18 weeks and 7 days.....

End of week 19

Our baby weighs about 8.5 ounces and is measuring 6 inches, head to bottom — about the size of a large mango. The hair on the scalp is sprouting ( if there is lots of hair-- there will be heartburn). If our baby is a girl, she already has 6 million eggs in her ovaries. This is a crucial time for sensory development: Our baby's brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch. Baby may be able to hear us as we talk. Research shows that baby is learning to distinguish my voice from others, and will soon show a preference for it. Daddy is putting his head to my belly — he is talking to our baby.

Our little action figure is able to choreograph Matrix-like moves by now. Arms and legs are finally in proportion, neurons are now connected between the brain and muscles, and cartilage throughout the body is turning to bone. All these upgrades combine to give our baby more control over limb movements. Which explains all that kicking, stretching, and bodysurfing (or rather bellysurfing) you've possibly started feeling by now. Something else going on this week: Our baby is getting a cheesy varnish. Say what? Yup — a protective substance called vernix caseosa (vernix is the Latin word for varnish; caseosa is cheese) now covers our baby's skin. It's greasy and white and is made up of lanugo (that downy hair), oil from our baby's glands, and dead skin cells. This waxy "cheese" may not sound too appetizing or attractive, but it's there for good reason: Vernix protects our baby's sensitive skin from the surrounding amniotic fluid. Without it, our baby would look very wrinkled at birth (sort of what you'd look like if you soaked in a bath for nine months). Some babies — especially those born early — will still be covered with vernix at the delivery, so we might get a look at our baby's first anti-wrinkle cream. If I think I'm big now? I'll start growing even more rapidly in the weeks to come. This added weight may make it hard for me to keep up my regular pace (what pace?) without taking a catnap (been doing that) during the day. If I start to get that darkened line running from the top of your belly button to the top of your pubic bone---haven't yet. It's called the linea nigra, or 'dark line,' and is caused by a temporary increase in melanin, the substance that colors my hair, skin, and eyes.