18 Weeks!

Today is 18 weeks, and the short stranger is the size of a sweet pepper! I'm having a little trouble differentiating the sizes of peppers, avocados, and turnips in my head, but apparently, peppers are larger. In any case, what's even more interesting is that my uterus is the size of a cantaloupe.

According to babycenter:

Head to rump, your baby is about 5 1/2 inches long (about the length of a bell pepper) and he weighs almost 7 ounces. He's busy flexing his arms and legs — movements that you'll start noticing more and more in the weeks ahead. His blood vessels are visible through his thin skin, and his ears are now in their final position, although they're still standing out from his head a bit. A protective covering of myelin is beginning to form around his nerves, a process that will continue for a year after he's born. If you're having a girl, her uterus and fallopian tubes are formed and in place. If you're having a boy, his genitals are noticeable now, but he may hide them from you during an ultrasound.

17 Weeks!

We're at 17 weeks today, and the short stranger is the size of a. . . turnip? Or at least that's what babycenter.com tells us. Since I rarely eat turnips, I'm having a little trouble picturing this. But in any case, I am now at the stage that I *think* I can feel the baby moving--or at least I can feel something going on below my belly button. 

Babycenter.com states this about week 17:

Your baby's skeleton is changing from soft cartilage to bone, and the umbilical cord — her lifeline to the placenta — is growing stronger and thicker. Your baby weighs 5 ounces now (about as much as a turnip), and she's around 5 inches long from head to bottom. She can move her joints, and her sweat glands are starting to develop.

The short stranger will be able to sweat soon! Just in time for summer.