3/28/08

Week 18: 9oz

 


Week 18

 

Fetal development in pregnancy week 18:fetus in fifth month We have two more ounces! Your "getting bigger-n-better by the minute baby" is already up to 7 ounces and 6 inches! This is a big week for their baby skin. There are now two distinct layers—the epidermis (or the surface skin) and dermis. Currently, their skin is covered with a greasy, waxy, cheese-like substance, known as vernix caseosa. Sure, it sounds pretty nasty, but this mixture of fatty secretions covering your little swimmer from head to toe is the best way to protect their oh-so-thin skin from bruising and abrasions as well as chapping caused by amniotic fluid exposure (and your little one is swimming in that stuff!). Still don’t like the fact your little darling is currently slathered in fatty cream like a greased pig? Well, you know the birthing process? Where you have to push something the size of a watermelon out a hole the size of a grape? That adorable little greased piglet would have a lot harder time getting through the birth canal without the vernix caseosa. Fun fact for momma’s with baby girls: it’s a uterus within a uterus! Your little girl will have developed a uterus and vagina canal by the end of this week.


And how's mom doing? POP! If you haven’t yet, you will soon be seeing the last of your inn-y belly button—until after you’ve pushed your little monkey out. If it’s getting difficult to breathe, you can thank your not-so-small belly for squishing your lungs—which will be more and more cramped for space as the pregnancy. Not that this is surprising as everything else in your mid-section is getting properly squooshed as well. (What else is new?!!). Keep in mind that as you grow (and grow and grow) in size you produce more blood (for both of you), which lowers your blood pressure. So standing up quickly and/or occasional fast movements may cause slight dizziness or lightheadedness. This is totally normal, but means you shouldn’t be too quick to jump to your feet when your team scores a goal. It's better to just punch the air in excitement or clap gleefully. One more fun pregnancy symptom to add to the list: you are producing more melanin, which can cause dark patches of skin to occur on random parts of your body. Don’t worry—these dark spots (unlike your parent’s age spots) will retreat soon after birth.

***I don't have any dark spots, but I certainly have the lightheadedness. 

3/26/08

17/18 week Dr's appt.

I had a very short Dr.'s appointment today.  I found out that I have gained 4 pounds and I heard the baby's heartbeat for the first time.  We have seen the heartbeat on the sonograms, but never heard it!  The real fun will come on Friday when we have the detailed sonogram and see all the limbs, organs, etc! 

3/23/08

Week 17

Fetal development in pregnancy week 17:fetus in fourth month Don't be too shocked but... your baby is EVEN bigger than it was last week, not to mention getting cuter, and smarter every day! As you’ve come to expect, there’s no shortage of growth and development this week: your fantastic little bean stalk has added yet another half inch to their overall height-- making them nearly half a foot long! Their little limbs have reached (or are within one week of) their relative proportions, and will continue to grow evenly with the rest of the body after this week. Reactive listening has begun for your baby, even though their ears are not yet structurally complete or fully functional. Meanwhile, different parts of their astonishingly complex brain are developing to process your little one’s hearing and other senses, (you know, sight, smell, taste and touch). Mind boggling factoid of the week: if you’re going to have a little girl, her ovaries have already produced millions of primordial egg cells, which, within a few weeks, will develop into actual eggs! 

The Belly Bump:

3/18/08

Victory!

  Belly Update:  YES you can finally see a little baby pooch.  Just in the last few days!  I will post pictures as soon as Jason gets home to take some.  

Yesterday I had a discussion with my boss about me moving to a part time position after the baby arrives AND it went really well!  She was very supportive and has no problem with me being part time once baby W has arrived.  I have been pondering this for a while so it is a huge relief to have this decision set in stone!  

Even bigger news:  Jason suprised me and refinishe the hardwood floors while I was in Australia.  I came home to some AMAZING looking floors!  That is another huge step towards the house being baby ready.  I feel like things are falling into place so quickly and we have another 5 months before  the baby arrives!  We are AHEAD of schedule. 

3/14/08

Week 16

Fetal development in pregnancy week 16:fetus in fourth month Over the past three weeks your astounding growing baby has managed to stretch yet another 2 full inches (totaling about 4.5 inches) and weighs around 3.5 ounces. Yessireee, that’s some pretty serious growth... and with it comes several physical developments! For starters, their head to body ratio is finally starting to even out a bit as the rest of the body is actually growing faster than the head at this point. Yes, your little light bulb is not so top-heavy. Their adorable little limbs have lengthened, almost reaching their normal proportions which they will have at birth. Their eyes are still closed but moving and if you had an ultrasound, which many doctors recommend you have at about this time, you may even see your little one sucking on a thumb, not to mention the necessary signifiers to let you know whether you’ve got a wee lad or lassie.

