Week 24 Update

April 28, 2008

We just got home from our latest doctor's appt. Everything is right on schedule and she looked great! She of course had her hand on her face, as usual! I think she may end up being a thumb sucker. She was measuring 1lb. 10oz. according to their ultrasound....so I think she is roughly a pound and a half at this point. Jamie finally felt her kick the other day! He said she feels like the karate kid! I finally purchased my bedding yesterday and it should be here soon. We did get the one I posted in an earlier blog. Things are really starting to take off now! I head back to the doctor in 3 weeks for my check up and a glucose tolerance test. Will keep you posted.

Here's the latest on her progress.....She's growing steadily, gaining about a quarter of a pound since last week, when she was just over a pound. Since she's almost a foot long (picture an ear of corn), that makes a pretty lean figure, but her body is filling out proportionally and she'll soon put on more baby fat. Her skin is thin, translucent, and wrinkled, her brain is growing rapidly, and her taste buds are developing. Her lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" and cells that produce surfactant, a substance **that helps the air sacs inflate easily. She can hear more now, and she may even startle at loud, sudden noises. But she's probably getting used to the regular noises she hears around the house, such as your dog barking or the roar of a vacuum cleaner.

We couldn't get the best profile shot this time. She just wouldn't move her little hand! It looked like she was sucking her thumb again!

Here's one of those little feet that keep kicking me!

24 Week Update

April 27, 2008

So we made it to 24 weeks! It's been quite an eventful week......First, I was in a car accident on Thursday. I was rearended in the Bayway Tunnel in 5 o'clock traffic. I am fine and the baby is just fine. They took me to the hospital and monitored us for 4 hours, did some blood work and an ultrasound to make sure my placenta and the baby looked okay. The ultrasound was awesome, she was sucking her thumb! You could actually see her little chin making a sucking motion! She is measuring 1 pound and 4 oz now! I have been a little sore, but nothing a little tylenol can't cure. Second, she went to her first concert on Saturday night. We went to see Sheryl Crow in P'cola. She was so active during the concert, maybe we'll have a little musician! And finally.......we have decided on a name..............................Aubrey Elizabeth! There you have it! It's nice to have something to call her now, but of course little bubba will stick for a while with us! I am heading back to the doctor tomorrow afternoon for a check up and another ultrasound so I will post afterward and put all the new pictures on. Hope everyone is doing well!

Week 23 Update

April 21, 2008

Things are progressing nicely! Not much is new, but I have included a couple of pictures at the bottom.....not a huge difference, but it sure feels like it! Have been craving the strangest couple of things....cottage cheese, chicken salad...not together, at least. Of course Chinese and Mexican, but I don't think that is much different than before we got pregnant! And every once in a while a big fat bacon cheeseburger and onion rings (Jamie loves when I'm craving that!)!

Our next doctor's appt. is next Monday the 28th. We will have another ultrasound so there will be some pictures! I just got Jamie and I signed up for our childbirth classes that start in late May, that ought to be interesting.....considering Jamie is so not into medical stuff what so ever!

Here is what is going on this week:

She is more than 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound (about as much as a large mango). She may be able to feel your movements now, so put on some tunes and dance around the house. No matter what race your baby is, she looks red now due to blood vessels showing through his transparent skin. Her true skin tone will develop over the course of his first year. Blood vessels in her 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 she normally won't pass his first stool (called meconium) until after birth. Loud noises heard often in utero — such as your dog barking or the roar of a vacuum cleaner — probably won't faze her when she hears them outside the womb. Thank God since Molly and Abbey love to bark at the mailman!

There she is!

Week 22 Update

Doing great this week. I am really starting to get belly now! Will post a picture soon. We finally decided on the bedding....definitely the one in the previous blog....Just working on the room now. Head back to the doctor at the end of the month...I had my hand on my belly the other day and actually felt her kick....Jamie waited and waited, but she just didn't kick hard enough for him to feel.

It's been amazing working in the NICU lately, we are taking care of several 22 week babies right now. It's crazy to think there is something that big growing in there! It's overwhelming to care for and be able to touch a baby that is the size of the one in my belly! We thank God everyday that things are going smoothly so far!

Here's what's going on this week....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.

21 Weeks Update

We are celebrating our 6 year anniversary today! Can't believe it! Things are cruising right along. Feeling good and doing well. Jamie and I started on the baby's room this weekend. Just the early stages of cleaning out the spare room, deciding on closet plans and some baby bedding. I am feeling her move alot, now. She likes to really move in the evenings! Not keeping me awake, thank God! We can't feel her on the outside, yet but I can't wait for Jamie to be able to!

Here's what's going on this week: Your baby 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. And you can certainly feel her move. She's oblivious to your schedule, though, so don't be surprised if he starts working out just when you're settling down for the night. If you're having a girl, her vagina is formed now, though it will continue to develop until birth.

Here is what I think we are going to do the room in:

Have a great week!