19 Weeks

Almost halfway there! The top of my uterus now almost reaches my bellybutton, it will grow approx 1cm a week. The baby is about 6 inches from the head to the bum, and weighs in at about 9oz. In addition to 'breathing' amniotic fluid, the baby is now swallowing it, this then works through the kidneys and produces urine. The hair on our little one's scalp (if any) is starting to sprout.

Sensory development reaches it's peak this week. The nerve cells serving each of the senses - taste, smell, hearing, seeing and touch, are now developing in their specialized area of the brain. Nerve cell production slows down as existing nerve cells grow larger and make more complex connections. If our little one is a girl, she'll already have roughly 6 million eggs in her ovaries. By the time she's born, that will decrease to about 1 million.

At this point I should be able to feel the kicking and somersaulting of the growing baby. At times, the baby will be so active that I may not be able to sleep! The next 10 weeks are the baby's busiest, and most active time, until the womb gets too crowded.

I forgot to mention in my previous entry, at my appointment yesterday, I did the routine weigh in, and guess what?? Weight gain remains at ZERO, yes, ladies and gentlemen, I have gained NOTHING, not a pound! This puts me right on target for my target weight gain in the long run (hoping to stay around 15-20 lbs) They say in the end, you'll gain about a pound a week, and I have only 21 weeks left - so with some careful meal planning, I should be exactly where I want to be! This is a completely healthy gain for me, by the way - as I wasn't 'ideal' weight pre-pregnancy.