28 Weeks

How far along: 28 Weeks 6 Days


Total Weight Gain/Loss: I guess I’m still up 3lbs but not sure till I get back to the Dr.

Maternity Clothes: Still trying to wear some older shirts with tank tops under them for extra length.

Stretch Marks: No worse

Sleep: Pretty good until the last couple of nights. I just have to be sure I don’t move to fast because I tend to pull muscles when I forget about the belly.

Movement: Gracie stays very quiet while I’m at work here lately but when I get home and sit still and when it’s bedtime she really comes to life. I have also started feeling hiccups at least once a day.

Food Cravings/Aversions: Still eating all sweets in sight and I’m trying to stay away from the fried foods since I haven’t been feeling well.

Gender: Girl

Belly Button In or Out: I can’t tell there has been much change but I can pull the skin just right and it pops out.

What I Miss: Sitting down and getting up without grunting.

What I am Looking Forward To: I’m so ready to get her room put together and all of her clothes washed but I’ve got to wait a while.

Weekly Wisdom: Stay away from Mexican food till the gallbladder is gone.

Best Moment This Week: It hasn’t happened yet but my friend Cindy has offered to pull us in after she gets done with her work for a free ultrasound. I can’t wait to see how much Gracie has grown in 10 weeks.

No new fruit pic till next week, but here's some good info on what's going on inside me this week.

•The fetus has its own regular intervals for sleeping and being awake.
•2.2 pounds weight and is 14.8 inches in length from head to heel.
•The feet are just over 2 inches (5.5cm) long.
•The hair on the head is now clearly visible.
•The milk teeth have developed under the gums.
•The eyes are starting to move in their sockets.

Brain waves show rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, which means your baby may be dreaming. Eyelids are opening. Eye color may change within the first six months of life especially if your baby's eyes are blue or gray-blue at birth. Remember to talk to your baby often; reading stories, singing songs has been seen to slow the baby's heart rate. He or she can recognize your voice now and will often calm to it later after birth.

Branches of lungs are quite developed now, so there is a good chance that baby would survive if born prematurely now. If your baby is born this week, the chances of survival is now at least 90 percent. However, some complications are still possible.

27 Weeks

How far along: 27 Weeks 5 Days


Total Weight Gain/Loss: Up 3lbs but still under starting weight

Maternity Clothes: I think I need to find some more cool tops because it is getting hot outside
Stretch Marks: No worse but still not pretty

Sleep: Pretty good and still up to pee once a night

Movement: She has learned that my bladder can be used as a trampoline and picked up a few moves from Chuck Norris.

Food Cravings/Aversions: I think I’ve moved on from lemonade but I just need sweets in general to make me happy.

Gender: Girl

Belly Button In or Out: No change just shallow and wide

What I Miss: Being able to go 2 hours without needing to pee. Not having gall bladder attacks on a monthly basis.

What I am Looking Forward To: My 1st baby shower this weekend

Weekly Wisdom: Never get away from the toilet when your puking because the bladder is very weak these days.

Best Moment This Week: Making it to 3rd Trimester! Not baby related but getting my transfer to the shipping department at work. My days are stress free and easy going now.

 
No new fruit pic this week.
 
Your not-so-tiny-anymore brilliant baby(about 2 pounds and 14.5 inches long!) is slowly rotating in preparation to “head out.” Obviously, this doesn’t happen overnight, but when you start to feel an unfamiliar pressure on your cervix, you’ll know you’ve got a fully flipped baby locked and loaded for the countdown to their birthday! Even now, at the beginning of the third trimester, their little lungs are already capable of breathing air while the pulmonary vascular system can provide sufficient gas exchange and the central nervous system can generally regulate rhythmic breathing as well as their basal body temperature. For what it’s worth, at this point in a healthy pregnancy a premature child (with intensive care) could easily win on the show: “Survivor: The Early Years.”

26 Weeks

How far along: 26 Weeks 5 Days

Total Weight Gain/Loss: None

Maternity Clothes: Yes but I still manage to get into a few things with the help of stretchy clothes. I kinda feel like I quit growing but the belly is just changing positions for now. I'm starting to feel out of breath more often and it's nothing bothersome but my ribs are getting a little sore so I'm sure she's redecorating again.

Stretch Marks: Nothing new

Sleep: Good but my hips are killing me and I have to change positions often

Movement: Most of the time sleeping thru the day but she always wakes up when I eat and when I’m in the car singing (I’m not sure if that’s good or bad).

