18 weeks! Little Bell Pepper!+ Doctor's appt update

I am 18 weeks as of Saturday, though I am writing this on Friday night (late) as we had a doctor's appt today.

Everything is looking really good, uterus growth is normal (almost to my belly button!) and the baby's heartbeat is between 143-153bpm, which our doctor said changes often while the baby is moving. She said even the baby moving it's arm or leg can change it's heart rate... I asked her why and she said they don't know why. :-)

We scheduled our gender ultrasound for January 22nd... only 2 more weeks till we know if we are on team pink or blue!! I am SO ready to move on from looking for only gender neutral stuff, and I would love to call our baby "he" or "she" and not "it".

In other news, I am ALWAYS hungry. In fact, I am going to go make a grilled cheese sandwich for a snack before bed! (I've only gained 4lbs this month, so we are right on track weight-wise!).

Here is what is going on with our little one this week:

Head to rump, your baby is about 5 1/2 inches long (about the length of a bell pepper) 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.