Enceinte de 18 semaines (18 wks pregnant)

I'm 18 weeks today and was 4 months as of 11/25. I also have a bad cold, thanks to my sub par immune system due to pregnancy. I've already been some kind of sick (sore throats, stuffed up, clogged ears, coughing) 3 times since becoming pregnant. I normally RARELY get sick. Not fun.

Our little one is about five ounces and five to six inches long. Fat stores began to develop under the baby's skin last week. The fat will provide energy and help keep the baby warm after birth. As the nerve endings from the baby's brain "hook up" to the ears, he/she may hear my heart beating, my stomach rumbling or blood moving through the umbilical cord, and my voice. He or she may even be startled by loud noises. The baby can swallow this week, too. The baby's senses are maturing. He/she may become more active for certain sounds, and I'll feel those movements. At this point in his/her development, he/she's still small enough to have plenty of room to wiggle.

What is super duper exciting is that we find out the sex in 2 weeks, 12/12 at 4pm! I ask Joel everyday, "What is your intuition today?" My parents both said boy last night. I think it might be, but since I've already had a girl, it's so easy to picture having another one inside me. Here are the name selections at this point:

Boy: Gabriel Sebastian - Gabriel means "strong man of God" and Sebastian means "venerable" (commanding respect because of great age or impressive dignity; worthy of veneration or reverence, as because of high office or noble character). Saint Sebastian was a 3rd-century Roman soldier martyred by arrows after it was discovered he was a Christian.

We've had these names for a LONG time. Gabriel is a shout out to so many things: the angel, the French language. We'll call him Gabe. Sebastian is actually one of my favorite French names (Sébastien), but it's a shout out to both Joel's and my German heritage. We'll probably spell it the most common way, because let's face it: most people aren't very cultured and would never assume an -ien spelling. That just makes the student's life more complicated.

Girl: Vivienne Lane - Vivienne is French and means "alive, vivacious, bright" from the French verb vivre "to live." Lane is English and means "lane, path" which originally belonged to a person who lived near a lane.

Lane is a family surname from my dad's side. My great-grandparents were the first Lane's I knew. My heritage on both sides is mainly German, English, and some French. I actually got the name from Vivien Leigh, who played Scarlett O'Hara. I love the combination, but can't copy the actress completely and I must, of course, spell it the feminine way, because I can't stand it when people name a girl with a masculine spelling of something, like Noel. That's just the linguist in me - sorry. It's old-fashioned here and in France, just like Stella, but so beautiful. AND, the pronunciation is not the same as Vivian, but I won't correct people unless we're close and/or related:)

So, we'll see which way the cookie crumbles, huh????