Week 19: Your baby's crown-to-rump length is 5.2 to 6 inches this week. Your baby weighs approximately 7 ounces and will increase its weight more than 15 times between now and birth! 
One of the most amazing aspects of your baby's growth and development is that of the fetal brain. Your baby's brain is one of the first organs to appear. Your baby's oversized head shows the brain's importance in his development. Because the nerves that connect the muscles to the brain have grown into place, your baby's movements are consciously directed. Your baby's ears stand out from the sides of the head and the buds for your baby's permanent teeth appear. Your baby's arms and legs have reached their relative proportions and his feet are approximately one inch long. 

Wow, for some reason the one-inch foot thing sounds incredible to me! I guess things are moving along faster than I realized :)  I'm going to stop with the produce-section size comparisons because they never seem helpful. This week they said the baby is the size of a mango. Who really knows how big a mango is anyway? :p And then I get all caught up in how much fruit sizes vary....ANYWAY...

Oh, and I won't be needing a doula after all--I've been accepted into a birthing centre! The demand for midwives here is so large (and the supply so small) that I've been on a waiting list since the moment I found out I'm pregnant, but I just got the call today, letting me know I'm in. I'm going to an information session this Wednesday (and the receptionist was kind enough to hook me up with an English session, thankfully!), and then hopefully soon after that I'll be able to switch over. I'll still keep my ultrasound on the 26th though. This is such a relief for us, because I'm super picky about what I want and don't want for me and our baby (barring natural emergencies, of course), and with midwife care, I won't have to fight for a natural birth because their philosophies are in line with mine. 

I found this video on Youtube showing some pics of the centre. I can't wait, especially after seeing the birthing tub! I'd love to have a water birth. :)

(Gotta love the Quebec accent :p)

In other news, this distinguished gentleman and scholar joined our family this week. Our foster cat, Toutou:

Toutou is a rather weird and unfitting name--we're thinking of calling him something like Alfonso. As you can see, he gets along great with Scout, and even Gus is warming up to him. He's one of those cats who forces everyone to be his friend (kind of like Ian :D) Speaking of Ian, he has to clean two litter boxes now, but Toutou favors him, so I don't think he minds too much ;)