almost halfway

I am now 18 weeks 6 days along. We had our second OB appointment last week and got to hear the heartbeat for the second time. It was so reassuring - it had been 4 weeks since our last appointment and my mind constantly races wondering how the little one is doing. I decided not to get a home doppler (actually my husband and Dr. talked me out of it) - that probably would have driven me pretty crazy anyway, especially if I couldn't find the heartbeat. Even the technician last week had trouble finding the heartbeat. She got it right away for a second and then kept losing it - I guess the baby is very active, I am picturing the little one spinning in circles. But of course even that made me nervous - wondering, if that baby is so active how come I can't feel anything yet? I suppose I will always find something to worry about... People online keep talking about feeling their baby move by this point, by I haven't felt anything conclusive, my Dr. said that is it is still early.

Generally, I am feeling pretty good. My belly is getting big - in the morning it is smaller, and by the evening it is huge and hard. My belly button has almost disappeared, it was pretty deep before, and every day I ask my husband to measure it with his finger. I am also starting to get a line from my belly button up to my chest.

Our "big" ultrasound is this Thursday - we find out the gender! People sometimes ask me what I want. I know it sounds cliche, but all I want is a healthy little baby. I have no gut feeling about the sex and neither does my hubby. We both guess boy but it is just for the sake of guessing. My husband had a dream about a baby boy, and that has been the only hint so far. Personally, I think it will be the opposite of whatever I think it is - that's just the way it goes.

My new job is keeping me busy - busier than I actually thought it would keep me. My hours are reasonable, but I am definitely working hard.