20 Weeks! Halfway!

How your baby's growing:Your baby weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now (per ultrasound yesterday we found she is 12 oz.). She's also around 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom, and about 10 inches from head to heel — the length of a banana. (For the first 20 weeks, we use measurements taken from the top of the baby's head to her bottom — known as the "crown to rump" measurement. After that, we use measurements from head to toe. This is because a baby's legs are curled up against her torso during the first half of pregnancy and are very hard to measure.)A greasy white substance called vernix caseosa coats her entire body to protect her skin during its long submersion in amniotic fluid. (This slick coating also eases the journey down the birth canal.)Your baby is swallowing more, which is good practice for her digestive system. She's also producing meconium, a black, sticky substance that's the result of cell loss, digestive secretion, and swallowed amniotic fluid. This meconium will accumulate in her bowels, and you'll see it in her first messy diaper (although a few babies pass it in utero or during delivery).

New ultrasound

Here are some new pictures of the baby. She was not being very cooperative because she had her hands in front of her face mostly the whole time. The ultrasound tech went through all of the organs and took all of the measurements and said everything is good. Yay! It looks like we have a healthy baby.

Anniversary tradition

On our first anniversary, we kept with tradition and ate some of our wedding cake that had been in the freezer for a year. I drug that cake all the way back from Jamaica! I had to take it as a carry-on on the plane. At the resort, they saved part of the cake for us, not the traditional top, but the bottom. Oh well, it was close to the tradition and I think it really has brought us good luck!

On another note, I'm pretty sure I've been feeling the baby move. How exciting!

19 Weeks!

How your baby's growing:Your baby weighs about 8 1/2 ounces, and she measures 6 inches, head to bottom. Her arms and legs are in the right proportions to each other and the rest of her body now. Her kidneys continue to make urine, and the hair on her scalp is sprouting. This is a crucial time for sensory development: Your baby's brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch. If your baby is a girl, she has an astonishing 6 million eggs in her ovaries. They'll dwindle to fewer than two million by the time she's born.

How your life's changing:You're just a week shy of the halfway mark. You may notice some achiness in your lower abdomen (perhaps extending to your groin) or even an occasional quick, sharp, stabbing pain on one or both sides, especially when you change position or at the end of an active day. This is round ligament pain, and it's caused by the stretching of the muscles and ligaments that support your growing uterus. (This is true, I thought it was bad gas! haha Probably a combo!)

Oscar in the Big Window

Oscar and the other kitties love to get up in this window. They walk across the beam over the greatroom and then sit in the window. Looks scary to me! Sometimes those little guys line up on that beam. The window is kind of dirty where they get up there and sit and Hankie likes to "clean" the window. What I mean by "clean" is to sit on his hind legs and polish the window with his paws-- funniest thing.

Too Cute!

Aren't these the cutest things you've ever seen? I saw them and I couldn't resist, but they cost a little bit of nothing. I've only bought two things so far, these booties and a used Bjorn from a friend, but somehow my husband thinks I'm buying everything in sight and must be stopped. I think it's his attitude that must be stopped!

18 Weeks! (start of month 5)

How your baby's growing:Head to bottom, your baby is approximately 5 1/2 inches long 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. Her uterus and Fallopian tubes are formed and in place.

How your life's changing:Bigger, more comfortable clothes are a must now as your appetite and waistline increase. Look for specially designed maternity clothes that can accommodate your expanding belly.You may have heard that you should avoid lying on your back during your last two trimesters. Here's why: When you lie flat on your back, your uterus can compress a major vein (called the inferior vena cava) that returns blood from the lower half of your body back to your heart. Lying on your side (or even partially tilted to the side), particularly your left side, prevents this compression and improves your blood flow. Try placing a pillow behind you, or under your hip or leg for comfort.Your cardiovascular system is undergoing dramatic changes, and during your second trimester your blood pressure is probably lower than usual. Don't spring up too fast from a lying or sitting position or you might feel a little dizzy.