22 weeks

How your baby's growing: Your baby now looks like a miniature newborn, checking in at 10.9 inches (the length of a spaghetti squash) and almost 1 pound. Her skin will continue to appear wrinkled until she gains enough weight to fill it out, and the fine hair (lanugo) that covers her head and body is now visible. Her lips are becoming more distinct, and the first signs of teeth are appearing as buds beneath her gum line. Her eyes are developed, though the iris (the colored part of the eye) still lacks pigment. Eyelids and eyebrows are in place, and her pancreas, essential for hormone production, is developing steadily.

How your life's changing: You may start to notice stretch marks on your skin as your abdomen expands to accommodate your growing baby. Some pregnant women never get stretch marks, but at least half do. These small streaks of differently textured skin can range from pink to dark brown (depending on your skin color), and they become more apparent as pregnancy progresses. They can appear not only on your tummy, but also on your buttocks, thighs, hips, and breasts. Lotions won't prevent or eliminate them, but they help with any itching. Also, you may no longer be an "innie" — your navel is flat and may soon pop out. It will revert to its usual shape after birth.

Another interesting skin quirk you may notice during pregnancy is something called vascular spiders. These are little areas of raised, reddish skin, with tiny branches. Commonly found on the face, neck, upper chest, and arms, they're caused by the higher levels of estrogen in pregnancy, and they usually disappear after delivery.

How I'm doing: Merry Christmas! I'm doing well. We're currently in Redding for Christmas. So far we've just spent a couple days hanging out with family. It's nice to have some time off work to rest and relax. Nothing really new in baby news. The baby is still kicking away. Scott still hasn't been able to feel the baby kicking yet. We've decided to go with a green theme in the baby's area since we're not sure if it's a girl or a boy. Later on we can add in a few pink or blue items as the case may be.

21 weeks

How your baby's growing: Your baby now weighs about three-quarters of a pound and is approximately 10 1/2 inches long — the length of a carrot. His eyebrows and eyelids are fully developed. And you can certainly feel him move. He's oblivious to your schedule, though, so don't be surprised if he starts working out just when you're settling down for the night. If you're having a girl, her vagina is formed now, though it will continue to develop until birth.

How your life's changing: You're probably feeling pretty comfortable these days. You're not too big yet, and the usual aches and pains associated with early pregnancy are, for the most part, gone. Relax and enjoy it while you can — the third trimester will bring some mild discomfort from carrying a baby who is nearly full-term.

That's not to say you don't have some minor glitches to deal with now. Increased oil production may have given you a mild case of acne, for example. If that's the case, be diligent about washing well with a gentle soap and water twice a day, but don't take any oral acne medications — or even use any topical acne products — without checking with your practitioner first.

You're also prone to varicose veins now (especially if your mom has them). That's because pregnancy puts added pressure on the veins in your legs. (Your blood volume is increased and your uterus puts pressure on the inferior vena cava, the large vein that returns blood from the lower half of your body to your heart.) As if that's not enough, an increase in the hormone progesterone causes the walls of your blood vessels to relax, so as your baby and uterus grow, the veins can become more and more prominent. Varicose veins tend to worsen with each pregnancy, and while they're most likely to show up in your legs, they can also appear on your vulva.

If your legs ache, put maternity support hose on first thing in the morning. Increasing your circulation with a brisk walk each day can also help, as can elevating your legs and sleeping on your left side with your feet propped up with a pillow.

How I'm doing: Things seem to be going pretty good. I feel pretty normal. My belly seems like it's getting bigger and bigger every day. It's more difficult to get in and out of bed and to sit up because I can't really use my abs very much any more. I pretty much have to roll out of bed. I'm also using a small stool to get into bed since our bed is pretty high.

The baby is kicking up a storm. She seems to be most active in the late afternoon to early evening. I can especially feel her when I'm leaning forward and my waistband compresses my stomach a little. I don't think she likes that since it probably makes her space a little smaller.

We're starting to think of names. Since we're not sure it's a girl we're thinking up a girl's name and a boy's name so that's a bit more work. It's a big decision to make. We are still planning on waiting to tell the official name until the baby arrives since we want the option of changing our minds if we don't think the name fits.

Since we're over halfway there we're also planning on starting to rearrange and set up our room to accommodate the baby very soon. We think we'll order the crib I posted earlier by January since it takes 2-3 months to arrive and we don't want it to be late. I have a few other ideas to make the baby's part of the room a little special since we won't have a separate nursery. I'll post some pictures as we work on that.

Only one more week of work until we're off for the holidays. We can hardly wait. It's hard to concentrate at work when vacation is looming so closely.

It's a GIRL...Maybe!?!

As it turns out we have a stubborn baby. She was nice an cozy in her little corner and didn't want to move around to show us anything. We got a decent view but the doctor was only about 75% sure she was a girl. So now we have to wait. Perhaps until when she's born to know for sure. So we have to hold off on buying anything pink and frilly that can't be returned. Luckily we weren't really planning on going that route anyway.

The actual purpose of the scan was to make sure she's healthy and growing as she should. The good news is that she is. Everything looks perfect. Her spine look perfect. The doctor measured some of her bones and organs and everything looked good. Her stomach and bladder were nice and full so she's eating a lot. Her heart was pumping and the blood was flowing nicely through each ventricle. We could see all four chambers. Her brain is developing nicely. There's no excess fluid. The umbilical cord developed properly with two arteries and one vein. She weighs 12 oz now and her heart was beating at 159 bpm. And of course, she's beautiful.

For those of you who can't read ultrasounds well. Here's a few landmarks for you (click the picture and it will open bigger in a new window).

Halfway there - 20 weeks!

