18 Weeks

Well, the leg cramps, heavy belly and Braxton hicks have all started. The problem is that those all indicate I’m further along than we think I am. With the size of my belly and some other pregnancy symptoms that aren’t appropriate dinner conversation, I’m starting to wonder if that is in fact the case. I guess we’ll find out Tuesday. That’s when we’ll have the ultra sound and hopefully get to peak in our package. Time’s a ticking if you want to vote for a boy or a girl! Anyway, head to bottom, our baby is approximately 5 1/2 inches long (about the length of a large sweet potato) and he weighs almost 7 ounces. His blood vessels are visible through his thin skin and his ears are now in position and stand out from his head. Myelin (a protective covering) is beginning to form around his nerves, a process that will continue for a year after he's born.

You can email us with your vote for a girl (Hurray!) or a boy (Yippee!). I’ll post the results when we find out the sex through the magic of science— December 20th.

Info taken from BabyCenter.com

Note that, for the purposes of this chart, babies are measured from the crown (or top) of the head to the rump (or bottom) until about 20 weeks. After that, they're measured from head to toe.

Gestational age	Length (US)	Weight (US)	Length (cm)	Mass (g)
	(crown to rump)		(crown to rump)
8 weeks	0.63 inch	0.04 ounce	1.6 cm	1 gram
9 weeks	0.90 inch	0.07 ounce	2.3 cm	2 grams
10 weeks	1.22 inch	0.14 ounce	3.1 cm	4 grams
11 weeks	1.61 inch	0.25 ounce	4.1 cm	7 grams
12 weeks	2.13 inches	0.49 ounce	5.4 cm	14 grams
13 weeks	2.91 inches	0.81 ounce	7.4 cm	23 grams
14 weeks	3.42 inches	1.52 ounce	8.7 cm	43 grams
15 weeks	3.98 inches	2.47 ounces	10.1 cm	70 grams
16 weeks	4.57 inches	3.53 ounces	11.6 cm	100 grams
17 weeks	5.12 inches	4.94 ounces	13 cm	140 grams
18 weeks	5.59 inches	6.70 ounces	14.2 cm	190 grams
19 weeks	6.02 inches	8.47 ounces	15.3 cm	240 grams
20 weeks	6.46 inches	10.58 ounces	16.4 cm	300 grams