Week 25

I had a doctor’s appointment this week. It took me longer to get there because of the holiday traffic than the actual appointment took.

This appointment was a simple routine appointment. Pee-in-a-cup, stand on the scale and get your blood pressure taken. All were o.k. with my BP at 104/60 and my weight gain right on target.

Dr. Radpour came in a measured me and listened to the heartbeat. I was measuring right on target for 24 weeks and the heartbeat was 150 bpm.

I asked Dr. Radpour a couple of questions, one being about induction. I am not a huge fan of induction and wanted to know what the practice feels about it. He said that we will discuss it more when I get further along but they won’t let me go any further than 1 week late which means I won’t have the baby probably beyond April 17th or so. As I sit here and write, the countdown clock is ticking away and it’s saying 108 days…..yikes, they will go by fast! We need to get some things done!

My next appointment will be the 18th of January and I will have to do the gestational diabetes testing.

By the 25th week the baby probably weighs about 1 ½ lbs and is around 8 ¾ inches long. The hands have fully developed on the little one and are complete with fingernails and the ability to make a fist. With these hands the baby is exploring its environment including the umbilical cord. However, the nerve connections have a long way to go and the movements may not be very coordinated yet.

Week 24

Sometimes I feel like I have nothing new to write. The baby continues to grow and move. We just hope it doesn’t keep up the “schedule” that it is on now. It is mostly active in the evening and night time. We are hoping that it won’t have it’s days and nights mixed up!

By this week the baby probably weighs 1 ¼ pounds and is about 8 ½ inches long. The baby continues to gain weight and look more like an ‘infant”. It is during this time that the baby may begin to sense whether he or she is upside-down or right side up in the amniotic sac. When we had our ultrasound at 20 weeks the little one was breech with the head up near my bellybutton. The baby can sense this because the inner ear, which controls balance has now developed.

I continue to feel great, especially after getting a 24 hour flu-bug last week. I’m not sure Travis would agree, however as my emotions have tended to be all over the place. Right now I can still blame them on being pregnantJ He has been a great trooper and never said anything but only asks what he can do to help.

This week is another doctor’s appointment. I think it will be pretty much a routine appointment and won’t take much time. I’ll let you know how it goes next week.

Week 23

Well, this week one friend told me I looked pregnant as I wore my first maternity skirt to church. Later that evening another friend told me that if she didn’t know I was pregnant she’d never guess. Hmm, which one do I believe? Check it out for yourself in the picture in my new sweater (Thanks mom!)

By this week the little one weighs about 1 pound and should be about 8 inches long. Unbelievable! No wonder I can feel it kick so much and sometimes even see it move now. Travis has confirmed that he definitely felt it move now.

The body of the baby is getting “plumper” as it is putting on fat but it still has a ways to go before it will look like a “healthy baby” because the skin is still wrinkled.

This week the baby’s lungs are beginning to develop rapidly. Although, if born at this point, there is a small chance the little one could live but not without may trails and obstacles to go through. The lungs have a long ways to go before they will be able to function on their own.

Week 22

Today starts our 22nd week. We can really tell that the baby has grown in the last couple of weeks. We take weekly pictures of my ever expanding belly and we saw a big difference between weeks 19-22. I am nearly out of “regular” clothes and will have to start wearing maternity clothes before we all know it.

I have also felt the baby move a lot. One evening especially it was moving around quite a bit. Travis even got to feel it by putting his hand on my tummy. I can’t wait until we can actually see it move.

At this point the baby is about 7 ½ inches long and weighs about 12 ounces. During this week the senses of taste and touch are making big progress. Taste buds are actually forming on the baby’s tongue and the brain and nerve ending are mature enough to process the sensation of touch.

By this week the eyelids and eyebrows are developed as well as the fingernails.