week 20

because my dates have changed i am now 20 weeks (i don't think anyone will ever know...) but baby is only 18 weeks.
baby measures about... 5.5 to 6.5 inches, and according to the ultrasound yesterday, baby weighs approx. 11 ounces.

baby has reached the halfway mark. baby's still tiny by growing rapidly. this is a crucial stage for the development of the senses - taste, smell, hearing, seeing, and touch. now baby can finally hear and recognize mine and adam's voice (he talks to baby when we have pillow talk before bed. and might even know brooke's little jibber jabber!) the nerve cells serving each of the senses are now developing into their particular areas of the brain. the increase in the number of nerve cells is slowing but the complex connections required for the development of memory and thinking functions are being formed.
if baby is a girl, she already has roughly 2 million eggs in her ovaries. however, by the time she's born, this number will have reduced to a mere million.
baby can also enjoy a good strech of limbs as nervous and muscular systems have developed sufficiently to allow this.

(brooke took the ultrasound very well, she wasn't too sure about the dimly lit room but as soon as she seen mommy. she was okay. she even asked me, "okay?" i reassured her i was. i think she may understand that mommy has a baby growing in her tummy, and soon she's going to be a big sister.)