18 weeks

Nothing new again this week. I wish I had more to report. I' m starting to think I look pregnant at least. It's hard to believe that I am almost to the half way point (especially since I write about my week when I am at the end of it-I'm really 18 weeks 5 days right now). I have been having more food aversions than cravings lately. I can eat half of what I used to eat and feel really full.

I looked into daycare a little more this week. Called a bunch of places to find if there was availability first. Many places did not have openings for infants. Glad I kept to the books and started looking now. We ended up finding a place that is two blocks away. Home daycare with about 7 kids. Her infant is turning one so he is moving into the toddler age range. Her prices and flexibility were really nice too. I called her references and they gave her "A's across the board" or "can't say enough good things about her", "my kids love her and still talk about her". They even answered a few questions that I had about the daycare (guess that's the point of a reference). I called her back to sign the contract and put down a $75 deposit. This will hold a spot until the baby is born and I go back to work. Right now Jon is working weekends so he has Wed and Thursday off. We can pay daycare $30/day=$90/wk. If he is able to go back to M-F so we can have the weekends off as a family then the fee would be $135/wk. Either would be fine, but it would be nice to switch back at some point.

Chishi's development:
Head to rump, your baby is about 5 1/2 inches long and he weighs almost 7 ounces. He's busy flexing his arms and legs — movements that you'll start noticing more and more in the weeks ahead. His blood vessels are visible through his thin skin, and his ears are now in their final position, although they're still standing out from his head a bit. A protective covering of myelin is beginning to form around his nerves, a process that will continue for a year after he's born. If you're having a girl, her uterus and fallopian tubes are formed and in place. If you're having a boy, his genitals are noticeable now, but he may hide them from you during an ultrasound.