Baby Belly @ 25weeks and 2days....

Fetal development in pregnancy week 25:

Your little grower’s physical proportions are evening out at this point and most of their remaining development will largely be weight gain and lots and lots of nervous system development. The good news is: if your child is born premature now they’ll be more likely to survive without too much trauma as their lungs began to produce “surfactant” last week, which means their tiny respiratory system is getting stronger with each passing day. Yes, now’s a good time for a minor sigh of relief and a quick pat on the back. All that hard work and conscientious living is really getting your child prepared for a healthy delivery. Keep up the fabulous work mama! This week they’ll be scootching slowly out of the old breech position and start rotating (already!) into a better position for exit during their birth. Their head and feet are slowly rotating so that the head is pointed down towards the birth canal. Time is short (or really long, depending on who you ask)—just (still!) 14 weeks left before you can go back to being a single-resident human.

Week 24 in Babyville....

This is another big week for your magical growing baby! Just take a look at the checklist for this week: 1) ears: done; 2) fingernails: done; 3) (if you have a boy) testicles: taking their 3-4 day trip from the abdominal wall to the scrotum; and 4) lungs walls: secreting “surfactant”. What’s that? Well, surfactant is sort of what it sounds like: a surface-activated fat whose main purpose is to assist the your baby's little lungs during inflation (as in, filling with air, not getting more expensive). Just in case you’re curious, your submerged baby is still breathing in amniotic fluid, preparing and rehearsing the lungs an oxygen-filled life outside the womb. By the end of this week, your child will be weighing around 2 lbs and 14 inches long. Your cutie-patootie may even be a little more plump, but isn't anywhere near their full baby-fatted cute-self. Most of the “filling out” is coming up in that long awaited (and slightly dreaded?) third trimester. Woo-hoo! Get ready!

23 weeks in Babyville.....

At this point you’ve pretty much adjusted to the fact you’ve got a moving little gymnast inside of you, but now they’re going to kick up the party a notch because they can hear and react to sounds from the outside world. Sounds from your alarm clock, a thunder roll, or that darned car honking at you across the intersection can actually jar their little ears enough to elicit a kick or violent bout of squirming. Of course this also means that their little ears are picking up the sounds of your voice and those near you. So go ahead, sing a lullaby to your little angel—if they start kicking, it’s likely they just want you to stop… or maybe it was a kick of approval? You decide. Your baby's tiny taste buds are still growing and their bones are continuing to ossify (harden), their tiny veins are visible through their translucent yet wrinkly skin. (Think of it this way: they’ve been swimming in the equivalent of a long hot bath for the past 23 weeks, so you can’t blame them for being a little prune-like.)

Babyville update...21 Weeks...

Your beautiful little miracle-gro baby will be putting on a full ounce and a half this week (and weighing up to 16.5 ounces), but that’s just the beginning! Within the next five weeks, they’ll really be packin’ it on! For now, we’re pleased to report the addition of rapid eye movement (REM) a key component to any healthy baby’s sleep schedule. While in the dermatology department: their thin soft skin is very red, rather translucent, and a bit wrinkled. Not to worry, it’s not a premature aging disease. It's just their clever little body setting them up with extra space that will smooth out once your little one starts packing on the baby-fat. That won’t be for a few more weeks, though. So for the time being, your munchkin is still a little lean mean growing machine!



Happy Thanksgiving!

I'll be heading to the hospital tonight to take care of the ladies who won't be able to spend Thanksgiving with their families because they're stuck in on our unit.  And although I really, really don't want to go to work tonight, at least I get to go home in the morning and spend Thanksgiving with my family.  I'll get home at 8:30, take a shower and get dressed again, and we'll head to the in-laws for a yummy Thanksgiving dinner.  Can I just tell you that I cannot wait for the turkey, dressing, mashed  potatoes and gravy, green bean casserole, broccoli, cheese and rice casserole, deviled eggs, and rolls.  And lets not forget the pecan pie...Oh my gosh, I can't wait!!!!  I am so thankful this year for my wonderful husband, great kids...who drive me crazy every day, a beautiful home, good jobs, and this new baby girl....and a grand baby....that will be joining our family next year!  I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Monday, Monday......

I have to work tonight, Wednesday, and Friday, and can I just say, I am so not in the mood.  The last night I worked was crazy, horrible, chaos, then I went in to help out Friday morning, and I'm just so not ready to go back.  We are completely full, so no room at the inn...which is good because that means we can't get any admissions during the middle of the night, but it would be nice to only have like 8 patients...lol!  Hopefully tonight will go by quickly, and smoothly, and I won't spend it chasing babies on the monitor all night long! 

Baby update, Week 20....

Only 20 more weeks to go!


Woohoo! I'm FINALLY half way through my pregnancy! This week I'm carrying 10.5 inches and 10.5 oz of growing baby-goodness! My perfect little monkey now has their first eyelashes, eyebrows, and their tiny teeth buds are sprouting beneath the gum line.