20 Weeks: 1/2 Way There!

This week's update from the baby site was a little gruesome to read. Don't read the last part if you are getting ready to eat dinner...


Your baby weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now. 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).



On a lighter note, I FELT THE BABY KICK THIS PAST SUNDAY FOR THE FIRST TIME! I was just talking to friends on Friday night about this. They asked me if I had felt the baby yet, and I said no. Then, while Gene and I were away on our Anniversary trip this past weekend, I woke up Sunday morning to these little "flicks" in my stomach. At first I thought they were just hunger pains, but they continued in the same place for about 15 minutes. I even woke Gene up to have him feel them too. So fun, but sooooo weird! It's like there's a little alien living inside of me!