Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Week 19 - I'm thinking we are halfway there!

Hey there little girlie-o-mine!  We are now 19 weeks in!  And depending on we both do at the end of the pregnancy, it could be the halfway point this week.  Many times, if induced or c-section, they will do this at 38 weeks....so we are halfway there!  =) I am sitting here writing this in the Rocky Mountains with you in my belly!  The Fall Valley River is flowing right outside our open screen door.  Love it!  Can't wait to sleep with our screen open tonight too...with the sound of the rushing river putting us to sleep!  I can pretty much feel you getting bigger!  So here's the scoop on you!

Your reproductive system is already well established. The vagina, uterus, and fallopian tubes are in place, and your ovaries contain more than 6 million primitive egg cells (wow!). When you are born, that number will have shrunk to about 1 million, which is all the eggs you'll ever have. Your arms and legs are in the right proportions to each other and the rest of your body now. Your kidneys continue to make urine and the hair on your scalp is sprouting. Around this time, your skin starts to produce a creamy substance called vernix caseosa, which is made of oils secreted by the skin, dead cells, and lanugo, the fine hair that covers the body. This waxy coating protects your skin from the effects of floating in amniotic fluid (I am imagining what my skin would look like after swimming in a pool for nine months - so thank goodness for that covering for you!). Most of the vernix will disappear before birth, unless you arrive early. Preterm babies are often born still covered with a lot of vernix. Even full-term infants will have a bit of vernix in the creases of their skin. You most likely measure about 7 or so inches and weighs anywhere from 7 to 9 ounces (you measured in last week at the doctor's office at 8 oz.). You are about the size of a mango!  There's a definite upswing on the fetal growth chart now, so we can expect some big gains in the coming weeks.

We are still adjusting to the fact that you are a girl!  All in a good way!  We catch ourselves sometimes saying "he" instead of "she"...still getting used to the change I guess!  We took back most of the boy-ish clothes and exchanged for some super cute girlie stuff instead.  Can't wait to see you in it all!

I am feeling great...definitely have a belly and love showing it off now more than ever.  We are in Colorado this week seeing your aunts, uncles, cousins, grandma, etc.  I am definitely showing you off to everyone around here!  Plus, we have all your latest sonogram pics that we are showing everyone too!  They love them.  They are throwing us a little shower on Saturday, which will be super fun!  I'll tell you all about it next week!

That's it for now I guess.  I feel like there should be more, but nothing is coming to mind.  I'll post some good pictures of our trip soon.  In the meantime, kick away!  I still need to feel you!  Love you baby girl!

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