OMG !!!...Dah 5 bulan dah?

Hello from BabyCenter!

You're at the halfway mark — congratulations! Your baby weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now. He's also around 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom and about 10 inches from head to heel — the length of a banana. (The way your baby is measured changes now.) He's swallowing more these days, which is good practice for his digestive system. He's also producing meconium, a black, sticky by-product of digestion. This gooey substance will accumulate in his bowels, and you'll see it in his first soiled diaper (although some babies pass meconium in the womb or during delivery).

Why you need iron and caring for bleeding gums

The top of your uterus is about level with your belly button, and you've likely gained around 10 pounds. Expect to gain another pound or so each week from now on. (If you started your pregnancy underweight, you may need to gain a bit more; if you were overweight, perhaps a bit less.) Make sure you're getting enough iron, a mineral that's used primarily to make hemoglobin (the part of your red blood cells that carries oxygen). During pregnancy, your body needs more iron to keep up with your expanding blood volume, as well as for your growing baby and the placenta. Iron-rich foods include red meat, poultry, fish, soy-based products, lentils and other legumes, spinach, prune juice, raisins, and iron-fortified cereals. Have you noticed any tenderness or bleeding from your gums? Sensitive gums are a common complaint during pregnancy. Higher progesterone levels can make your gums react more to the bacteria in plaque. This, along with an increased blood supply to your mouth, can result in swollen, tender gums that may bleed when you floss or brush. About half of all pregnant women get this so-called "pregnancy gingivitis."