I can’t say I’ve enjoyed the majority of this pregnancy. Okay, who am I kidding? I haven’t enjoyed any of this pregnancy. I felt bad about it for a while. I should be happy that I’m carrying a new life, right? I should be able to ignore the sickness, the tiredness the strange change in bodily functions, all the weird growths and changes in body parts. But, I wasn’t able to.

Honestly, the first trimester + a couple weeks, suck. They completely suck. Your body is no longer your own, things grow in strange places and parts of your body begin to look less and less like anything you recognize. Body parts have been removed and replaced by aliens every night. My fat has all moved up to above my belly button. I got heartburn. I had constant gas. I threw up all the time, and when I wasn’t throwing up, I felt like throwing up. It all happens quickly and drastically. It sucks. Not to mention, I never felt assured the baby was safe and okay. There’s no movement to reassure you, either. You’re always sick, worried and confused about what the hell is going on with your body.

Then, suddenly this week, I began feeling better. The nausea has disappeared. The heartburn is much less strong. I’m used to the changes, I’m used to the gas. The absence of hell has become heaven.

The major turning point, though, was feeling the baby move. Well, kick to be more exact. Last Tuesday I ate some cereal, propped myself up on the couch and began typing away on my computer. As if to say, “Get the hell off of me,” the kid thumped me nice and hard 3 times. As if a superball was bouncing about inside me. It was the coolest thing I’d ever felt.

I’ve felt it maybe 3-4 times since then and it only gets more and more amazing. Everything about this pregnancy is getting better. I’m beginning to understand the whole pregnancy glow thing, finally, and (I cant believe I’m saying this but…) I’m actually almost sad that it’s already half over. Yeah, I’m nuts.

Your baby weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now. She’s also around 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom, and about 10 inches from head to heel. (For the first 20 weeks, we use measurements taken from the top of the baby’s head to her bottom — known as the “crown to rump” measurement. After that, we use measurements from head to toe. This is because a baby’s legs are curled up against her torso during the first half of pregnancy and are very hard to measure.)

A greasy white substance called vernix caseosa coats her entire body to protect her skin during its long submersion in amniotic fluid. (This slick coating also eases the journey down the birth canal.)

Your baby is swallowing more, which is good practice for her digestive system. She’s also producing meconium, a black, sticky substance that’s the result of cell loss, digestive secretion, and swallowed amniotic fluid. This meconium will accumulate in her bowels, and you’ll see it in her first messy diaper (although a few babies pass it in utero or during delivery).

Your baby weighs about 8 1/2 ounces, and he measures 6 inches, head to bottom — about the length of a small zucchini. His arms and legs are in the right proportions to each other and the rest of his body now. His kidneys continue to make urine, and the hair on his scalp is sprouting. This is a crucial time for sensory development: Your baby’s brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch. If your baby is a girl, she has an astonishing six million eggs in her ovaries. They’ll dwindle to fewer than two million by the time she’s born.