Week 19

I haven't felt the intense leg cramps that people describe around this time... just some minor you're-about-to-get-a-leg-cramp-if-you-keep-stretching-like-that sensations. I have, however, wondered about the tingling & numbness in my fingers I've been experiencing every now & then. Good to hear that it's TOTALLY normal and that it's most likely a result of my body's swelling tissues pressing on nerves. whattoexpect.com describes the baby as looking like a mango dipped in cheese this week (gross!)... he's about a half-pound and around 6 inches long (roughly the size of a large melon).
The greasy white stuff called vernix caseosa (vernix is Latin for varnish; caseosa is cheese.... very original, people....) covers the baby's skin, protecting it from the surrounding amniotic fluid so he doesn't get totally pruny & wrinkled from his 9 month bath! It's made up of lanugo (the downy hair), oil from the baby's glands and dead skin cells. Thankfully, it sheds this as delivery approaches.....

The baby is able to choreograph Matrix-like moves at 19 weeks and his arms and legs are finally in proportion. Neurons are now connected between the brain and muscles and cartilage throughout the body is turning to bone. All these upgrades combine to give him more control over limb movements, although I haven’t felt anything yet (I don’t think). Although, from what I’ve read, it may be harder for me to feel him so soon because I’m very muscular… (yeah, I have a protective layer… but under that is some seriously dense & hard muscle!). We’ll see; hopefully I will start to feel him soon. Maybe once things calm down a little.