 weeks pregnant. According to my doctor I am not, but I think I know when it happened. As smart as she is, she wasn't there. And I do love my doctor , Dr. Susan Leinenbach. As silly as it sounds, she really is like a bit of sunshine, which is much needed at this point. She made my first dreadful labor and C so much better just by her personality. I wish all women had an Ob-Gyn like her.

My thinking has become a bit clearer. After I made the word "pregtarded" on one of the entries, I had several comments from friends about it. Apparently, I'm not the only one who has had this condition. Maybe I'll get into Websters for word of the year like "truthiness" last year.

I'd like to say my nausea went away with the first trimester but it hasn't completely. Lately I have been gagging (that's a lot of g's for one word) on my toothbrush. When I get hungry I feel nauseous. After I eat I feel painfully bloated. I have to brush me teeth after drinking milk and chew gum after some spices. I can't handle garlic. Yet I love spicy stuff like nacho cheese. Also, I'm tired a lot. I take naps and sleep in. The stairs are so high. I really need some exercise. And I'm beginning to walk a little funny, like the Penguin on the old Batman series.

I'm done with all of my scheduled Tomboy Tool parties. I may have a couple more come up, but I will be quitting before the baby is born. I just don't like it enough to want to keep it up. I enjoy being a mom too much to care about the other stuff.

My belly got big (big for me). It still surprises me how big I am. I feel even larger. I'll complain here for a second. I really don't like it when I mention my size and someone tells me how small I am. My least favorite line is "I'm bigger than you and I'm not even pregnant (laughing)." Am I supposed to laugh or argue? It's just a weird thing to say. When a pregnant woman feels big and uncomfortable, humor her. It would be better to say, "Yeah, you are getting bigger, but it's adorable." or "Yeah, you are getting bigger. Are you managing to stay comfortable?" or here's a good one "You are pretty big considering how small you are when you aren't pregnant." Really, there are plenty of other things to say.

I have felt the baby move. It's daily but never consistent. I'm getting to the point where I'm pretty sure when it's baby. Even Jason felt it once already. I thought he would have blogged about it, but since it's not a link to a website, I guess he won't.

February was not nearly as bad as I expected. It turns out January sucked worse. February went quickly. And the best part is that this Friday morning (March 2) we get to have our ultrasound. We will most definitely be finding out if it's a girl or boy. It's already a part of the family, might as well treat it like one. You know, stop calling it "it" and give it a name. I'm really excited about finding out but also a bit nervous. I am afraid to feel disappointed. I'm hoping to be excited and totally in love no matter what it is, but part of me wonders if that will happen right away. And of course, I am really anxious to see and confirm that it is healthy and anatomically normal. I will post pictures as soon as I can.

Buying my first gender specific baby items will be such a relief for me, like a drug addict getting a fix. (not that I know about that, I just have a good imagination) I feel like I can't wait much longer. I'm getting the shakes. (again, I'm guessing)

I am also really enjoying being pregnant at the same time as Angela. This is the first time I have been pregnant at the same time as a close friend. You can pretty much guess what dominates most of our conversations right now. Most non-pregnant people really don't want to hear about these things for too long, but pregnant women can hardly think of anything else to talk about. She'll have to push the baby out, though, and I'm not much help on that subject. They just unzip me and I'm done a few minutes later. Don't get jealous too quickly though. Compare us on the day after delivery and see who's doing better. She'll be glowing and practically dancing back and forth to the bathroom. I won't be able to sit up, my face will itch a lot and I'll dread that that first trip to the bathroom. It feels like my stomach is ripping open and my guts are going to spill out on the floor. And what's the point? Nothing is going to come out for a week anyways. Enough about that. I'm getting scared.

Post again Friday, I hope.