Week 20 - HALFWAY!!

We are definitely over the halfway point. Had my 20 week check with Dr. Lorenzo. Everything is looking great. I've gained a whopping four pounds, our little man (whom I've been calling Bubba) had a heart rate of 140. He may grow up and get a shrimp boat, which would be okay I guess - so long as he doesn't have a giant lower lip.

Anyhow, Doc said I was definitely over the halfway mark and am probably a week ahead but I'm sticking with the furthest out due date. Mom was late with all three of us girls and I'd rather get him a week early than late.

This past weekend we visited Jim and Shell in Portland and I got some tax-free shopping in. Now that I've gone elastic, I'm never going back! I'll be wearing them every Thanksgiving, others will be jealous of my comfort and Mama O will be happy to see me in something other than jammies at the table.

I feel him moving around off and on throughout the day. For the most part, they're just wiggles but every now and again he'll throw and punch or kick that startles me. I try to let Hubs feel him move, but I usually wait so long making sure he's moving a lot that by the time I tell Lant he's settling down...oh well. I only offer when we're both settled down together so I don't interrupt him or make him come over and sit to feel.

• When you're 20 weeks pregnant, your babymeasures about 6 inches, about the length of an eggplant, and weighs about half a pound.
• Your baby's skin thickens and develops layers under the vernix during the 20th week of pregnancy.
• His hair and nails continue to grow.
• His limbs are well developed when you’re 20 weeks pregnant.
• Your baby is moving and you can feel it. Make a note of when you felt these movements start and let your doctor know.

Week 19

This past weekend we went up to Spokane and Mama O, Ginny, Kati and I went to Babies R Us and made a registry. Stimulus overload. Found some cute bedding! We also went to Old Navy and got some good clearance maternity clothing deals!

Our little boy has been practicing his break dancing moves. I enjoy feeling him move around in there, lets me know that he's alright. I still don't really look pregnant but figure in this next week or so I'd better take a belly pic to document.

Went and got a massage yesterday - LOVED it. Have another one scheduled already! Someone felt that it was the right time to swim laps and practice those fancy turns. Talk about distracting! Now I know why Mom would lock herself in the bathroom to read Reader's Digest...

Oh! We also woke up to a smoky kitchen on Monday morning. Couldn't figure out what it was so we called the fire dept explaining the need for assistance, emphasizing the lack of emergency. Two minutes later we have 3 trucks with lights and sirens outside the house. Real nice guys, checked everything, but turned out it was our fridge! Food's in coolers, ordered my "dream fridge" for a smokin' (ha) deal BUT won't get here for another week...

PS - Ladies found ANOTHER skunk in the back yard and the headlight went out on the car. There's three, so we're done. :)

• Your baby now measures about 6 inches, or the length of a summer squash.
• When you're 19 weeks pregnant, your baby's brain develops millions of motor neurons. Neurons are nerves that help muscles in the brain communicate. This new and ongoing development means your baby can make purposeful and involuntary movements. She can suck her thumb, move her head, or make other moves thatyou might start to feel.
• Your baby's hearing is even more developed when you're 19 weeks pregnant. She probably can hear external sounds and conversation by this time, or will very soon. Your voice is the most pronounced. She can hear you talk, hum, and sing!
• Your baby's skin is covered in a white, waxy, protective coating called vernix.
• Under the vernix, the fine hair called lanugo continues to cover her skin.
• By your 19th week of pregnancy, your baby's kidneys function. Her urine is excreted into your amniotic sac, the bag of fluid in your uterus that contains your baby and amniotic fluid. Your placenta then removes the waste.

Week 18 - It's a BOY!!

It's been an exciting week - we got to see our son today and Lant got to feel him move for the first time the other night. He's getting to be quite the little wiggle worm! His heart rate was 134bpm and he weighs 9.4oz. Perfect and right on track for a mid-Sept debut. Here are the photos from our ultrasound today - what a little stud muffin!!

The money shot (like he's sitting on a photo copier w/ booty on R and legs out to L):

Profile (check out that buddha belly!):

Here's the bottom of his foot (heel to toes, L to R):

• This week, your baby is about 5 1/2 inches long, or about the length of a large tomato.
• Your baby's skeleton continues to harden during the 18th week of your pregnancy. His leg bones and inner ear bones are the first to ossify (harden).
• Your baby now can hear! He might hear your heart beat or your tummy gurgle.
• He might hear loud sounds outside the womb.

Week 17

I can't believe I'm nearly halfway done being pregnant already! I've gained one whole pound, finally. Baby weight has officially started. My weekly email thingy said that I'm scooting into the time frame where I should be finding a pound a week. Funny to look at a scale and not mind the number getting bigger...

The beach was a good family time. Storms, gale-force winds, and SNOW kept us inside most of the time. Daddy O taught us how to make kites from notebook paper - we flew them on the beach for a bit, dressed in muck boots, layers, and Gore-Tex. Power outages from the storm, fences blew down, good stuff!

Baby O, head to toe (poet, I know it :D) is about 9.5" long, 5.5" head to booty and weighs as much as a chicken breast. The baby also started accumulating poop, meconium, this week. Knew y'all wanted to know about that! Haven't felt any movements, or would dismiss it as gas if I did - but I'm sure it will all come in due time. My uterus is the size of a cantaloupe this week, crazy how much extra space I have in my abdominal cavity...

A week from today we get our big 18 week scan, including finding out the gender!

• Right now, your baby is about 4 1/2 to 5 1/2 inches long, or about the length of a large orange.
• Little hiccups continue and you might feel them!
• When you’re around 17 weeks pregnant, a necessary fat called brown fat developsunder your baby's skin. This will help keep her warm after birth. Later in your pregnancy, additional layers of fat develop.
• Air passages in your baby's lungs finish branching.
• By your 17th week of pregnancy, your baby's lungs prepare to take in oxygen.