19 Weeks

We are so close to being halfway there! Next Sunday will be 20 weeks and Nicole will have made it halfway through her pregnancy. Nicole thinks that it's been pretty easy so far (except for her headaches that have gotten progressively worse) so, hopefully, the second half will be as good or better than the first.

In my mind, at least, this last week has been the biggest week of change for Nicole. She is happy, too, because now she feels like she looks pregnant and "not just chubby." She does, however, already miss her favorite jeans. She didn't know that that part would be this hard.

The Bun did keep Nicole up one night this week because s/he wouldn't stop doing somersaults! She thinks of it as a nice reminder that s/he's still there.

We did decide to do the Quad screen so Nicole gave some more blood to Kaiser last week. We decided that if something was wrong we would take the opportunity to learn as much about it as we could so that we could be the best parents for our Bun. The screen came back normal! We know that no screen is perfect but we're happy for the good news so far.

Wednesday is going to be a big day for us. We have our 20 week ultrasound at 10:15 a.m. I am already expecting lots of tears again from Nicole. This is the ultrasound where they may be able to tell us if the Bun is a boy or a girl. We aren't sure yet that we are going to let everyone in on that detail. I guess you'll just have to wait and see.

Our amazing little baby is now around 10 inches in length! If this seems a bit shocking, you’ll be relieved to know s/he has not actually grown over 3 inches, but that his/her little legs are now straight enough to be measured. This is when doctors begin measuring fetal growth from head to toe, (no longer “crown to rump” or CR). Lanugo (little hairs) covers his/her whole body now, trapping that charming cheese-like vernix caseosa to the surface to the skin. This week our little Bun will start on an appetizing diet of amniotic fluid which they are now capable of swallowing, digesting, and passing the fluid as far as their tiny “large” intestines. Fortunately for Nicole, this nice little lump of baby-poop won’t be coming out while s/he is still in the womb. Some time shortly after the Bun is born, this fun lump will become the first in a long line of baby poops.