Week 19...A Little Late!

Since we were away last week, I wasn't able to update. We had a great time in Vegas, and our brief vacation was over WAY too quickly. It was SO nice being able to get away and not have to worry about work for a few days. We didn't win any money, but we had a lot of fun.

This week, I had my first baby dreams. In the first one, our baby was a girl. She came out of the womb being able to talk, and she told me that she wanted to be named Hazel. In the second, our baby was a boy. He was really round and fat and had big blue eyes.

Tomorrow is our Big Ultrasound! I am so excited that we will be seeing our baby together! I'm looking forward to watching him/her move, especially because I haven't yet felt anything. I'm also hopeful that we will be told that the baby is growing properly, and everything looks good. With any luck, they will give us a picture to take home, and I will be able to share our Little One with all of you!

What's happening in Week 19? This week is when doctors begin measuring fetal growth from head to toe, no longer “crown to rump.” Little hairs cover the whole body now, trapping cheese-like vernix caseosa to the surface to the skin. This week is also when the baby starts on an appetizing diet of amniotic fluid, which he/she is now capable of swallowing, digesting, and passing as far as his/her tiny “large” intestine. Fortunately for me, this nice little lump of baby-poop won’t be coming out while he/she is still in the womb. Some time shortly after he/she is born, this fun lump commonly known as “meconium” to the science world, will come out black and sticky. I understand that I will be grateful that this only happens once!