21 Weeks

Today I read in two different resources that I should be "comfortably pregnant" right now. I think they tell you this at 21 weeks because after the big ultrasound week of excitement, the next week is fairly uneventful. Not a lot of changes, and I don't really think that the bump has gotten much bigger. But I guess this description is accurate. I've been "feeling" pregnant for a while now, and not awkwardly or painfully so. And I can still bend over to tie my shoes (for how much longer, I'm not sure...).

The only big news is that we took the Short Stranger on a 5k Komen Breast Cancer Walk on Saturday to raise money for a cure, and we survived with only one very necessary bathroom break! Even got a a bit of a tan.

This week, the Short Stranger has only grown a wee bit, from the length of a banana to that of a carrot. So not much. A much bigger growth spurt is coming soon though, since we've got about 6-8 pounds to go. Babycenter.com writes this:

Your baby now weighs about three-quarters of a pound and is approximately 10 1/2 inches long — the length of a carrot. You may soon feel like she's practicing martial arts as her initial fluttering movements turn into full-fledged kicks and nudges. You may also discover a pattern to her activity as you get to know her better. In other developments, your baby's eyebrows and lids are present now, and if you're having a girl, her vagina has begun to form as well.

Short Stranger pictures coming soon, we promise! We have about an album's worth already.

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).