20 weeks

20 weeks is often advertised as the half way mark in pregnancy. However, since you know I'm persnickety about the fact that they give you 2 weeks free in the beginning, that means I won't really counting myself as being at the half way point until next week. The Stump lump continues to grow as evidenced below.


Email excerpt:

Your baby weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now. She's about 10 inches from head to heel— the length of a banana. (The way your baby is measured now changes.) A greasy white substance called vernix caseosa coats your baby's entire body to protect her skin during its long submersion in amniotic fluid. She's also producing meconium, a black, sticky substance made of dead cells, digestive secretions, and swallowed amniotic fluid, which will accumulate in her bowels and end up in her first diaper.

Bill found an interesting article about cloth diapering and sent it to me the other day. The author talks about how even though he and his wife plan to use cloth diapers they are using disposables in the beginning. I told Bill that we should do that too for the first couple of weeks, as meconium is apparently a nasty tar like substance that doesn't wash out easily. I made the mistake of including a link to a wikipedia entry which included a lovely picture of meconium poo. Click the previous link at your own risk. I think Bill has been scared for life.