Twenty Weeks

Today Nick is 20 weeks old. Only 140 days to go! I look more and more pregnant every day. I still don't think I've felt Nick move but I'm not positive. I am sure eventually I will. Our integrated screen results came back "negative" - whatever that means. Obviously the most exciting thing that happened this week was finding out our baby is a boy. We are so excited!! It's so fun to be able to say him, his, he, and Nick.

According to The Cradle, Nick weighs about 11 ounces (308 g) and measures about 6 1/3 inches (160 mm) in length. Most women feel movement for the first time between weeks 17 and 20. Feeling movement helps form the attachment or emotional bond between the mom and the baby that will last a lifetime.

According to Pregnancy Weekly, Nick is now about 6.5 inches crown to rump (about 10 inches head to heel) and weighs approximately 10 ounces. Nick is now big enough that I may be able to tell when he or she is awake or asleep based on the level of activity. I can also see a lot of movement in the ultrasound image. Looking at ultrasound images of other babies can help me figure out what I'm looking at when I see Nick's image.

According to Baby Center, Nick 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).

According to The Bump, Nick is now the size of a cantaloupe! Nick gulps down several ounces of amniotic fluid every day, both for nutrition and to practice swallowing and digesting. And, these days, those taste buds actually work! Studies show that after birth, babies respond best to tastes they've already had via amniotic fluid. Meaning, I should think about what I'd like your Nick to eat as I prepare my own lunch.

Jeff and I are going to North Carolina to visit my sister and her husband for Thanksgiving. We leave tonight and we are coming home November 29. I am very excited for my sister to see my baby bump in real life!

Here are some cute things I bought at Target for Nick - I couldn't resist: