Week 20

Dear Sweet Pea,

Today I am 19 weeks along, and almost halfway there! By now you're probably finished that rapid growth spurt that occured in the last month or so, and resulted in me getting bigger very quickly! You're still about 6" long and weigh about 260g now. Your skin is thickening as the different layers begin to develop. You're covered in vernix, which will protect you from the amniotic fluid. You can now grip with your fists, and hair is beginning to grow on your scalp.

I am feeling well, now that I'm over the cold that I had since I posted last. There were a few days there where I really felt awful! I could really only take Tylenol which helped with the headaches and body aches, but didn't do anything for the congestion (which was on top of the regular pregnancy-stuffiness I've had)! People are definitely noticing my belly now, and aren't afraid to mention it!

On Monday we will be going for our detailed ultrasound. Luckily this time, its in the morning so I don't have to wait all day! The technician will be looking at all of your organs and taking lots of measurements to ensure you're growing and developing properly. This will also be our big chance to find out if you're a boy or a girl! Our fingers are crossed that you will be in a good position, and the tech will be willing to tell us. Daddy and I have decided that if we do find out, we will only be revealing the news to our parents and siblings(and our siblings' significant others). Gender determination at this point is really just a good guess, so we don't want to tell everyone that you're a boy or a girl, and then you turn out to be the opposite! For this reason, we won't be including your gender in this blog. You will be reading it as a book, but before that happens its all online for anyone to read.

One last bit of news is that we've decided on the prenatal/labour prep class we're going to take. Our midwives recommended the Childbearing Society to us. They are based in Vancouver and offer both evening classes (over 7 weeks) or a condensed weekend version. By signing up, I'll also get to take part in a breastfeeding class, nutrition classes, a few postpartum classes, and even a reunion class with all the other parents who are expecting around the same time as us. We'll probably do the weekend course in May so that it will be nice and fresh in our minds.

That's all for now!