18 Weeks- Boy, oh boy!

This eighteenth week was a busy one for baby guy and me. We visited New York City for a whirlwind 36 hours, rounded out the weekend at home, and then flew back up the eastern seaboard to Washington, D.C. This week I noticed quite a few stares in the airport, and friends I was able to see in D.C. commented on how I looked pregnant. This was actually pretty fun to hear! We landed back in Tallahassee around 2 a.m. Saturday morning (from NYC) and I noticed major swelling on my feet... it made me nervous, but as soon as we were on the ground it subsided. I was exhausted all weekend, and I think anticipating a repeat performance of all of that travel made me even more tired, but it was still nice to  be in such great cities.

I've noticed this week how often I've been craving sugary drinks and milk. I'm trying to stick to milk and water with lemons or limes, but sweet tea, especially, has been at the top of my favorite things list, along with my Belli band. Seriously, that thing is a lifesaver. Not so much a fan of the maternity jeans I bought though; they are going back to Target and I'm getting my favorite Gap jeans in a maternity style instead.

By far the best part of week 18 has been learning our little one is a little guy, simply because we can call it "him" and finally, finally discuss names. I've always had a list in the back of my head, and finally getting to ruminate over it with Aaron has been so much fun. I bought a baby name book, which I thought Aaron would find silly, but he grabbed it from me pretty quickly and spent most of the night calling out names. It made my heart swell. We have a few names, one of which is my absolute favorite, and I was pretty sure Aaron would hate it. But he bit! So we're still ruminating and laughing about all of the possibilities.

Favorite moment of the week? Yesterday in the airport, a TSA agent called me through security and stopped me. He said something, but amidst all of the beeping and buzzing I couldn't hear him clearly. I asked him to repeat what he said. He asked me how far along I was and if this baby was my first. For some reason, a stranger saying something to me about this made me bubble up with happiness. I quickly told him I was about 19 weeks along, so as not to slow the line, and he smiled and told me congratulations. As I walked to pick up my carry-on from the conveyor belt, he yelled out congratulations, again, and said "you will love it. It's the best!" Such kind words from a complete stranger in the most unexpected of places made my otherwise dull trip home happier.