19 Weeks

Our big ultrasound is tomorrow at 10am! I still believe that Baby M. is a girl, but I guess I'll have to wait and see. Mike still feels pretty strongly that it's a boy - we've got a back massage riding on the deal so I hope I'm right :)

The only big change I've noticed this week is that I've been feeling more consistent movement. I still haven't felt any actual kicks yet, but the baby is certainly moving around all over the place in there. It's funny, everything I've read mentioned that it's easier to feel the baby while you're relaxing, however, the only times I've ever felt movement was when I was walking or working around the house. We must have a very active little one!

From Baby Center this week, our baby's sensory development is exploding! Its brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch. Some research even suggests that the baby may be able to hear our voices now if we were to sing or read to it. The baby weighs about 8 1/2 ounces and measures 6 inches, head to bottom and arms and legs are in the right proportions both to each other and the rest of its body now. The baby's kidneys continue to make urine and the hair on its scalp is sprouting. A waxy protective coating called the vernix caseosa is forming on its skin to prevent it from pickling in the amniotic fluid (ewww).