Double Dose of Baby Updates

I got so carried away with our gender discovery of last week that I forgot to post week 18's babycenter.com update. And we've already moved on to week 19 now! So here are both:

Week 18
"Head to rump, your baby is approximately 5 1/2 inches long (about the length of a bell pepper) and weighs almost 7 ounces. He's busy flexing his arms and legs — movements that you'll start noticing more and more in the weeks ahead."

Week 19
"Your baby weighs about 8 1/2 ounces, and measures 6 inches, head to bottom — about the size of a large heirloom tomato. The hair on his scalp is sprouting. This is a crucial time for sensory development: Your baby's brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch. Some research suggests that he may be able to hear your voice now, so don't be shy about reading aloud, taking to him, or singing a happy tune if the mood strikes you."


I appreciate all the information babycenter makes available to expectant moms, but I sure wish they'd get a new fruit/vegetable picker! It seems that we are regularly making one step forward-two steps back progressions in the produce line of development. It's all a bit confusing!

The Lowdown on the Ultrasound

Yesterday was so much fun! I keep thinking about our baby boy flipping and spinning and squirming. I didn't expect for the ultrasound to last as long as it did (1.5 hours!), so every minute was a treat. They take pictures and measurements of every little part, and they sent us home with copies of about ten pictures! Here's Baby's body profile--I think he looks so big in this one! And he's waving at you!

We had to ask for this picture of his sweet little facial profile. The ultrasound tech wasn't particularly interested in his face, just his nose bridge and lip and palate, which all looked great. By the way, the ultrasound tech was very nice, but we thought it was pretty funny that she asked me in her quite thick Russian accent, "V'ere are you from? You talk so different. Your accent is so funny!" When I told her Birmingham, Alabama, she just nodded and gave me a quizzical look. I'm not sure she understood me!

Here's the top of Baby's head on the right and then his arm extending right to left. Nice straight bones!

And here you can see his perfect little hand on the upper right:

And, finally, the bottom of his foot, on the far left. The ultrasound also helped me confirm that the tiny little feelings I'm having are in fact Baby's feet and hands--I could watch him kick and punch and feel the softest little prod at the same time.

So we saw...two arms, two legs, ten fingers, ten toes, four heart chambers, all the parts of the brain, and all the other organs and parts, which were each properly sized and developed. Many thanks to God for this healthy baby boy! We also got to see Baby do all kinds of gymnastics. He got going so fast at one point that we could see all the amniotic fluid swirling around him--he'd created his own little whirlpool. And we saw him drinking, scratching his head, and rubbing his face--so cute! I'm not sure whether we'll see Baby again before his birth day, but this time sure was fun!