20 Weeks

It is hard to believe that I'm already at 20 weeks!  It has all gone so fast.  That is the halfway point of pregnancy usually, but since I know I will not go to 40 weeks, I am already at least a few days into the 2nd half.

• Baby is the size of a banana! 
• I trusted the genetic blood test, honestly, so I believed it was a girl, but the anatomy ultrasound reconfirmed that it is :)
• I've been much more tired this trimester than I expected to be.  Probably overdoing it.  I scaled back a lot the first trimester and as soon as that first wave of energy hit, I was eager to get back to business, but life with 3 kids who don't nap is pretty busy, so I start feeling worn out late afternoon.  Sleep has been decent. 
• July 16 is 129 days away.  That sounds longer than 18 1/2 weeks.
• 129 days ago was October 30.  We were in Arkansas and I was taking pictures of lichen and wheel bugs...and two sweet little girls in grass skirts!

•  As in my past pregnancies, I have been reading a lot - since Christmas, I've read 8 novels, a book of short stories (Sherlock Holmes), and a book about pregnancy statistics - not a lot for "normal" people, but a lot for me basically any time in the last 8 years!

The pregnancy book I read is called Expecting Better by Emily Oster.  It was really fascinating and her writing was actually funny.  Oster is an economics professor (and new mother.)  It truly is a book about statistics and how to use your knowledge of them to make basic decisions while pregnant.  For me the most eye opening part was that statistically, you are more likely to be exposed to toxoplasmosis from gardening than from changing cat litter.  The actual risk from getting from a cat is very low.   And we don't have a cat, but here I am teaching a course on botany!

Seriously, I had outdoor cats as a child and have worked in the dirt a lot, so it is likely that I have already been exposed to toxoplasmosis in the past and am immune.  It doesn't make you very sick (although it is dangerous for unborn babies), so you can have it and not even know.  Of course I don't know for sure.  But maybe I'll do a little less gardening in the next few months!