18 Weeks – Sweet #5!

18 weeks already, almost half way done cookin’ this lil pumpkin! It’s continued to be an easy pregnancy so far and I hope it stays that way. What little morning sickness I had at the beginning is getting better although I still depend on my zofran each night.

With the quads I didn’t really crave anything (besides ice, omg I went through a TON of ice) this baby on the other hand has been slightly different. My weakness is peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Jelly, in our house anyways, is one of those items that last and last. A jar could last us 4-6 months. Between PB&Js, toast with jelly and biscuits with butter and jelly, I’m finishing a jar every few weeks! Thanks to this little addiction I’ve already gained 10lbs. My doc said he’d like to see a total weight gain of about 20lbs by the end of the pregnancy…eeek… we’ll see how I do with that :/ Regardless of how much I gain I’m praying it all just melts away as it did post delivery with the quads – I can hope, right?! Another kick I have/had going on is salads. I’ve never been a big salad person but wow, I won’t pass one up nowadays! I especially enjoyed chowing down on Ceasar salads throughout my first trimester UNTIL a few weeks ago I learned that I shouldn’t be eating them at all. Duh me, had no idea there were raw eggs in the dressing NOR did I have any clue there were SARDINES (anchovies, whatever). Are you kidding me?! Disgusting!!

Brody, Baxlyn, Kylee & Korbin are starting to understand a little more about what’s going on, especially Kylee. We talk often about the new baby and how they are going to be big brothers and sisters. They’re starting to take closer looks at newborn babies we see out in public. Just the other day I left them with my mom and dad so I could run some preemie clothes to a local NICU. I told the quads I was headed the NICU to which Kylee replied “Dr. Leno (Leveno) take my baby brudder out you tummy?” Sweet girl not only putting together that the NICU is at the hospital but also talking about my OB and referring to the baby as her “brudder”, I love it! For those of you who missed my 13 week update, the sonographer feels pretty confident we’re having a boy. Our 20 week appointment should confirm!

I still haven’t felt anything movement wise. They say you feel kicks in your second pregnancy sooner than your first but I’m still waiting. I didn’t start feeling movement from the quads until about 20 weeks so I’m hoping it’s any day now that I get a few jabs from this little one. I lay super still each morning and night concentrating with all of my might trying to feel something, surely I’m just not trying hard enough to feel the baby move right?! Bret jokes that my uterus is so stretched out that the baby is not in the curled up fetal position but sprawled out with all the room in the world much like the little people in bubbles in the Wii game pictured below… LOL!

Here are the belly shots comparing 18 weeks with one baby…

 

…and 18 weeks with quadruplets! Bigger but much prettier than what I have going on now that’s for sure!

 

I took my first glucose test  (to check for gestational diabetes) a couple of weeks ago. Due to having PCOS my doctor has me take the dreaded test twice. One at 16 weeks and one at 28 weeks. I was a nervous wreck about getting sick but was able to stomach it and passed! Glad I get another two months off before having to do it again! Bret and I chose to do the 1st and 2nd trimester screenings and all tests came back perfect :) I also have HUGE peace of mind thank to Bret’s cousin’s wife, Jenn, who sent me her fetal doppler! With going a month between each doctors visit, Bret and I debated buying a doppler for ourselves to use at home. After being seen so often with the quads we both started feeling anxious after 2-3 weeks wondering if the baby was ok. Jenn’s doppler allows us to check in on our sweet little whenever we want!

I’m not the only one who checks in on my baby on a regular basis…

Above is Kylee checking in on her TWO babies. As a matter of fact all four of the quads check in on their 2 babies on a regular basis. That would make what… 9 babies making their way into the Cox household?! No thanks!

As always we’re all super excited and thankful for a healthy pregnancy thus far. We’ll do another baby update after our next appointment in 2 weeks!