19 weeks - April 7-14, 2011

Baby is the size of a mango this week! About 6" and around 8.5 ounces. He/She is now covered in Vernix Caseosa, a greasy white substance that protects his/her skin against the amniotic fluid, so baby doesn't look like a tiny prune in September! Baby has been very active this week. I can feel him/her moving a lot more than this time last week. The most movement is usually between 10-3 during the day and then a little after 9 at night. It is now 11:11pm and I have been feeling it for a while now.

We had our checkup on the 8th and it showed that the baby's heartbeat was in the 150s. The Dr said everything looked great and that we go for our gender test on the 22nd.. That's next Friday people! Oh my! I am so excited and nervous at the same time to find out! Everyone that has shared their opinion on what they think it is, thinks it's a girl other than Alan's brother William, my friend at work and now Alan. Alan was very set on it being a girl up until here recently. I think he only thinks it's a boy now because everybody else thinks it's a girl. Obviously, we don't care one way or the other. We just want a healthy, happy baby overall.

Alan said this week is the biggest difference he's noticed in my belly. The picture above was taken after breakfast and juice and it's normally taken first thing after I wake up but it just didn't work out that way for that week. People are saying they are really noticing here recently that I have a little belly now. And to that, I say little?! :)

This week we also picked out the crib we want for the baby's room. After reading Baby Bargains, we decided to go with Graco Lauren. It had great ratings in the book and safety is obviously the most important. Plus I wanted something will really clean lines and very modern and this is the perfect combination! It does convert to a toddler bed(we will get the side rail to protect the baby from rolling off the bed), daybed and the back piece can be used as a Full headboard later in life. So you are basically getting 4 beds for the price of one! And this is the 3 drawer chest we will get to go with it. After reading that book, we decided not to get a changing table and just get a low chest and put a changing pad on the top. That way when our baby is out of diapers, he/she will still have a nice piece of furniture they can use when they are a big boy or girl! I tell ya, if you or someone you know is pregnant, get them Baby Bargains. It has been a lifesaver for me cause I don't have a clue when it comes to brands or safety or what is a waste of money and what's not. If I hadn't read this book, we would have spent $100 or more on a changing table that we would use for a year or so and then what can you do with it? With the chest, we can keep it for years and years, hopefully.All in all, 19 weeks was another great week. Getting the crib and chest picked out was huge. The glider/ottoman will be next so we can get all the furniture ordered that may take a couple of weeks to ship. Then we will focus on strollers, car seats, diaper bags, etc. My weight this week was 111.8 and my belly measures 33"! Getting closer and closer to my pre-pregnancy weight of 116!