Like Sands through the Hourglass...(aka my 18 week update)

I really can't believe how fast this is going. 18 weeks already?!? And we literally have nothing done/ planned/figured out. NOTHING. I DID spend the better part of an evening this week pouring over crib bedding. That was productive, right?

I made Drew take my picture (as I do every two weeks). He was every bit excited about it as ever (which is not very). But I am really impressed with my shape! I'm getting so much rounder and bigger! I adore it and I'll bring it up to anyone who sees me. No one is nearly as excited as I am, likely because they see me every day, and I usually get the same response ("Yep! You're still pregnant!") I guess it's just interesting to me watching my body grow- knowing whats going on in there- it's just amazing, miraculous, WAY cool.

Drew isn't uninterested in the pregnancy though. I read that starting around 16 weeks the baby can hear and will start to recognize sounds and songs. Drew immediately started playing the Ohio State fight song and AC-DC with the ipod resting directly on my stomach. Drew is determined that the baby will a) be a giant Buckeye fan and will also b) be a badass. He also dragged escorted me to Broncos training camp on Sunday. Drew was really excited about it and kept talking about how it was the baby's first football experience. It was actually pretty cute, even if getting up that early (6:15 on a weekend) required a nap later. We were briefly on the news though! This is a blurry still from it but I think it looks like my pregnant stomach is all the way up to my neck.I got the result of the second half of our sequential screen today. Everything is normal which means no increased risk of down syndrome, trisomy 18, open spine defects, and some other serious issues. I wasn't necessarily worried abut those things, but the news is definitely good to hear and brings a sense of relief. It has been so wonderful for me to know that after our initial scare early on, everything has been progressing well. The baby and I have both been really healthy and happy so far. I think I really need this feeling of contentment now, in at least this area of my life, since there are currently so many big stresses in other areas.

One stress (albeit minor) is that of daycare. We have determined that we really can't afford for either of us to stay home, and it's important to me that I continue my career anyway. In home care makes me nervous because generally they are unlicensed and unmonitored, and if the caregiver needs to take a sick or vacation day then it means that we would have to completely reschedule our lives. So we've decided to use a daycare center, though as of yet, we don't have a place reserved or picked out. We toured our first one a few weeks ago and it was ok. It was the cheapest one we've found (though at $850/mo, it cant really be considered cheap) and it's literally 3 houses away, so its VERY convenient. It's okay. It was clean and the staff was nice. There were a few things I didn't necessarily like, but it didn't scare me. I mostly just found it depressing- sort of like a nursing home. And so I've been struggling with the notion of sending my child away to spend their days with someone else ever since. I know I will get over it, everyone does. But right now childcare in general is not a pleasant thought.