18 Weeks and Nameless?

As I sit here typing my 18 week update, this little guy is boxing the heck out the front wall of my abdomen. He has three distinct periods throughout the day in which he becomes active or maybe I should say when I notice his activity. Which now that I think about it, always happens when I sit down to rest or when I'm driving in the car. It has now gotten to the point where Daddy can feel the bumps and pokes and it has become somewhat of a routine or ritual for Daddy to connect with his son before we turn in for the night.

This week's shot is tending to burn a little more than my previous two. I am not complaining because it's really nothing in the scheme of things. I just wanted to mention it.

I started to experience back pain earlier this week. Towards the end of the day, my back would just start to ache. Of course the thought of pre-term labor entered my mind so Tuesday night I took one Tylenol before bed. That alleviated my discomfort. My non-medical opinion is that I'm starting to get bigger and I think it's causing a strain on my already weak back muscles.

Speaking of getting bigger, I am! It's actually very exciting! Yesterday, two people asked me when I was due and one other person asked if I was expecting. I must admit that the way I am carrying totally makes me look pregnant! It's so nice! I look pregnant! With Missy, I was just a big round blob, full in my face, hips, behind, all around. This time, while I'm sure my face is fuller and my hips and behind bigger, all that I notice is my big round tummy. Oh yes, and those close to me like to remind me how my boobs have just grown. My neighbor joked with me that I was either expecting or the recipient of implants.

Having a baby brother join our family is something we talk about many times each and every day. It has become routine for Missy to understand or at least act like she understands that there is a baby brother in Mommy's tummy. Yesterday, upon waking up, she came into our room and wanted to "nuggle Mommy" who was still lounging in bed. She climbed up and snuggled right in to me, causing me to comment that baby brother is getting crushed. To that she piped up with "Baby Ethan". Now there are some families that allow their children to determine the name of the new baby. Ethan is a lovely name and actually could work well with our last name. But Ethan also happens to be the name of Missy's little friend's new baby brother. That is where this whole Ethan kick began. The more I think about it, the more I like it but I am all about originality and when we were expecting Missy, when a name we liked was snagged by friends or neighbors, we immediately struck it from the list. We don't want to look like copy-cats.

So this poor baby boy is still nameless according to his parents. According to his big sissy, his name is Ethan. We have a few names we like but nothing (expect the one name that our family has poo-poo'd if not downright made fun of it) jumps out at us as the "one". With Missy, I just knew and to this day, when I see her name written I think it's just so pretty and I absolutely love it! It's time to get giddy about a boy name...

Here is a little clip of my girl saying she loves her baby brother. The part where she requests, "open" refers to the panel on my pants that she would like me to pull down. It was a little hard to finagle one-handed and as you will hear, I had trouble putting her request into words. But the whole point of this is hearing my nut say, "I love you baby brother."