20 Weeks: Halfway!

Today we hit the 20 week mark, which means we're halfway to the big d-day on Halloween (this also means we could be over halfway if the Short Stranger is impatient and arrives early). It's been a pretty awesome week all around for us and the Short Stranger. Two days after I returned from my lovely research trip to DC, we learned through our big ultrasound that the Short Stranger is a boy, so he now goes by Mr. Stranger. We also got a peek at all his body parts, as he danced about on the screen for us (mostly face down, so we didn't get to see much of his profile). It's truly amazing that you can see the four chambers of the heart at this point! I'm also feeling his movements much more regularly this week, including an occasional tapping sensation that seems a lot more specific than the vague flitters I usually feel. And--as our friend Jen had predicted--I'm having to say goodbye to a lot of my non-maternity clothes this week. Hello bump!

And in other news, I also started prenatal yoga at the YMCA last night, which is run by this cool chick with wild tattoos running up both of her arms. She's totally South City! The class will be a great respite after working at the St. Louis Art Museum every Thursday.

So we know from the ultrasound this week that the Mr. is around 10 oz, but in babycenter.com food-talk, this means he's apparently about the length of a banana. I'm thinking that the website has run out of round mid-sized fruits and vegetables. And speaking of food, babycenter.com has decided to focus on digestion this week. Incidentally, we also know from the ultrasound that Mr. Stranger's stomach and kidney's are working well.

Here's what the website has to say:

Your baby weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now. He'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, when a baby's legs are curled up against his torso and hard to measure, measurements are taken from the top of his head to his bottom — the "crown to rump" measurement. After 20 weeks, he's measured from head to toe.)

He's swallowing more these days, which is good practice for his digestive system. He's also producing meconium, a black, sticky by-product of digestion. This gooey substance will accumulate in his bowels, and you'll see it in his first soiled diaper (some babies pass meconium in the womb or during delivery).