Food Cravings/Aversions: I wanted chocolate cake so bad last night I could have cried.

Gender: Girl

Belly Button In or Out: Still wide and about the same pretty shallow.

What I Miss: Being able to take something good for a headache and now I’m starting to waddle up stairs so I guess not looking like a Weeble.

What I am Looking Forward To: Getting the glucose test over with and looking forward to my 1st baby shower. Oh and I'll throw in what I'm not really looking forward to... 3rd Trimester starts next week. I'm in denial that this is going by so fast.

Weekly Wisdom: I don’t suppose I learned anything that great this week but then again memory is not one of my better qualities.

Best Moment This Week: My mom and little sister getting to see the baby moving.

No fruit pic this week but I threw in some info about milestones this week.

•The baby measures 14 inches long and weighs over 1.7 pound.
•Baby measures 35.5cm long and weighs over 760 grams.
•The feet are 2 inches (5cm) long. Hands are very active.
•The baby's eyes begin to open around this time.

The fetus makes breathing movements, but there is no air in the lungs yet. Hands are active and muscle coordination is such that they can get a thumb into the mouth. Thumb sucking calms the baby and strengthens the cheek and jaw muscles.

The fetal brain scan will show response to touch. Touching and playing with the baby is possible now, as they may respond to your touch through your belly wall. Brain growth continues with brain wave activity for the visual and auditory systems starting to develop. Baby is probably very active in the womb, as the most active weeks are typically between weeks 24 and 28.
 

25 Weeks

How far along: 25 Weeks 6 Days- I had a valid excuse for posting late this week. My phone died and I was waiting for my new one to come in so I could get a good belly pic for the week. We also hit the milestone of less than 100 days left until birth so we are officially on the downhill slide.


Total Weight Gain/Loss: Still down

Maternity Clothes: Yes

Stretch Marks: No worse maybe even fading just a bit.

Sleep: Pretty good

Movement: Gracie sleeps a little bit longer and I think she has been sleeping when I do because when she is up she stays that way for a while now.

Food Cravings/Aversions: Still stuck on lemonade and sweets in general. I still hate spaghetti-o’s and all canned Italian food with that nasty orange sauce that stains your tupperware. Ewww

Gender: Girl

Belly Button In or Out: Still in

What I Miss: Feeling in my legs. Seriously sciatica can bite me

What I am Looking Forward To: We picked paint colors yesterday so we are right around the corner from getting the painting done. I’m also ready to get rid of this gall bladder. I had another attack on Sunday night which was really bad and also disappointing that I only made it 6 weeks since the last one so it’s definitely getting worse.

Weekly Wisdom: Stay away from the Taco Bell chalupa unless to want to be on the floor in pain.

Best Moment This Week: Totally not baby related but I got my new phone in today so I’m on technology cloud 9.

Let your spouse put an ear to your belly -- he might be able to pick up baby's heartbeat (no stethoscope required). Inside the womb, the formation of tiny capillaries is giving baby a healthy pink glow. Baby's also soaking up your antibodies, getting the immune system ready for life outside the womb. Eyes are forming, and baby will soon perfect the blink -- perfect for batting those freshly grown lashes.

24 Weeks

How far along: 24 Weeks


Total Weight Gain/Loss: None

Maternity Clothes: Seems like my wardrobe is getting a little smaller since most of my old shirts are too little

Stretch Marks: Xander calls them my belly cracks

Sleep: Kinda rough here lately due to the sciatica and hip pain

Movement: Sometimes she kicks so hard out of nowhere that it scares me and I jump

Food Cravings/Aversions: Lemonade, chocolate, ice cream

Gender: Girl

Belly Button In or Out: Wide and shallow

What I Miss: being able to feel my legs

What I am Looking Forward To: Well just got our bedding in so onto the next step of paint.

Weekly Wisdom: Don’t try to do too much at once when cleaning because you will pay for it later. I had a nice clean house but wasn’t able to move for a day and a half.

Best Moment This Week: Getting the bedding in is one more step to having Gracie’s room done. I go thru so many emotions in one day sometimes I want her here right now so I can meet the person who dances on my bladder and to show her off to the world because I’m so proud of her and other times I want to be selfish and keep her to myself forever because at some point I won’t be able to protect her anymore. Hormones are making this mama full of anxiety lately.

Here's a few pics

No fruit pic this week.

Fetal development in pregnancy week 24: fetus in sixth month 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.