3/7/08

15 Weeks

 

Fetal development in pregnancy week 15:fetus in fourth month Your nearly four-inch long gymnast is happily mobile inside your womb and if you're really lucky, you’ll notice a point when your sneezing, coughing or laughing results in a little kick here or a poke there. Still, many women don't feel anything until the 17th week or later. Although the poking and kicking isn't very charming during sleeping hours, it’s a good sign as it means your baby is actually reacting to outside events. Yay! You’ve got yourself one active healthy baby! Their little elbows and knees are bending more freely this week and their little legs are finally growing longer than their arms and getting pumped up for prenatal Richard Simmons. Many of their major organ systems are increasing in capacity—particularly that amazing tiny heart and complex circulation system, which is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood per day, and will increase to a very impressive 200 quarts per day by the end of the pregnancy. As far as hair goes, we’ve got some new scalp patterns beginning to develop on the head, although actual head hair is not yet present.

3/5/08

Week 22

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Fetal development in pregnancy week 22:fetus in fifth month The grow must go on! No wonder you’re getting so big, you’re now housing a wonder-baby who weighs nearly a pound and measures nearly a foot in length. Their perfect little pancreas is now further developed and they’ve also started producing their own hormones! Your baby's future in the circus as a world-famous tight-rope-walker is secure: their inner ear is now developed to the point that they have their own sense of balance. Lucky for your little explorer, balance also promotes physical dexterity, which has them actively feeling out their surroundings where skin, body parts, and the resident umbilical cord are the big sensory experiences. Your foot-long baby, is looking a bit like an oversized raisin right now as more and more wrinkles are showing up each week. Not to worry, all that excessive wrinkling is just their skin’s way of planning ahead for the time when they’ll start piling on that irresistible baby chub.

 We had a doctors appointment on Wednesday were we went over the 18 week sonogram and everything checked out, the computer came up with a due date of August 28th so pretty close to the 29th like we were originally told, but we shall see how accurate that ends up being.  Jason and I are into our 3rd week of Bradley classes (Natural Child Birth) and are enjoying those.  We are taking the class with our friends, the Hartl's, and we are enjoying the other 2 couples in the class as well.  Everything on the house is moving right along and it wont be too long before we have the baby room painted.  We finally found baby bedding that we like http://www.brandeedanielle.com/ModernBabyBoyCaffeBabyBedding-3.aspx so now we have registered for the bedding and at Baby's R Us and Target.  [That was a task].  Becky and I had great success maternity shopping last weekend so now I will be a fashionable (I guess as fashionable as it gets) pregnant woman. 

Dr.'s Appt.

Yesterday I had my weekly doctors appointment and no new news to report.  The doctor did estimate the weight to be right about 7 pounds, which is good as long as the baby doesn’t decide to be 2 weeks late and put on another pound + between now and then.  

Just a reminder to everyone that we are still 9 days away from the estimated "due date."  Everyone at the office, including the FedEX lady, is all geared up.  No wonder people feel let down by the time their due date gets here because everyone around them has been acting like the birth of their baby is just around the corner for 2+ weeks.  Of course we would be more than happy for Baby W to surprise us with an early arrival, but we don't want to expect Baby W to be here by a certain date, baby will come when ready!

Today Jason and I are celebrating our 3rd ANNIVERSARY!!  We slept in a little bit today, had a good breakfast and then tonight we will celebrate by attending the New Born Care Class.  Looks like Baby W is going to let us keep August 20th for our anniversary and not an anniversary/birthday.  


Update on Baby Betting Pool: "People Who are Out"
Grandma Barbara: August 16th
Jalyn Zinser: August 17th
Kristie Wyman: August 20th

3/2/08

14 Weeks

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Fetal development in pregnancy week 14:fetus in fourth month Isn’t it glorious? You and your little buckaroo have roped your way right into trimester numero dos! Are you ready to rock!? Okay, okay… maybe just a little rolling and poking. Needless to say, your baby will definitely be making themselves known in the upcoming weeks. At about 3.5 inches long, their little body and limber limbs are coordinated enough for loads of complicated motions. In fact, their whole body is moving right now! You're not feeling it because their current size is still a bit too small to make an impact you'd recognize. Still, their movements are recognizable on an ultrasound. Speaking of which, you shoud be scheduling one with your health care provider! Week 16 is the classic date as you can usually determine whether your little one is going to pee standing up or sitting down. Your baby is also starting to develop the ability to move their eyes this week, although the eyelids still remain fused shut. What's more, they can make all sorts of fun facial expressions as they practice squinting, frowning, and grimacing. Cute development of the week: their little hands can grasp at things and they may already be sucking their thumb!

For those of you who are wondering about the baby bump, it is still non existent, maybe in the next few weeks.