I had a fun little pregnancy milestone today: I broke out and wore my maternity jeans for the first time.� Let me tell you - you've been missing out.� I can't stress how incredibly comfortable maternity pants are.

I actually encourage every woman to invest in a pair for the sole purpose of wearing during major food consumption holidays - Thanksgiving, Christmas, the Super Bowl.� Not a huge investment either - I bought mine on sale for only $14.99 at Old Navy (be careful though; not all Old Navy stores have maternity sections).� I bet you it'd be completely worth your money.� No need to unbutton your pants when your waste band stretches to accommodate your growing belly - whether it be full of baby or full or turkey.� Just a thought.

I'm also 18 weeks today, which means Baby Lump weighs between five to seven ounces and is almost six inches long.� To stick with the food metaphor, this means he/she is about the size of a deli pickle.

Why do I have a craving for ice cream all of a sudden?� I kid, I kid.� ;o)

Oven Timer: 18 weeks

Topics: Weekly Updates, Milestones, holidays, shopping, pregnancy, little baby lump, Old Navy, 18 weeks, motherhood, maternity clothes

Topics: pregnancy, little baby lump, social media, Baby-Gaga, motherhood, social network, expectant parents, Support, digital native, due date buddy, social support

[caption id="attachment_76" align="alignleft" width="266" caption="baby lump's head/brain"][/caption]

On Monday I had my second ultrasound, and I'm happy to report James and I were able to stick to our guns and deny the opportunity to find out baby lump's sex.� Although I'm not sure how well James would've done on his own - he got kind of excited when the technician mistakenly said "And those are his legs ... ummm or hers!"

An easy enough slip-up, I'm sure.� It's much easier to say "his" than "the baby's" all the time.� Plus, I'm pretty sure they're not really allowed to address the baby as "it."� I bet that has some kind of controversial connotation.� You know, the whole "is a fetus really a person yet?" argument.

Anyway, I'm also happy to report that (as far as they can tell via ultrasound) Baby Lump is completely happy and healthy (okay - I added the happy part).� James and I could see all of the bones (fingers, toes, spine, ribs, etc.) as well as the eyes, kidneys, brain, stomach and beating little heart (132 beats/minute - normal!).� It was pretty amazing, to say the least.

I asked the technician how big the baby is at this point, but he said it's tough to tell since he/she is confined to the womb and can't exactly stretch out straight.� However, all the week-by-week pregnancy sites I visit tell me the baby is approximately five inches long - "about the size of the baked potato."� It's funny how many of these sites use food - often fruit - as a means of measurement.� I swear, a few weeks ago the baby was the size of a peach.

Check out the "Sonograms" page for more baby pictures!

Oven Timer: 17 weeks, 2 days

Topics: Weekly Updates, Milestones, Announcements, ultrasound, gender, pregnancy, sonogram, little baby lump, fetus, 17 weeks

James asked me that yesterday.� "You actually want to be called 'Old Man'?" I asked.

It caught me by surprise - I couldn't believe it.� There's definitely a male-female divide here.� When we reach a certain age, we females stereotypically lie about our ages, buy anti-wrinkle cream and dread our next birthday, and here James is, 21 years old, wanting to be called an old man?� Weird.

First of all, I think there are a few requirements for being called "Old Man."� The flavor of our lump would have to be a boy.� I don't think there are many girls who walk around saying, "Yeah - me and my old man are gonna go hammer up some dry wall."

Another thing is, to my knowledge, you don't address your father as "Old Man" directly.� You're not like, "Hey!� OLD MAN!� Can I borrow the Subaru?"� Instead, you use "Old Man" when you're talking about him to your friends.� Again, "Yeah - me and my old man are gonna go hammer up some dry wall" (said by male offspring).

Don't you also have to be kind of cantankerous and curmudgeon-like to be called "Old Man"?� These are definitely not adjectives that can be used to accurately describe James.� The kid's whole face smiles when his mouth smiles.

Of course, I could be completely wrong about all of this.� What do I know, anyway?� Opinions?� (Sorry, James.)

Also, apparently I can find an icanhascheezburger image relative to each of my posts.

Oven Timer: 16 weeks, 3 days

Topics: Anecdotes, pregnancy, little baby lump, icanhascheezburger, fatherhood, old man