20 Weeks - Half Baked!

We are officially half way through this pregnancy! I continue to pray the last 20 weeks go as well as the first 20. This truly is "the golden child" as I've affectionately come to name him/her. My baby is so good to me! JA and I met up with some friends yesterday to celebrate some of the wonderful things happening in our lives. Michael is cancer-free, Katie and Kevin bought a new home, and Baby A is on the way. What a fun celebration! Many of the women there were moms and they were sharing some of their stories with me. As I listened to tales of swollen ankles and heartburn, I silently thanked this baby for being such a superstar. Here's hoping he/she is as cooperative outside the womb. :)

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).

That meconium stuff sounds fun! ;)

This week my third graders were exploring the math tools we'll use this year. When I think of our baby being almost as long as their rulers I'm amazed! If the baby takes after JA, he'll definitely be sporting some long legs too. Speaking of my baby daddy, as I was getting ready for the party yesterday, JA got a good look at my belly. I think he was shocked to see how round it's getting. Twice he made comments and I think he said hello to it too. Very cute! I actually missed taking my 19-week belly pic last week, so I'm going to take the 20-week one right now!

Say hello to the belly baby!

To compare, here's the photo from May 28.

• How far along? 20 weeks
• Total weight gain/loss: +8 pounds
• Sleep: Still sleeping like a champ!
• Best moment this week: Seeing all of our friends yesterday
• Food cravings: Nothing in particular I noticed this week
• Gender: We have our educated guess, but we'll wait until the anatomy scan on Tuesday! to be more certain.
• Maternity Clothes: Pants are a must now, but I can still wear regular tops
• Belly Button in or out? In
• What I miss: My regular clothes; as the weather gets cooler I miss my fall clothing, but I think I've done a pretty good job with accumulating maternity clothing in styles I like.
• What I am looking forward to: My mom is coming down on Tuesday to accompany us to the anatomy scan. I cannot wait to see her and how much the baby has grown!
• Weekly Wisdom: Our friends who have gone through them said birthing classes were unnecessary. I'll ask the doctor on Tuesday, but if we can skip them, I'm all for it!

Saturday
Breakfast - egg and cheese on ciabatta bread; decaf latte
Snack - half a chocolate chip cookie
Lunch - half a pasta bread bowl with spinach and tomato
Snack - tortilla chips with veggie chili and cheese dip
Dinner - garden salad (lettuce, tomato, cucumber, and pepper) with grilled "chicken;" pasta salad; baked potato with sour cream; fruit salad
Dessert - chocolate chip cookie

Sunday
Breakfast - plain bagel with light cream cheese; decaf latte
Snack - half a chocolate chip cookie
Lunch - cheese and corn lasagna; roasted sweet potatoes
Snack - tortilla chips and salsa
Dinner - tomato and basil soup; Asian Caesar salad (romaine, cheese, cashews, and wonton chips); asparagus