Bump Day- 19 weeks!

Our little peanut's 17 week ultrasound at Moms-to-be Ultrasound

So it's been a while... I know.  But the good news is that I have a ton to blog about now!  I have been gone from our lovely abode in FL for almost 3 weeks!  And while I had a great time visiting friends and family, I am so happy to be sleeping in our own bed now.
Even though I didn't get a chance to blog about our 18 week bump day, I have been trying to remember things to write about for this week.  Last week our baby was the size of a sweet potato.  I am assuming it was a small sweet potato because this week the peanut is the size of a mango (a small mango)!  It is around 8 1/2 ounces and measures 6 inches from head to bottom.  Which I personally think is crazy because the peanut has grown a ounce and a half in one week!  It's legs are finally proportionate to it's arms and it's growing hair now!

photo from babycenter.com

From the last time I blogged about the baby I have had a few new and not so fun pregnancy symptoms:   itchy stomach, lower back pain/round ligament pain, and a middle of the night charley horse.  I have started to see a dark line forming from my belly button down to my pelvis.  They say that darkening of the skin in general is normal but I haven't noticed any face pigmentation yet.  I also got to experience my first of many, I assume, pains of swollen feet.  On the ride back from GA, my feet (especially my right foot) grew and puffed up so much I thought my little toes or sausages were going to pop out of their casing!  It was incredibly uncomfortable!

See the outline of my sandals?!  UGH!  Not fun!

On the up side, I am starting to get my full appetite back and am enjoying salads again which is oh-so-nice.  Although I did have a depressing revelation at the grocery store the other day:  I can't eat salami anymore!  Every kind of salami we looked at in the grocery store had BHA or BHT in it.  And both are not recommended for preggo Katie, so my salami, pepperoncini, and cheese sandwich craving will have to go unfulfilled for a while.  Sigh...

photo from www.foodsubs.com

The peanut is not only physically growing faster than ever, it's intellect and sensory development is expanding as well.  It's brain is providing specific areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch.  And it can most likely hear my voice now.  After many parents have told us how important it is to read and talk to and even play music for our little one, I am going to try and read it a book or play music to the belly every night before we go to sleep.  We even bought a music cd to play at night.  So many people have told us how their child has calmed down to the sound of their voice or music they used to play to the baby in the womb.  I can't wait to see if that works for us!

Not that I'm going to use headphones, but it's the thought that counts!
Photo from  www.sosoactive.com

This coming week I can expect more stretching pains, the possibility of the palms of my hands getting more and more red (thanks to estrogen), and a growing appetite!  Sounds fun... well, the appetite part anyway.

As for the gender reveal, we still have to tell David's co-workers and then I'll blog all about our new addition and what he or she will be!  And next week we'll be going to the doctor's office for an anatomy ultrasound to make sure everything still looks good and everything is in it's place.  Pray for us!

Our little boy or girl sucking its thumb in the womb!