Baby L

We are now 18 weeks along. That means only two more weeks until we are to the halfway point. This pregnancy is going by incredibly fast, and I'm sure it will start to go faster with school starting and then the holidays coming up. After that, it's time for baby to arrive! Everything seems to be going smoothly, and the baby's growth is right on track. At our most recent appointment, the heartbeat was 159 beats per minute. We have an ultrasound in a couple weeks, but once again, we are going to have a delivery day surprise instead of finding out the gender ahead of time (sorry Mom...and Candy...and Amy...and Ashley!). For the last couple of weeks, I thought I could maybe feel a few movements from this new little one, but it wasn't anything strong enough to be sure. Then, last Saturday while Peter and I were at a movie, I definitely felt the first real kicks! They have continuted every day since then, which is exciting because it makes everything seem more real, and feeling the baby move was one of my favorite things about my pregnancy with Sam. We try to tell him that his little brother or sister is kicking, and he says "No, no. No kicking." I think he thinks his little brother or sister should get a timeout for kicking Mommy. When we ask Sam what we should name the baby, his answer is always the same, "Uncle Duke", which is how he says "Uncle Luke". I guess Uncle Luke has had quite the impact on him!