18 weeks

I'm feeling pretty good these days, but my belly is definitely getting a bit bigger.  I don't think I've felt any real movement yet, but I'm told not to really expect it until 20 weeks anyway.  We have just over a week until the big ultrasound.  Hopefully our little one cooperates and they get a good view of what they are supposed to see. :)  I had a coworker once who didn't find out until later what she was having because they couldn't get the baby in the right position to tell anything about the sex.  A friend suggested I drink a large caffeinated beverage before the appointment so the baby is more active.  I probably will do that since I'm supposed to have a full bladder anyway.  Aside from finding out the sex, I'm just anxious to see that everything is still going well.  I will be excited and terrified at the same time that day.

A pilot friend of Darren's suggested that he start filling out his FMLA paperwork now because his company apparently likes to send the paperwork back several times for corrections or more information.  Up until now I hadn't been too concerned about filling out paperwork at my job, but I asked a coworker today about the process and when I need to start the ball rolling.  Apparently it isn't a big deal at my job, so I don't really need to worry about that until about 6 weeks prior.  That's good to know.  At least I'm aware now.  We'll just deal with Darren's paperwork now and mine later.  However, during that same conversation with my coworker the subject of daycare came up and now I'm totally freaked out!  I never realized how early you have to start looking for a good daycare.  My friend said that she had her baby in May that year, but had the daycare reserved in January, and she wasn't even going to need it until August!  She said you have to do it that early because there is always a waiting list and most places have limited spots for infants.  Up until now I hadn't even considered daycare options, but now I really need to buckle down and start the search.  I really want to wait until after our next appointment just to be sure that everything is fine, but I am going to make a daycare search my priority for April.  The only thing I'm really sure of is I want an actual licensed facility with a good reputation and in our city.  It needs to be close to home so its convenient for either me or Darren to pick up and drop off.  I haven't figured out my other criteria yet, but I have found a couple of good articles about picking daycare so I will read up on it a bit.  My friend's husband is a health inspector so she is going to get me the checklist they use to inspect daycare facilities.  I think it will be really helpful so we can notice the things about a facility that typical parents might not be aware of.  I think my germophobic husband might appreciate that information. :)  Of course, doing all this now goes completely against my procrastinating nature, but in this case my blissful ignorance could have led to panic and scrambling later on that I'm glad I will be able to avoid.