18-6-2009 - 21 Weeks Pregnant

My mood while writing this blog: Ok

In the 21st week of the pregnancy you are much more relaxed as you are halfway through your pregnancy and the baby is growing well. Pregnancy becomes easier as the body has coped with the difficulties of earlier pregnancy stages and is preparing for the difficulties to be faced later during delivery. You can take permission from your doctor and follow some low impact exercises such as yoga, walking or light swimming. Mild exercise can be helpful in reducing problems such as vericose veins and backaches later.

Since last week you have grown a little more. We made a list this week of who we would like to invite to the shower that the grandparents are going to give you. Everyone wants to come so they can celebrate your birth. We will have the shower before you are born because people will bring gifts that will help your mommy and daddy out. We are going to ask that everyone that comes will bring either a bag of diapers for you or some baby laundry detergent. We also are giving them the option to bring some batteries. It seems that a lot of the things that you are going to need, need batteries in order to work properly. Mommy and I went through some of the things that I have been purchasing throughout mommies pregnancy and we didn't realize how much we have for you. We also went to Dollar General today and found a buch of items that we purchased to decorate with at your shower. It will be so nice. I am pretty creative and we have got a lot of ideas. We settled on a date for the second week in September but have to find out if the church is available then the date will be solidified. We are getting more and more excited. Mommy and Daddy are starting to look for a bigger place so that you will have your own room. They hope to have a place before you arrive. I'll talk to you again next week.

The baby’s blood circulation is functioning quite well by now. The umbilical cord continues to thicken in size and grow in length as blood travels with considerable force through the body to the baby. The baby will become larger in the second trimester and the placenta is now almost equal in size to the baby. The baby’s crown to rump length will be around 7.2 inches and the baby will weigh around 10.5 ounces. In this week the baby’s digestive system matures and grows and the intestines contract and relax. The baby practices swallowing the amniotic fluid to further mature the digestive system. Many babies start hiccupping which is quite funny as the mothers experience small repetitive movements in the abdomen. The eyebrows and eyelids are fully developed and the fingernails also fully cover the fingertips. A baby is said to hear your conversations and can hear you talking, reading or singing at this stage. It is found that newborns suck more vigorously when you read them a story that they have heard frequently while they were in the womb. Many people read epics, classics and spiritual books which are said to have a positive effect on the baby as well as chant sacred mantras or play soothing music to relax the baby. You can communicate with your baby and develop a bond with him/her from this stage.