Week 20- Halfway mark

This week we reach our halfway mark. Being 5 months pregnant still hasn't entirely sunk in. I look down at my growing belly (Colin calls it a volley ball) and think- I have halfway MORE to grow? Oye Vei!

In the past week I started feeling the baby move around in my belly. Sometimes it's too faint to tell if it's really the baby or if it's just bubbling of my own food digesting. Every night when Colin lays his hand on my belly to feel for the baby we never catch her in action. But when I do get that surprise nudge from the inside of my belly, it's startling. Right now it's still quite small, and feels like the first milli-second of when your stomach is grumbling when you are hungry. I know it's not a hunger pang because if my stomach really was grumbling it would make a long, loud sound.

In addition I started playing music for her. Colin put together a playlist on YouTube Disco that has a mixture of classical music like Clair de Lune, some fun jazzy beats like Mr. Scruff or my favorite, RDJ2. We also added in there 'Stay Up Late ' by the Talking Heads- bc we always think of our baby when we hear it. It used to be our song for Gus, but then now with a real baby on the way it's even more fitting. I'll post the lyrics in my next post :) The first time we played music for her on the headphones held up to my belly, she definitely reacted. She wasn't moving a lot or kicking hard, but I did feel her movements.

A common question I get asked is if I am craving anything. I don't believe I have any cravings, at least not weird ones. I am still eating the kinds of food I liked before I was pregnant- still eating lots of fruits and veggies, but ok yes I am also indulging in some ice cream or boba drinks here and there. But I always liked ice cream and boba drinks. So weird food cravings, whenever they come, I will definitely post about those!

The closest thing to food cravings I've been doing more of, however, is cooking. In the past week since we had a 4 day weekend I did a lot of cooking. I cooked Chicken Piccata with pasta, Blueberry-Peach Cobbler, Chicken with Ginger soup, Pesto Pasta and a yummy Fennel with Arugula & Orange Salad. Ruben gave me his Farm Fresh Produce delivery this week so that had something to do with my experimentation with new recipes. I really liked the Fennel and Arugula Salad, I'll make some more this week!

Here is an update from BabyCenter.com

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. (The way your baby is measured changes now.) She's swallowing more these days, which is good practice for her digestive system. She's also producing meconium, a black, sticky by-product of digestion. This gooey substance will accumulate in her bowels, and you'll see it in her first soiled diaper (although some babies pass meconium in the womb or during delivery). Also, your baby's skin starts separating into different layers. The outer layer or surface of your baby's skin, referred to as the epidermis has four layers containing ridges and even your baby's fingerprints. Your baby will also be busily creating the layers that will form his palms and feet later in life!

After pregnancy week 20 your uterus has likely reached your bellybutton. Growth typically starts to become more regular from this point on, so you should be noticing regular changes in your belly.