21 Weeks

The only thing I have to talk about this week is heartburn. It has now hit me full force! This is no regular heartburn, which I have suffered from as long as I can remember, thanks Dad! I get a searing pain from my stomach to the top of my head. I can't lay down after eating because then it all come up. It doesn't matter what or when I eat, it all causes some serious pain!

This is the week we start measuring your little one from head to toe instead of head to rump. At 12" long this week, your little sprout more closely resembles the Jolly Green Giant -- comparatively speaking, of course. You won't catch him stretched out though -- he's still in a little ball about the size of a coconut.

It’s a big week in his world: his bone marrow starts contributing to cell production, taking some of the load off of his liver and spleen. His permanent tooth buds have developed, so start the Tooth Fairy fund! Perhaps most exciting is that he now has noticeable sleep and wake cycles that are very similar to what he’ll experience as a newborn -- he's sleeping up to 12 hours a day, though not consecutively.

Your little guy has fully functional taste buds right now, so as he continues to swallow amniotic fluid, he may actually begin to taste what Mom has been eating. This is because the fluid changes based on what has been consumed -- so those garlic mashed potatoes will produce a more garlicky amniotic fluid and eating pineapple might make your fluid a touch sweeter than normal. Researchers have even reported that some children seem predisposed to enjoy certain foods if they were exposed to them in utero. That's all the more reason to make sure you are eating plenty of the good stuff: green veggies, fruits and whole grains.