All bets are off, sweet potato.

Baby Cute is now the size of a sweet potato and we are T-minus 12 days to our big ultrasound. I am also just an hour away from leaving for my orthodontist appointment where they take out my palette expander and put on my lower braces. *sigh*

We also decided yesterday to call off our trip to Charleston. Between David's two tickets, Mommy Raccoon's escapades and a variety of other financial letdowns, we just can't justify the expense, not when we need to be focusing on saving.

It sucks being an adult.

Today is my first official day wearing a preggo shirt. The pants are extraordinarily comfortable, but the shirts were/are looking too big and a tad silly. But I wanted to wear a pink tank top today and my regular Lane Bryant standby exposed my belly button. As much as I'm a big fan of midriff tops, I pulled out my identical pink tank top in maternity and put it on. It doesn't look that bad.

Last night when we finally settled in for the night, we heard some distinctive digging/picking noises on the roof. Well, thank goodness for the Critter Dude, as Mommy Raccoon was unsuccessful in getting through our shiny new stainless steel roof vent guard. She must have taken a small vacation with her babies and decided to come back "home." Sorry, Mommy Raccoon, there is no more room in the Inn.

18 weeks already! Wow, the last few months have flown by! There is definitely lots of movement going on inside of me. It's honestly the oddest thing I have ever felt in my entire life. It's a mixture of "whoa, what was that?" and "hi baby!" and "could that have just been gas pain?" Oh, the glamour and miraculous wonder of pregnancy. Nothing that has felt like a kick and I haven't been able to feel anything from the outside yet, but I can tell that time is coming.

Baby Cute is also on quite a sugar binge these days. Along with the cake, I needed a glazed donut with my milk for breakfast this morning. Or perhaps it is just me messing with Baby Cute because sugar makes him/her more active and gets my little butterfly feelings all stirred up inside. Whatever it is, I'm not complaining. Pickles and milk were getting old.

Here are the official updates from my friends on the INTAR-Web.

Baby Center: Head to bottom, your baby is approximately 5 1/2 inches long (about the length of a large sweet potato) and she weighs almost 7 ounces. She's busy flexing her arms and legs — movements that you'll likely start noticing more and more. Her blood vessels are visible through her thin skin and her ears are now in position and stand out from her head. Myelin (a protective covering) is beginning to form around her nerves, a process that will continue for a year after she's born. If you're having a girl, her uterus and Fallopian tubes are formed and in place. If your baby is a boy, his genitals are noticeable, though he may hide them from you during an ultrasound.

BabyGaga: We have two more ounces! Your "getting bigger-n-better by the minute baby" is already up to 7 ounces and 6 inches! This is a big week for their baby skin. There are now two distinct layers—the epidermis (or the surface skin) and dermis. Currently, their skin is covered with a greasy, waxy, cheese-like substance, known as vernix caseosa. Sure, it sounds pretty nasty, but this mixture of fatty secretions covering your little swimmer from head to toe is the best way to protect their oh-so-thin skin from bruising and abrasions as well as chapping caused by amniotic fluid exposure (and your little one is swimming in that stuff!). Still don’t like the fact your little darling is currently slathered in fatty cream like a greased pig? Well, you know the birthing process? Where you have to push something the size of a watermelon out a hole the size of a grape? That adorable little greased piglet would have a lot harder time getting through the birth canal without the vernix caseosa. Fun fact for momma’s with baby girls: it’s a uterus within a uterus! Your little girl will have developed a uterus and vagina canal by the end of this week.