Congratulations! You are half way to your due date. At this "halfway mark" in your pregnancy, your uterus has likely grown enough to reach your belly button. Your belly button may not have popped out, yet (some never do and well of course if you normally have an "outy", it's already there!) or it could very well be even with your tummy at this point. Some navels merely flatten out, while others eventually protrude from your abdomen. For some women, it can become extra sensitive. If your outy becomes bothersome, you may try putting a band-aid across it. The good news: pregnancy is definitely not a time when you have to worry about belly button lint!
You may be starting to encounter itchy and most likely dry skin, particularly across your belly. This is very common during pregnancy and is caused from the skin stretching and tightening as your baby grows inside. Unfortunately this annoyance will continue throughout the remainder of your pregnancy, possibly becoming worse as the weeks go by. There are a few things you can try to soothe your skin.
If you do experience dry skin, try your best to avoid scratching you belly; this may only make it itch more. Instead, you need to relieve the dryness by keeping the skin well-nourished and moisturized. Apply a good moisturizer often (two or three times daily). Look for a moisturizer formulated for sensitive skin or a special kind made specifically for use during pregnancy. Avoid using bar soap when showering or bathing. Try a moisturizing body wash to avoid stripping your skin of natural oils. If you experience severe itchiness, you should contact your doctor or midwife, because it could be a sign of cholestasis or possibly pruritic urticarial papules and plaques of pregnancy (PUPPP), which may need to be treated with medicated topical anti-itch cream.
When you go to your next prenatal visit, your doctor or midwife will probably begin measuring fundal height, if he or she hasn't begun already. Your doctor or midwife will continue measuring its growth at every visit from now on. The fundal height is measured using a tape measure placed across your belly, starting at the highest part of your uterus (or the "fundus", which is the top of your uterus); ending at your pubic bone. The fundal height is the distance between these two points and is measured in centimeters. The fundal height tends to correlate with how far along you are. At 20 weeks, it should be approximately 20 centimeters. Your belly grows about 1 centimeter every week, so next week it should be close to 21 centimeters.
During the last few weeks of your pregnancy, your fundal height may actually be less than the visit before, if your baby has "dropped" into the birth canal. This measurement is done to make sure your baby is growing at a normal rate and that the growth is on target for your due date. If there is a discrepancy of more than 2 centimeters, an ultrasound may be recommended to check your baby's size, position and fluid level.
