20 Weeks Pregnant: Your Pregnancy Week by Week

You are twenty weeks now. You are half way through your pregnancy There are so many choices to make between now and the time you deliver. Over the next few weeks our newsletters will be focusing on the different choices you will be making for your baby and your birth. Right now, you might be trying to decide whether you want to breastfeed or bottle feed your baby. You have probably heard that breast milk is best for your baby but you still might not be sure what you want to do. There are pros and cons to breastfeeding and bottle feeding. In this week’s newsletter we are going to discuss your feeding options. We will give you the advantages and disadvantages of breastfeeding and formula feeding and hopefully help you to decide what you want to do.

What is going on with mom & baby

Baby: Baby’s crown to rump length is around 18 cm. Your baby weighs about 300-350 grams. Your baby is covered with a white lanolin-like coating called vernix. Your can see your baby’s nipples on her mammary glands now. If you are having a baby girl her uterus is formed now and she has eggs in her ovaries now.

Mom: You may be anxious to find out your baby’s gender if you haven’t already. At night you may have difficulty sleeping or be troubled by nightmares. You may have shortness of breath when sleeping in certain positions. Your baby is pressing against your lungs and other organs, which may cause you to feel short of breath.

This week’s Pregnancy Checklist

  Sign up for a breastfeeding class if you are planning to breastfeed.
  Select paint and/or wallpaper for your baby’s nursery.
  Purchase bedding for your baby’s crib.
  Make a list of phone numbers to call in case you need an emergency babysitter or petsitter.
  Write a list of addresses to send out birth announcements to.
  Take a new belly picture for your scrapbook or journal.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Breastfeeding

Some advantages

  • Your breast milk’s nutritional composition is ideal for your baby.
  • Your breast milk changes to meet your baby’s needs.
  • Breast milk is easier to digest
  • Breastfeeding is virtually free.
  • Breastfeeding may help protect your baby from asthma, allergies, diabetes, and SIDS.
  • Breast milk contains antibodies that protect your baby from infections such as ear infections, respiratory infections, and diarrhea.

Some disadvantages

  • Some women have problems with latch on pain during the first couple weeks.
  • Breastfeeding may require more time from mom. Breastfed babies may feed as often as every hour and a half to two hours for the first few months of life.
  • Because breast milk is made on supply and demand you can’t just take a couple days off from breastfeeding (without pumping).

Advantages and Disadvantages of Formula Feeding

Some advantages

  • Anyone can help with feedings.
  • It may be more convenient because there is no need for pumping if you want to go out and leave your baby with someone else.
  • Formula is digested slower than breast milk. Formula fed babies often go longer between feedings than breastfed babies.
  • Most women don’t have problems getting baby to latch on to bottle or take milk out of a bottle as a newborn.

Some disadvantages

  • Formula is expensive.
  • Formula does not contain the protective antibodies that breast milk contains.
  • It may be inconvenient having to make trips to the store if you run out of formula or if you forget to pack a bottle when you travel away from home
4.3
Average: 4.3 (10 votes)
 

3 comments

Most recent See All

By x-teenmommy-x on 07/05/11 at 6:39 pm

awww i want to find out so bad on what im having.... its like driving me crazy!!!

By miadinan@yahoo.com on 05/15/11 at 6:38 pm

i went for my 20 week ultrasound at 19 weeks and a day and IT'S DEFINANTLY A BOY!!! :)

By mytruecolors23 on 07/21/10 at 5:04 am

I went for my 20 week ultrasound yesterday and the ultra sound tech started the whole thing before she even scaned the baby saying he.. She stated she w  ...

3 comments so far » read more

Sign in to leave a comment!

Today on JustMommies

Article Tools

Print this article

Email this article

RSS

Bookmark and Share

From the Message Boards

January - February 2009 Playroom

training wheels bike

Who else's LO has a training wheels bike? Our nanny actually bought one for Charlie for his birth...

August 2009 Playroom

Anyone Watching American Idol?

Is anyone watching Idol this season? What do you think about it? Any favorites?...

August 2009 Playroom

My Poor Jamison had a Little Accident :-(

On Tuesday night I was getting ready to pack to go to Florida for a work trip. The boys were playin...

April 2009 Playroom

How on earth do you start?

Ugh! I know I've done this whole potty training twice before, but every time I feel like "How do yo...

Stillbirth

New lost my son at 32 wks 3 days ago

Hello my name is Melissa I lost my angel son 3 days ago his name is Ryder Lee. I was hopeing to find...

» Check out the friendliest message board for moms and moms-to-be!