Baby Banana

19 WEEKS PREGNANT - 20TH WEEK OF DEVELOPMENT



Wow, look at that belly! This week was kind of rough. My nausea got the better of me several times and it was just an altogether unpleasant week to be pregnant. Baby must be moving a lot, but I still can't tell if I can feel it. I think I've been feeling him/her move this week, but I'm not sure. It's not consistent, and I know I'll know it when I feel it.

This week:
-The geekling will grow to be the size of a banana, about 6.5 inches long from head to rump (length calculations have all been from head to rump until now; next week, in the second half of the pregnancy - oh my goodness! - the calculations will be from head to toe), about the length of a banana
-He or she will grow to weigh about 10.5 oz
-If we are having a boy his testicles have begun to descend from his abdomen to his scrotum (and he will kill me someday for typing this)
-If we are having a girl her uterus is fully formed and her ovaries are holding about seven million primitive eggs (much to her dad's chagrin, I'm sure)
-He or she is swallowing more now, giving his or her digestive system lots of practice
-He or she is producing meconium, a black, sticky by-product of digestion (the tar-looking substance that will come out in his or her first diapers - ick!)

As for me:
-My hair and nails are growing faster and stronger thanks to pregnancy hormones and increased circulation
-My appetite should kick in as soon as I'm done being nauseous for half of every day; for now I'm eating smaller meals than usual, but I get hungry more often (which is good anyway). Unfortunately I'm still not completely past the baby's aversion to healthy food. I say the baby's aversion because I am craving a big fat salad and I just know that if I eat one it will come right back up
-My weight gain will start to pick up at this point, which is scary, but I'm working on it. I've started working out again, after a hiatus that was induced by my fear that I was going to shake the baby out and continued by my extreme exhaustion and my extended vacation
-I put in my resignation this week at work; I will officially be done on 7 Aug. For those of you that haven't heard the plan, I will quit working in August to finish up my Master's without the added stress/time restraints of a full-time job. I should be able to finish up my coursework in the August-October term, take my comprehensive exam in October, and, provided I pass the exam, be a December graduate school graduate! Can't wait!

Well, that's about all there is to report from the home-front. Hope you're all having a wonderful week!

Love, Tara