How your baby's growing: 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).

How your life's changing: You've made it to the halfway mark — Congratulations! The top of your uterus is at the level of your belly button now, and you've likely gained about 10 pounds. Expect to gain an average of about another pound each week from now on. (If you started your pregnancy underweight, you may need to gain a bit more; if you were overweight, perhaps a bit less.) Make sure you're getting enough iron, a mineral that's used primarily to make hemoglobin (the part of your red blood cells that carries oxygen). During pregnancy, your body needs more iron for your developing baby and the placenta, and to keep up with your expanding blood volume. Iron-rich foods include lean red meat, poultry, fish, lentils and other legumes, spinach, and iron-fortified cereals.

If you haven't already signed up for a childbirth education class, you may want to look into one. Whether you're a first-timer or a pro, you can benefit from a structured class that helps prepare you for the rigors of labor and delivery. Most hospitals and birth centers offer classes, either as weekly meetings or as a single intensive, all-day session. Ask your doctor or midwife for a recommendation. At 37 weeks, you'll be considered full-term, so plan to be done with classes by then.

How I'm doing: Only two more days until the big appointment. We are very anxious to find out the sex of this little baby so we can stop referring to it as an "it". The baby moves around a lot. The movements are only strong enough so I can feel them when I'm still and not distracted by something else. Scott still hasn't been able to feel anything from the outside yet. It might be a couple more weeks. Sleeping is a little interesting already. I'm most comfortable sleeping on my side "bear hugging" a pillow. I think it provides some support for my belly.

We will be signing up for our birthing class shortly. Unless we decide something different based on our appointment on Tuesday with our midwife, we'll be signing up for a Bradley Method birth class at a place called Birth and Beyond in Santa Monica. Our 8-week class will be starting February 7th. This will put the ending date right around 37 weeks. It's pushing it a little bit but I'd rather have all the information fresh in my mind when I go into labor and we're pretty sure I won't go early.

It's Chanukah already. Tuesday night marked the start of the first night of Chanukah. It feels like it's barely fall but the holidays are already here. We are in San Diego this weekend celebrating Chanukah with Debi, Jim, Gary and Cat. We had a nice dinner, opened our gifts and played a couple of games of Scattergories. Other than that, it's just been a nice relaxing weekend. Only two more weeks of work until the long Christmas and New Year break which we're all really looking forward to. We'll be in Redding for about a week and then back to San Diego again to visit Bauby and Grandpa while they're in town from Chicago.

19 weeks - almost halfway

How your baby's growing: Your baby weighs about 8 1/2 ounces, and he measures 6 inches, head to bottom — about the size of a large heirloom tomato. His arms and legs are in the right proportions to each other and the rest of his body now. His kidneys continue to make urine, and the hair on his scalp is sprouting. This is a crucial time for sensory development: Your baby's brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch. If your baby is a girl, she has an astonishing 6 million eggs in her ovaries. They'll dwindle to fewer than two million by the time she's born.

How your life's changing: You're just a week shy of the halfway mark. You may notice some achiness in your lower abdomen (perhaps extending to your groin) or even an occasional quick, sharp, stabbing pain on one or both sides, especially when you change position or at the end of an active day. This is round ligament pain, and it's caused by the stretching of the muscles and ligaments that support your growing uterus. It's nothing to be alarmed about, but if the pain is persistent and continues even when you're resting, or is severe or accompanied by cramping, call your practitioner.

You may also have noticed some skin changes lately. Are the palms of your hands red? Nothing to worry about — it's from increased estrogen. Patches of darkened skin are also common during pregnancy. When they show up around your upper lip, upper cheeks and forehead, they're called chloasma, or the "mask of pregnancy." You may see these splotches on your arms or other areas that have been exposed to the sun. Your nipples, freckles, scars, underarms, inner thighs, and vulva may also darken during pregnancy. That darkened line running from your belly button to your pubic bone is called the linea nigra, or "dark line." All of this darkening is caused by a temporary increase in melanin, the substance that colors your hair, skin, and eyes. For most women, these darkened spots will fade shortly after delivery. In the meantime, protect yourself from the sun, which intensifies the pigment changes. Cover up, wear a brimmed hat, and use sunscreen when you're outdoors. And if you're self-conscious about your "mask," a little concealing makeup can work wonders.

How I'm doing I'm doing fine. I'm feeling good. I went to my first prenatal yoga class yesterday at Santa Monica Yoga and I'm very sore today. I'm going to try and go twice a week as much as possible. Classes are on Thursday evenings and Sunday mornings. I think it will really help. Some positions felt really good already and my belly doesn't weigh that much yet.

Friday marks the halfway point. We are very much looking forward to that milestone. But what's even better is that in 1 short week we'll be going into get our 2nd ultrasound and we'll hopefully get to fine out the gender of this little guy. We are going to find out the gender of the baby, but we are going to keep the name a secret until we meet the baby and make sure it fits. We haven't picked a name yet but when we do we are going to keep it a surprise for the baby's birthday.

We have started to register. We started a registry at one of the two stores in LA that carry the crib we want to get. We're not buying any other baby furniture so we picked out a high quality crib that is made out of wood instead of particle board, isn't made in China, and is from a company that has a spotless safety record--all things that are very important to us. The company is called Munire and this crib is from their Urban line (we're getting pine colored, not white).

We created our first registry at USA Baby and it can be found here. We are very excited to find out the gender so we can register for more things and start buying! We've been holding out on buying pretty much anything until we know if the baby is a boy or a girl. The crib takes 8-10 weeks to arrive (and probably longer over the holidays) and other things are not always in stock in the stores so we won't be following typical Jewish tradition and waiting until the baby arrives to buy things.