Week 23

It's the last week of my 5th month and things are moving along nicely. Not much to report this week except my belly is definitely growing....this week I grew 1/2" around!! Can you tell?

How baby girl is developing: She is now more than 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound (about as much as a large mango). She may be able to feel my movements now. Her skin is wrinkled and looks red due to blood vessels showing through her transparent skin. Her true skin tone will develop over the course of her first year. Blood vessels in baby's lungs are developing to prepare her for breathing, but complete lung development will take many more months. The lungs are the last organ to fully develop. She can swallow, but normally won't pass her first stool (called meconium) until after birth. Exciting stuff...keep growing baby girl!!

Favorite Sites

Check out the site titled, "Anna in Italia," to the left. That's my sister's experience as she studies abroad in Sicily. She is coming home on May 10th, just in time to welcome baby girl :-)

We miss you Anna!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Week 22

How baby girl is growing: She now looks like a miniature newborn, checking in at 10.9 inches (the length of a spaghetti squash) and almost 1 pound. Her skin will continue to appear wrinkled until she gains enough weight to fill it out, and the fine hair (lanugo) that covers her head and body is now visible. Her lips are becoming more distinct, and the first signs of teeth are appearing as buds beneath her gum line. Her eyes are developed, though the iris (the colored part of the eye) still lacks pigment. Eyelids and eyebrows are in place, and her pancreas, essential for hormone production, is developing steadily.

She has grown considerably in the last 3-4 weeks! And just for Uncle Nick, I measured the largest part of my abdomen today and it was 32" around :-) We got another ultrasound on Saturday morning and it was amazing yet again. We saw baby girl swallow (yum, amniotic fluid!), kick and punch me, stretch her legs, wiggle all around, suck her thumb, wave and so many other wonderful things. The Lord has blessed us so!!

Click on the pictures to enlarge the image.

The picture on the left is her right hand print. On the right is her profile with her thumb in her mouth...almost the entire ultrasound, she had her hands up by her face!

The picture on the left is of her back and left shoulder. You can also see the outline of her left ear. On the right is a photo showing her arm bones (while her arm is extended) and her left leg.

Week 21

How baby is developing this week: Baby girl now weighs about three-quarters of a pound and is approximately 10 1/2 inches long — the length of a carrot. Her eyebrows and eyelids are fully developed. She is really on the move now! Fetal researchers say babies move about 50 times an hour even while sleeping. All that movement helps stimulate baby's physical and mental development. Keep moving baby girl!!

This week has been especially fun for both Chris and I. I have started to feel those distinct kicks now...and can even see them on my belly. Chris saw them this morning too! We just sit there and stare at my belly for minutes on end waiting...and waiting...and waiting, then bump! It's so exciting. I can really only feel her when I'm resting, so every day I look forward to getting home and laying down for a few minutes so I can focus on feeling her. I guess the phrase "I feel bigger than I look" is a good way to describe my body right now. I swear my belly is just 'so big', but then on Sunday, we take the weekly pictures and I can't believe how not-big it seems. Oh, well. I'm sure that will be over soon.

Another thing that happened this week....I had to call the midwife for the first time. On Wednesday I was feeling these terrible pains in my lower abdomen all day long. I chalked them up to the normal stretching and tried to get over it -- but by the end of the work day, I couldn't even walk normally. So, I called the midwife and after answering all of her questions, she said in a very descriptive tone, "I think you are experiencing what is called round ligament pain." She explained that I have 8 ligaments that come from way down low and stretch up around my uterus as it grows and sometimes women experience pain with the stretching. But it's perfectly normal, not hurting the baby in any way. I lived with them for 3 days, but today was finally my first day without any pain at all. So I hope that's over!

We also had our first Bradley Methods Childbirth Class this week. We learned a lot and got some helpful exercises to do each day to help ease labor. Also, to my dismay, I have to keep a food journal for 2 weeks!! The Bradley method stresses great nutrition. So, however much I hate to do it, I am.

Daddy Felt Baby Girl !!

After I got home from work today, I layed down on the couch for a few minutes to relax. I've read that when I am up and moving around, my motions put baby girl to sleep, and when I lay down and rest, she wakes up and starts moving around. Well, I was laying there with my hand on my stomach and definitely felt a distinct kick! I called Chris over to feel it too -- he put his hand there and felt....nothing! I thought maybe she had stopped, but after he took his hand off, baby girl started up again. I called him over once again and just had him rest his hand there (and told him to be patient) and finally she kicked it twice! He described it exactly how I would...a little poke or thump. It's so exciting!!

First Steeler's Gear

Today baby girl received her first Steeler's apparal from our friends, Nicole & Jon. I have to say it's also her very first PINK outfit! She is going to be one stylish gal come next fall!

Thank you so much!! :-) Click on the pictures to get a closer look.

20 Weeks -- Officially Half Way!

How Baby Girl is Developing: She 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 — the length of a banana. (For the first 20 weeks, measurements are taken from the top of the baby's head to her bottom — known as the "crown to rump" measurement. After that, measurements from head to toe are used. This is because baby girl's legs are curled up against her torso during the first half of the 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.) Baby girl 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 we'll see it in her first messy diaper! Hmmm...looking forward to that!

Everything has been going smoothly thus far! We began to look at names for Baby Girl this weekend, but, don't ask -- because we are not sharing before she's born! The next 20 weeks are sure to fly by with Chris's school now in full swing and plenty of projects with the house to keep us busy. We also start our Bradley Methods Childbirth class this week, and we are looking forward to that!

Third Midwife Appointment

Today was our third appointment at the Midwife Birth Center. We got some great news confirmed from our ultrasound. The baby is developing completely normally, in fact, baby is two days ahead of her estimated due date. However, as long as it's within 10 days, they don't adjust the due date, so that's still May 26th. Baby girl's head and abdomen measured in the 25-50th percentile and the humerous and femur measured in the 50-95th percentile. The notes said that baby was moving normally and the amniotic fluid level was as it should be. One thing I learned is that the placenta is anterior, or on the front of my uterus. So, the midwife said that is why I haven't felt too many distinct kicks yet...the placenta is acting as a 'pad' that muffles any hits. Learn something new every day!

Also, my blood pressure was perfect and the baby's heartbeat was 14o. We hope to keep going at a steady pace :-)