Twenty-one Weeks Pregnant

I now weigh about three-quarters of a pound and am approximately 10½ inches long. My eyebrows and eyelids are fully developed. And Mummy can certainly feel me move! Researchers say babies move about 50 times an hour even while sleeping. All that movement helps stimulate my physical and mental development. Mummy may not notice all those kicks, punches, and twirls during the day, but as she's settling down at night, she shouldn't be surprised if I seem ready to dance the night away!

Twenty Week Scan

Today I made another Guest Appearance on television! Mummy, Daddy and Big Brother Dirk all watched me wriggle and squirm on the Ultrasound monitor at hospital. Everything was tickety-boo. Here's my photo:

I tried to hide again, but I'm just too big now! Alas, my days of playing Das Boot with the sonographer are long gone! She took lots of readings and measurements. My cerebellum, for instance, is 20mm. Don't ask me whether that's height, depth or width, 'cos she didn't say! She estimated my weight the be 325g which, apart from being the Minnesota Statute's Chapter on Consumer Protection, is the same mass (NOT weight Ms Wilson!) as a jar of Mars Galaxy Instant!

The graph below shows my Biparietal Diameter (that's head width, dummy!) The measurement was 46mm, which is exactly average!

This graph shows Femur Length. My measurement today was 32mm which means my thigh is the tiniest bit longer than average!

This graph shows Head Circumference. Mine was 174mm this afternoon. This is as near to average as makes no odds.

Lastly, here's the graph for Abdominal Circumference. My twenty-week measurement was 147mm - average again!

Here's the whole data sheet:
Sorry about the atrocious spelling... NHS cutbacks, I suppose!

A Video (Not me!)

Twenty Weeks Pregnant - HALFWAY THERE!

I weigh about 10½ oz now. I'm also around 6½" long from head to bottom, and about 10" from head to heel. A greasy white substance called vernix caseosa coats my entire body to protect my skin during its long submersion in amniotic fluid. I am swallowing more, which is good practice for my digestive system. I'm 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 my bowels, but you'll see it in my first nappy! And what are these tiny hard things on the end of my- my... well I suppose I’d better start finding names for things if I want to make any headway in what for the sake of what I shall call an argument I shall call the world, so let’s call them my feet. Anyway, little hard things on the end of my feet. I'll call them, er... nails. Is that a good name? I can always think of a better one later, when I've found out what they're for because there certainly seems to be a hell of a lot of them!

Midwife visit

Today Mummy went to see Sue the midwife. This time I decided to behave myself and let Sue and Mummy hear my heartbeat. Mummy also had her blood pressure checked and it was fine. We have to see Sue again in five weeks.

Nineteen Weeks Pregnant

I weigh about 8½ oz, and I measure 6", head to bottom — about the length of a small zucchini. My arms and legs are in the right proportions to each other and the rest of my body now. My kidneys continue to make urine, and the hair on my scalp is sprouting. This is a crucial time for sensory development: My brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch. If I am a girl (and I'm still not telling!), then I have an astonishing 6 million eggs in my ovaries. They'll dwindle to fewer than two million by the time I'm born.

Latest Names

The latest baby names* agreed upon by Mummy and Daddy are as follows...

Boy: Jasper Diello Gene Withnail

Girl: Fenchurch Daisy Wednesday** Withnail



* (Opinions not invited.)

**(Daddy only at the moment.)

Eighteen Weeks Pregnant

I am 6" (14.2 cm) long from crown to rump and I weigh about 7 oz (190 g). My chest moves up and down to mimic breathing but I'm not taking in air, only amniotic fluid. I'm busy flexing my arms and legs — movements that Mummy is feeling more and more. Myelin (a protective covering) is beginning to form around my nerves, a process that will continue for a year after I'm born. If I'm a girl, my uterus and fallopian tubes are formed and in place. If I'm a boy, my genitals are noticeable on an ultrasound scan.