20 Weeks

Your baby now weighs about 9 ½ ounces and measures about 6 ½ inches long. You’re halfway through your pregnancy and baby is very active by now! Over the next few weeks the baby will move so much that it may be hard to sleep. This will continue until it gets very crowded for the baby. Babies that are born at 20 weeks have a 50% chance of survival.

From now until your little one is about five years old the brain is developing very quickly. Nerve cells that have already developed are making complex connections and sensory perception development peaks this week.

Little boy’s testes will begin dropping from the pelvis into the scrotum. Legs have getting close to the final length and are very proportionate at this point. The skeleton is getting harder and the hands are getting stronger. Babies will blink more now and the lunago (fine hair that covers the body) is very thick around the head, neck and face. Hair on the scalp is growing as well.


My belly is definitely getting bigger and my pelvis seems to be adjusting accordingly as I have been having some lower back discomfort and some pain on the inside of my legs when I move certain ways. I have to organize myself more carefully now when I sit or lie down. When I am sleeping I have an extra pillow propping up the side of my belly and supporting my upper leg. My slouching days are over when I am seated. I am starting to use the balance ball to sit on or lean over while I watch tv and I may soon start using it as an office chair while I'm at the computer. I can still see my toes though!

I am wearing almost all maternity clothes now, though I do also wear some larger sizes of pants which I bought after Micah was born to take me through that awkward postnatal period before I found my way back to prepregnancy size and weight. I also have some too-big maternity clothes waiting in the wings.

I am feeling more hungry now, which also tells me that the baby is gaining weight.

Eva told me the other day that God told her the baby would be born on Sunday. I said, "Hopefully not THIS Sunday!". It will be very interesting to see whether a baby girl is indeed born to us on a Sunday.