Week 20

We are halfway there! Had an appointment with the doctor this morning. Everything's fine and measuring like it's supposed to. Mia's heart rate was 148 today. The doctor said my weight was about right for the halfway point but measuring on the high end. I really need to start walking. :(

Here's some info on her development for this week:

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. (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.)

Your baby is already starting to kick. And while you're feeling her first kicks, she's feeling all kinds of new sensations, too. Her touch receptors are now forming connections to the brain, and she's developing a sense of touch. Not to mention a sense of hearing. That's right, her inner ear, or cochlea, is developing. Believe it or not, your little one can now hear you speak.

A greasy white substance called vernix caseosa coats her entire body to protect her skin during its long submersion in amniotic fluid. 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).

My next appointment is scheduled for April 7th (Week 24). During this appointment I will have to take the glucose test to test for diabetes. They gave me some orange stuff to drink before the test and I can't eat or drink anything 4 hours prior to the test. Good thing the test is in the morning. :)