Pregnancy Update: Week 18

Mrs. Undaground is 18 weeks pregnant today. In two weeks, she'll be halfway there.

The baby's been moving a lot and she feels it at some point every day. I'm waiting for that moment where I can feel it, but not really looking forward to the times when complete strangers ask to feel my wife's belly. I've heard that those things happen. I hope they ask before they do it. If so, I can jump in and respond with a question of my own:

Example:
Q: "Can I feel your belly?"
A: "Can I use your bathroom?"

Here's some more information on week 18 from this website.

Our little one is nearly half a pound now and very human looking.

This is comforting. First of all, we're now speaking in terms of pounds and not ounces. Also, we are hoping for a human.

Meconium, the baby's first bowel movement, is accumulating within the bowel.

Because of this, I've been reading the newspaper to Mrs. Undaground's belly each day. I'm sticking with the sports section, just in case it's a boy. If it's a girl, she'll deny ever having a bowel movement.

If your baby is a boy, his prostate gland is beginning to develop.

Atta boy!

If you notice your belly making jerky movements in sync, don't panic; your baby may have the hiccups!

I have an uncanny ability to get rid of peoples' hiccups, but I've never tried it on a fetus.

If you're having an ultrasound to verify fetal age or for other reasons, your careprovider will probably schedule it between now and 20 weeks. It's often possible to determine your baby's sex at this stage, and you'll be able to tell arms from legs and all sorts of delightful details!

This is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon (Friday). We can't wait. We are hoping that the baby cooperates and we can find out the gender. If so, you'll read it here on Monday. Of course, if you're part of the phone tree or you personally know our ultrasound technician, you could find out before then.