Midwife Appointment

16 weeks 0 days (lmp) 14 weeks 0 days (gestational)

The crown-to-rump length of your baby by this week is 4.3 to 4.6 inches and the weight is about 2.8 ounces.There is also about 7.5 ounces of amniotic fluid around the baby.

Fine lanugo hair covers your baby's head. The umbilical cord is attached to the abdomen; this attachment has moved lower on the body of the fetus.

Fingernails are well formed. The legs are longer than the arms. Arms and legs are moving and can now easily be felt.

I had my 16 week midwife appointment yesterday. Pretty uneventful really. My blood pressure was low (80 something over 40 something) as always. I gained 2-3 pounds in the last month. She could feel my uterus and said it was the size it should be. We heard the baby's heartbeat (in the 140's). All is good. I go back for another appointment in 5 weeks or so. I scheduled my 20 week anatomical ultrasound for February 13, 2006. We are looking forward to that.

I am suffering such food guilt right now. Mostly because I have no nausea any longer and therefore no real excuse to not eat healthy yet I am not eating all that healthy. The baby just won't let me. :) After inhaling two Krispy Kreme doughnuts and a couple of handfuls of fritos for dinner last night I decided enough is enough. I went out and bought a HUGE tub of fresh fruit already cut up and I am going to eat the entire thing in the next couple of days. I guess at this point I just need to make myself do it ... no excuses. I also planned a very healthy dinner menu for the next two weeks now I just need to get off my butt in the evening and cook the stuff. I am always so tired after work that is just hard to get motivated.

My pregnancy calendar says the baby weighs 3.53 ounces or 100 grams. Baby is 4.57 inches or 11.6 cm long. The rest of baby's face begins to form. The tail has disappeared and the head makes up about half of baby's size. The baby's ears and eyes have moved to their final positions look more "normal" by now.

From Visembryo:

Week 16 Post Fertilization...

Growth continues, but no new structures form after this point.

HEAD

Eyes are at final destination and face forward rather than to the sides and reflexes, such as blinking, develop. Ears move to final position and stand out from head.

ABDOMEN

Meconium begins to accumulate in the bowels. Meconium is the product of cell loss, digestive secretion and swallowed amniotic fluid.

LIMBS

Fingertips and toes develop the unique swirls and creases of fingerprints and toe prints.

NERVOUS

The nerves are being coated with a fatty substance system (myelin) to speed nerve cell transmission and insulate them for uninterrupted impulses.

BLOOD

Circulation is completely functional. The umbilical cord system continues to grow and thicken as blood travels with considerable force through the body to nurture the fetus. The placenta is now almost equal in size to the fetus.