Belly & baby are still growing. I'm still feeling well for the most part although most days I feel like I could sleep the remaining 11 weeks if only my body would let me. Everything looked good at my appointment today and I'm still measuring right on track. We chose a doula this week who will attend our birth and hopefully help me deliver Baby Girl naturally and our first shower is planned for January 28th! This weekend we are headed to Williamsburg, VA for our last getaway before we become parents.
Here is what Baby Girl is up to this week... Your baby now weighs about 2 1/2 pounds (like a butternut squash) and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel. Her muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and her head is growing bigger to make room for her developing brain.
I've been so engrossed in reading tonight I almost forgot to post. So far this pregnancy I've done little reading compared to most first time mom's I know. From time to time I would think to myself, I really should probably be doing some reading and finally this past week or so it's really kicked in. I've been reading Secrets of the Baby Whisperer recommended by my friend Jenn and I've been doing a lot of research on childbirth. I have a few more books on the way at the recommendation of another friend.
This past week was eventful with all the work we got done on the nursery. I also received word that I passed my 1-hour gestational diabetes test - hoorah! The biggest change I've noticed this week is trouble sleeping. I either have trouble going to sleep or trouble falling back to sleep if I wake up in the middle of the night. Other then that everything is still going well. Baby Girl is kicking up a storm and from time to time I have a period of regular movements that I believe to be hiccups. Here is what Baby Girl is officially up to this week:
By this week, your baby weighs two and a quarter pounds and measures 14.8 inches from the top of her head to her heels. She can blink her eyes, which now sport lashes. With her eyesight developing, she may be able to see the light that filters in through your womb. She's also developing billions of neurons in her brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world.
My hubby was so kind yesterday to paint Baby Girl's room and hang the curtains. I love it! I was having a hard time seeing it all come together but it looks great (the pictures don't do it justice). I'm waiting for some hangers to come in to hang the plates (see pic below) and I need to find one or two more things for the walls. It is so exciting now that it actually feels like a nursery - I have to peek in each time I go upstairs.
Pardon the curtains, they need to be steamed.
I told you we are going to need to build on an addition for a walk-in closet. In my defense, that's though 12 months and a few things past 12 months. AND a lot of sleepers, so...
Today was a big day - 27 weeks, my 1 hour glucose screening, a rhogam shot, and our 4D ultrasound. For obvious reasons, the 4D ultrasound was the highlight of the day. AND the fact that I'm measuring right on schedule - I was afraid they were going to tell me I was the size of a humpback whale.
Baby Girl was rather uncooperative. Apparently she loves burying her face in her hands or in the wall of my uterus. She is also very low - her head is by my right hip bone so they had a hard time getting good shots of her face. We got to watch her for about 45 minutes while they tried to get her to move. My favorite was watching her little mouth and lips move. She even stuck her tongue out at one point. Below are a few of our favorite still photos and a short video clip.
The appetite finally seems to be subsiding a bit as evidenced by the fact I made it through the past 2 weeks including Christmas without gaining any weight. However, my days of bending over appear to be numbered. It is becoming more and more of a feat as is turning over at night. For the most part I am still feeling good and Baby Girl is staying very active. Here is what she is up to this week...
This week, your baby weighs almost 2 pounds (like a head of cauliflower) and is about 14 1/2 inches long with her legs extended. She's sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing her eyes, and perhaps even sucking her fingers. With more brain tissue developing, your baby's brain is very active now. While her lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with a lot of medical help — if she were born now. Chalk up any tiny rhythmic movements you may be feeling to a case of baby hiccups, which may be common from now on. Each episode usually lasts only a few moments, and they don't bother her, so just relax and enjoy the tickle.
Another week with not much new to report. We've been busy getting ready for Christmas. After Christmas we will be finishing up the last few things for the nursery - painting, curtains, wall decor, and lamps. Next Tuesday we are going for a 4D ultrasound so I should have some neat pictures and possibly a video clip to post. Here is what Baby Girl is up to this week:
The network of nerves in your baby's ears is better developed and more sensitive than before. She may now be able to hear both your voice and your partner's as you chat with each other. She's inhaling and exhaling small amounts of amniotic fluid, which is essential for the development of her lungs. These so-called breathing movements are also good practice for when she's born and takes that first gulp of air. And she's continuing to put on baby fat. She now weighs about a pound and two-thirds and measures 14 inches (an English Hothead Cucumber) from head to heel.
Another week has come and gone. Nothing new to report. Here is what Baby Girl is up to this week...
Head to heels, your baby now measures about 13 1/2 inches. Her weight — a pound and a half — isn't much more than an average rutabaga, but she's beginning to exchange her long, lean look for some baby fat. As she does, her wrinkled skin will begin to smooth out and she'll start to look more and more like a newborn. She's also growing more hair — and if you could see it, you'd now be able to discern its color and texture.
