Another comparison, and some clothes

First off, here's another comparison photo. Yeah, I know. I'm a couple of weeks late getting this posted. Here I am at 17 weeks. I had meant to take a picture every 4 weeks, but I forgot and then life got in the way, so here I am at 17 weeks.And then here is my dining room table covered in clothes that were sent up from Georgia. Wow! This kid has quite the wardrobe already. It was fun going through everything and seeing some of the clothes that we had given to the nieces/nephew being passed on to our babe. And the cute pink plaid hat! (But where's the matching jumper?)
I sorted it into a few different piles: boy on the right, 2 piles of neutral in the middle, and a pile of girl on the left. Then on the far left are pink and blue bumpers, some blankets, and some crib sheets. There's also a stack of bibs and a pile of socks and hats. Now to further sort things by size. And then find a place to put all of it.

19 Weeks

Your baby equals a large heirloom tomato in size and weighs 8 1/2 ounces. (length: 6 inches, head to bottom)

19 Weeks- Development

Your Baby This Coming Week

Your baby weighs about 9 ounces (260g) and measures about 5.6 to 6.4 inches (14 to 16cm) from crown to rump.

Her skin is thickening and developing multiple layers- the epidermis and the dermis, the deeper layer where it will form fat. Your baby is now also developing a waxy protective coating for her skin called vernix caseosa. The vernix protects your baby's skin which is continuously submersed in amniotic fluid. Vernix, which is particularly thick around the eyebrows is held in place by tiny downy hairs called lanugo.

Your baby can now grip with her fists. Toenails and scalp hair are growing.

At this point, it may be possible to determine the baby's sex by ultrasound, if the baby cooperates, but the ultrasound technician will rarely guarantee the sex based on the ultrasound results as mistakes are sometimes made at an early ultrasound.

You can hear the baby's heartbeat with a Doppler ultrasound device or a stethoscope.

Your Body This Coming Week

Congratulations! You are now halfway through your pregnancy!

You may have a strong sense of well-being. You should be able to feel your baby moving in your uterus several times in a day.

Your bellybutton may become flat or may even actually pop outwards. It will probably continue to darken also, but will return to its usual pigmentation after birth. The top of your uterus (the fundus) is just below your navel.

As your uterus expands, you can expect it to put increased pressure on your lungs, kidneys and stomach. This increased pressure can result in breathlessness when you exert yourself physically. It may also cause indigestion and the need to urinate more often. Your expanding belly may also cause stretch marks on your belly. The stretch marks will probably fade considerably after your baby's birth and even more as time passes.

You may continue to have mood swings and anxiety, but this may begin to decrease. If you have been experiencing absentmindedness, it may continue.

19 Week Journal

How far along? 19 weeks.
Total weight gain/loss: Up another 1.4, so a total of 13 pounds.
TP test: 10.5 squares
Maternity Clothes: Yes.
Food cravings/ aversions: Well, this week we've been eating a lot of leftovers, so you could say I have an aversion to lasagna and BBQ. However, this is not pregnancy related.
"Morning" Sickness: Nope.
Signs of Pregnancy: Mah belleh.
Stretch Marks: Not yet.
Sleep: Much better since we got the new mattress!
Big things this week: 5 relatives from Georgia came to visit for the week. And they brought all kinds of baby gear with them, plus boxes of clothes! Also, we had our ultrasound.
Gender prediction: Not even going to try to guess.
Movement: Not yet. Wish I could feel something soon.
Labor Pains: Too early.
Belly Button in or out? In, but getting smaller.
Wedding rings on or off? Mostly on. But last weekend we had some hot/humid days and I had to take them off.
Weekly Wisdom: Try not to worry.

18 Weeks

Your baby is as big as a bell pepper and weighs almost 7 ounces. (Length: 5 1/2 inches, head to bottom.)

18 Weeks- Development

Your Baby This Coming Week

Your baby measures about 5.2 to 6 inches (13-15cm) from crown to rump and weighs about 7 ounces (200g).

The buds for the permanent teeth are forming behind those that have already developed for the first teeth.

Your baby's nervous system and brain development continue at a spectacular pace. By this week, your baby's motor neurons, which connect muscle to the brain, have grown into place so that your baby can consciously direct her movements. Millions of neurons inside your baby's brain are growing and forming connections and the nerves in her body are being covered in a fatty substance called myelin.

Your baby's ears are now placed on the sides of her head and her limbs are now in proportion. Your baby's tiny foot is just one inch long, but is in perfect proportion to the rest of her leg.

Your baby can hear your voice and recognize it.

Your Body This Coming Week

You have probably gained between 8 and 14 pounds by now, though your own experience may be different.

You may continue to feel fatigued and dizzy at times and you may continue to have a backache and round ligament pain.

People are probably beginning to comment on your pregnancy as it becomes more obvious.

You may have felt movement, or "quickening" as it is sometimes called at this point. You have probably heard your baby's heartbeat by now with an ultrasound device and you may have even seen your baby's heart beating on an ultrasound. Feeling, hearing and seeing your baby in your body can be an important bonding time for you and your baby as you begin to feel the reality that you are carrying a new tiny person inside of you. You may already be feeling strong maternal attachment to your baby. You may enjoy talking to your baby (who can hear and recognize your voice and may even be stimulated by it) and encouraging your partner to do the same (if he is comfortable with doing so) as a way of connecting with him.

18 Weeks Journal

How far along? 18 weeks.
Total weight gain/loss: up another pound.
TP test: Oddly, I seemed to have lost half a square- back to 10.
Maternity Clothes: Yup. Tried wearing a regular cami underneath a thin t-shirt this week. Didn't go so well. there was a definite line between the bottom of the cami and the top of the pants. Oops.
Food cravings/ aversions: Nope.
"Morning" Sickness: Nope.
Signs of Pregnancy: My belleh.
Stretch Marks: Nope.
Sleep: We got a new mattress and I seem to be sleeping pretty well.
Big things this week: Baby got to go to two Red Sox games during the past week! Last Thursday I was volunteering for the Red Sox Foundation, selling raffle tickets during the game, and then as a thanks for doing that, Chris and I were able to get tickets for this past Tuesday.
Movement: Not sure. I felt something on Tuesday morning, but I'm not sure if it was the baby moving or something else.
Labor Pains: Nope.
Belly Button in or out? In.
Wedding rings on or off? On.