Kickin' It - Part 2

The baby has been very active lately, especially if I'm sitting still for awhile (e.g. driving) or lying down in bed at night. We've progressed from me feeling it (internally) to Dan feeling it to me seeing it. The funny thing, if you can call it funny since it's not really in the ha-ha range, is that I would have expected some sort of discomfort with all the movement - especially some of the bigger motions. Not a bit of it. Maybe that comes later when there's less room?

Growing a person is hard work...

...and I've had a relatively easy time so far. No "morning" sickness, no funky out-of-control cravings, no sore back, no swelling...yet. I have noticed that my stomach muscles have lost their willingness to stretch vertically now that they're being forced in other directions. I can usually retrieve or return our salad bowls to the top of the cabinets, no problem. No problem until the other day, that is. It's now a task that has to wait for Dan, or I have to climb on the counter.

I'm also surprised at how quickly it became uncomfortable to bend at the waist, either to put on shoes and socks or to pick something up off the floor. I've got quite a collection of paperclips and binder clips on the floor of my office. Supply and demand. I've got plenty in a drawer that's easy to reach, so the demand to pick them up isn't very great. This approach was fine until I dropped the engineer's scale on the floor. My options were 1) to pick it up, 2) to ask a neighbor to help out or 3) to use a metric scale. Since I wasn't done working with the scale and the site plans were in English units, I had to choose option #1 since #2 was too embarrassing and I want to save it for later when I'm sure I'll really need it, and #3 would be a total pain. I survived, go figure.

Week 24

Baby is growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces since last week. That puts baby at just over a pound. Since he/she is almost a foot long (picture an ear of corn), he/sh cuts a pretty lean figure at this point, but his/her body is filling out proportionally and he'll/she'll soon start to plump up. His/her brain is also growing quickly now, and taste buds are continuing to develop. Lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" as well as cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help the air sacs inflate once he/she hits the outside world. Skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon.

Week 23

The average fetus measures between 10.5 and 11.8 inches (think of a papaya) by this time and weighs in between 12.7 and 20.8 ounces (ours was estimated at 14 ounces on 12/26...but we have no idea how the ultrasound tech arrived at that conclusion).

Turn on the radio and sway to the music. With baby's sense of movement well developed by now, they can feel you dance. And now that baby is more than 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound (about as much as a large mango), you may be able to see baby squirm underneath your clothes. Blood vessels in baby's lungs are developing to prepare for breathing. Baby is now able to hear outside noise from down in the womb and the sounds that your baby's increasingly keen ears pick up are preparing them for entry into the outside world. Loud noises that become familiar now — such as your dog barking or the roar of the vacuum cleaner — probably won't faze them when they hear them outside the womb. Studies show that baby finds gentle music and your own voice most soothing.

Baby's little face is fully formed, minus the baby fat. Nipples are starting to sprout, and that little face is fully formed. And, baby is starting to settle into sleep cycles, snoozing about 12 to 14 hours a day. It shouldn't be hard to figure out when -- just pay attention to those kicks as they start and stop.

Week 22

At 11 inches (the length of a spaghetti squash) and almost 1 pound, your baby is starting to look like a miniature newborn. Their lips, eyelids, and eyebrows are becoming more distinct, and they're even developing tiny tooth buds beneath their gums. Their eyes have formed, but the irises (the colored part of the eye) still lack pigment. If you could see inside your womb, you'd be able to spot the fine hair (lanugo) that covers their body and the deep wrinkles on its skin, which they'll sport until they add a padding of fat to fill them in. Inside their belly, the pancreas — essential for the production of some important hormones — is developing steadily.

Kickin' it

While resting comfortably at Maureen and Rafe's home in NJ the other night, baby was very active. These weren't the first movements Melissa could feel, but they were Dan's first (and second, and third...). A very exciting moment for both.