halfway there!

I'm 20 weeks pregnant today, exactly halfway to my due date! I actually had the first person who didn't know (or overhear) that I was expecting, ask if I was pregnant. The baby goes through a big growth spurt around this time, and I'm starting to show a lot more. It's weird and cool! This week, I thought I'd borrow an idea from my favorite pregnancy podcast, Pregtastic. Each week on the show, a panelist of pregnant ladies, all at different stages, share their pregnancy ups and downs from the week. I'm also posting the 20-week Baby Center update. Enjoy!

ups
• I'm feeling more energetic and motivated than I did in my first trimester, especially since the weather has gotten nicer. We've done some major purging and reorganizing in the past week. I'm most satisfied that we finally tackled the (literally) couple thousand old photos we were storing in the basement and organized them, pared them down and put them into albums. We've been meaning to do this for at least 2 years, and we realized it was really now or never. Next we need to work on the digital photos.

• I think I'm finally starting to feel the little one move. I'm not positive, but I've experienced some little poking sensations that don't feel like typical stomach rumblings. It's pretty cool, but I'm excited to know for sure.

• Kevin has cleared out the nursery and started working on some repairs in preparation to paint the room and build the crib. It feels like we're making real progress!

downs
• I've developed a "pregnancy rash" that apparently less than 1% of pregnant people get. It's harmless, but it's soooo itchy. It started on my stomach and has spread to my legs, arms, back and neck. And all I can do for it is use/take Benedryl. It's rather miserable, and from what I've read it often lasts until you deliver, although it can come and go.

• Although I'm very motivated to get a lot done right now, I'm reluctantly having to limit myself or I pay for it later. I've started having a lot of back and hip pain if I do too much physical work or even when I take a walk. Kevin's been great about encouraging me to relax, but it's hard to stop when you get into project mode!

20 weeks
Your baby weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now. She's also around 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom, and about 10 inches from head to heel — the length of a banana. (For the first 20 weeks, we use measurements taken from the top of the baby's head to her bottom — known as the "crown to rump" measurement. After that, we use measurements from head to toe. This is because a baby's legs are curled up against her torso during the first half of pregnancy and are very hard to measure.) A greasy white substance called vernix caseosa coats her entire body to protect her skin during its long submersion in amniotic fluid. (This slick coating also eases the journey down the birth canal.) Your baby is swallowing more, which is good practice for her digestive system. She's also producing meconium, a black, sticky substance that's the result of cell loss, digestive secretion, and swallowed amniotic fluid. This meconium will accumulate in her bowels, and you'll see it in her first messy diaper (although a few babies pass it in utero or during delivery).