Thanks to those of you who participated in last week's poll asking what you want Primo to be, boy or girl. 3 out of 4 readers are hoping for a girl, and that's what we're getting! Jan & I are very excited that we're having a daughter and look forward to spending the next 20 weeks trying out girl names and picking out items for her nursery.

For now we are still calling her Primo - the nickname stuck! - but we are curious if any of you have name ideas you'd like us to consider. If you do please add a comment to this blog post below with your ideas! We have a couple of favorites in mind for now, although we won't reveal any until we have a baby in February. We really would love to hear your suggestions.

We have enjoyed some gorgeous weather this last week while on vacation. Pictures in today's post are from a hike up to the Hunter Creek Valley above Aspen on Friday and a cruiser bike ride down to Carbondale this afternoon. As you can see, my belly is filling out - I am definitely pregnant!

What's baby up to at 19 weeks?
Your baby is between five and six inches long and weighs about seven ounces—about the size of an apple. If the baby is a girl, early ovaries contain follicles with forming eggs. Soon, half of the genetic material for your potential future grandchildren will be formed. Pictures of babies at this age show them touching the membrane of the amniotic sac, touching their own faces, reaching for the umbilical cord, pedaling their legs, and sucking their thumbs. Your baby may already have a preference for the left or right hand. In the brain, areas of the nerve cells that serve the senses of touch, taste, smell, sight, and hearing are becoming specialized and are forming more complex connections. Loud sounds as well as any feelings you may have of stress or alarm may be communicated to the baby. The baby responds to these stresses by becoming more active. Practicing yoga and meditation can be good for your sense of calm and balance.

Don't forget to enter your favorite girl names in the comments! Lots of love to you all - XO

A Husband's POV

Hi family, friends and fans. Jan here - I wanted to do the next blog post so here you go. This was only the second appointment I've been to through out the pregnancy so it's exciting just to be a part of it. I find the scientific side of these appointments just as exciting as the emotional part. The view of the baby, the measurement tools, etc... all give the parents-to-be such a great idea of the health of the baby is shaping up as well as... you guessed it... the sex of the baby. Before, in ancient times, the sex of the baby was only discovered at the time of birth. Now we have the opportunity to know if it will be a he or a she months before they arrive. Kelly and I decided that we did in fact want to know what we were having so after the appointment we had the doctor write it down for us and put it in a envelop for us to open later (which we did over a nice Italian dinner). While the sex was kept a secret throughout the appointment, we did find out that the health of the baby was perfect (whew!).

All the measurements indicated a healthy baby. The one that stuck out as a little different was the length of the arm, which was a tad on the long side. In my head, I was thinking "Perfect. Extra reach will give a nice kick to a tennis serve. Or it will give extra pulling power in the pool." The other thing that was fun to see was the movement of the baby... Primo was going crazy in there showing off for us. I'm really surprised that Kelly can't feel that activity.

Anyway, here are a few shots from the screening. The first shows the profile: What do you think? Boy profile or girl profile? The second shows the sole of the baby's foot... pretty darn cute huh?

Thank you all for participating in the gender poll last week. The results are in and it looks like the majority of you, like us, are eager to find out if it's going to be a little Primo or a little Prima. We'll keep you all posted if & when we decide to find out!

The big news this week is that I'm starting to feel the baby moving! So far I haven't felt any real kicks or punches, it's more like a distinct fluttery movement in my abdomen. When I feel it I can just imagine our tiny little baby swimming around in there! Jan can't wait for these movements to be strong enough for him to feel too - looks like he'll have to wait at least a month though as the baby is still too small for movements to be detected by anyone but me. Lucky me!

We're planning a much-needed staycation next week. We're not setting up the nursery just yet (for those of you who think I'm an overplanner - surprisingly - I'm not planning it yet) but we hope to clean things up in anticipation of making room for Primo later this winter. In addition we're both really looking forward to being out of the office, offline, and enjoying some vacation time right here in our own backyard!

And now for your weekly baby update:
At 18 weeks, your baby is about 5 to 5 1/2 inches long from top to tail and weighs a little more than five ounces, about the size of a lobster tail. While in earlier weeks, your baby may have been able to sense sound with her primitive ear structures, this week, the bones of the ear become fully formed along with the part of her brain that processes signals from his ears. There's still plenty of room in your uterus, so your fetus can be quite active with her new muscles. She may change positions frequently, cross her legs, recline, suck her thumb, and turn somersaults. Her retinas have become light sensitive, and your baby may be able to detect a glow if you shine bright lights at your belly (even though her eyelids are sealed).

Take a Hike!

I am 17 weeks pregnant today and still feeling good. I have been hiking a lot, and even getting Jan to give up some bike rides and join me on a few great hikes. Saturday we hiked Red Hill, a quick loop close to home, and Sunday we hiked up to Savage Lakes above Basalt - something like 6 miles roundtrip and most of that was above 10,000 feet in elevation. It was very windy + very cloudy = very chilly! But it's a nice hike to some alpine lakes, we packed a picnic lunch and made a day of it. Great views of the valley from up high!

We have our next ultrasound appointment in about two weeks. At that appointment we will be able to find out the sex of the baby, if we choose. In talking to our friends & coworkers, it's very obvious that people have strong opinions on this subject! Some people say there aren't many big surprises in life (I disagree with that, BTW) and that we should wait until the baby is born to find out. Or that the anticipation of finding out is what gets you through those final weeks. Other people say pregnancy and babies offer up enough surprises, and recommend finding out so that you can plan at least mentally on having a son or a daughter. And that knowing boy or girl lets you narrow down your name choices.

We want to know what you think! Please participate in our poll on the right - should we find out the sex of the baby? We'll post results next week.

And now, for the weekly baby update:

Baby's now the size of an onion!
Your baby weighs 5 ounces now, and she's around 5 inches long from head to bottom. Baby's skeleton is hardening, changing from rubbery cartilage to bone, and fat is finally accumulating around it. His umbilical cord is getting thicker and stronger, and those little fingers and toes now feature one-of-a-kind prints. She can move her joints, and her sweat glands are starting to develop. Your baby's eyes (which have fortunately finished their migration to the front of her head) are making small side-to-side movements and can even perceive some light, though the eyelids are still sealed. And here's some proof that your baby is truly one of a kind. Within the next week or so, the pads on his fingertips and toes will become adorned with completely individual swirls and creases (aka fingerprints).

Bump Watch

Here we go!