27 weeks

Biggest milestones of this week (writing this on thursday since I got lazy):

• got carseat! thanks FIL!
• passed my GD test with a 5.7 (apparently canada measures differently than the u.s.)
• DH got kicked in the head (lol)
• third trimester :)
• uber heartburn/acid reflux

Crazy baby didn't even go nuts after the UBER sugar GD drink. Worried me for a while there. Been pretty active since then though.

One week from tomorrow until we leave to go to Nevada!

How your baby's growing:

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 to be 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.

The second trimester is drawing to a close, but as your body gears up for the final lap, you may start noticing some new symptoms. Along with an aching back, for example, you may find that your leg muscles cramp up now and then. They're carrying extra weight, after all, and your expanding uterus is putting pressure on the veins that return blood from your legs to your heart as well as on the nerves leading from your trunk to your legs.

Unfortunately, the cramps may get worse as your pregnancy progresses. Leg cramps are more common at night but can also happen during the day. When a cramp strikes, stretching the calf muscle should give you some relief.

Straighten your leg and then gently flex your toes back toward your shin. Walking for a few minutes or massaging your calf sometimes helps, too.

It may be the furthest thing from your mind right now, but it's not too soon to think about family planning. You'll want to have made some decisions about postpartum birth control before your baby arrives. If you're considering a tubal ligation, be aware that most states require you to sign a consent form at least 30 days beforehand. So if you'd like the option of having the surgery during your postpartum hospital stay, don't wait too much longer to discuss it with your caregiver. (You can still change your mind later.)

Last week

l

l

V

This week

l

l

V

9 weeks of growth

26 weeks

(Written on Monday) Baby was doing gymnastics last night multiple times. So I'm pretty sure baby is now feet down since I'm getting so many low low kicks today. Those gymnastics are pretty cool to feel though.

Only 14 weeks left and almost in the 3rd trimester. Today (Tuesday) marked 6 months pregnant. 3 months and 5 days left until my due date.

We are estimating that baby will come on September 29th which is 40+5. Any guesses?

How your baby's growing:

The network of nerves in your baby's ears is better developed and more sensitive than before. He may now be able to hear both your voice and your partner's as you chat with each other. He's inhaling and exhaling small amounts of amniotic fluid, which is essential for the development of his lungs. These so-called breathing movements are also good practice for when he's born and takes that first gulp of air. And he's continuing to put on baby fat. He now weighs about a pound and two-thirds and measures 14 inches (an English hothouse cucumber) from head to heel. That's amazing how baby has gone from a tiny little cell to close to 2lbs in 26 weeks... wow. If you're having a boy, his testicles are beginning to descend into his scrotum — a trip that will take about two to three days.

Last week

l

l

V

This week

l

l

V

25 weeks

Baby is kicking more and harder. It's quite fun to see my stomach shake and quite fun to feel the big stretches where I get booted up high and down low. I don't think I will get tired of this. It's very reassuring.

I have 7 days of work left with the kids and then one more outside of that. I am SOOOOO ready for the summer. It means that the count down to baby is so much closer! The summer will be awesome (but hot) and I can't wait to go visit hubby's family in mid July. Once the summer is over, we're only about 4 weeks away from the baby being here.

I'm so excited to hold and dress and nurse and play with my baby. It's becoming more real. It's not fully real yet, but I'm getting super excited. The nursery needs some more furniture and wall art, but I don't know that I want to do the wall art until I know exactly where the furniture is going to go.

I'm trying to think about what furniture we've still got to put in the room... I'm thinking we still need to put out:

• mamaroo bouncer
• tummy time mat
• swing
• rocker/glider (not sure which is going to go in the baby room)

How your baby's growing

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.

The difference 24 weeks makes

24 weeks

Heartburn has introduced itself to me within the last few days. It's not very exciting. Sleep is harder to do. I have to get up to use the bathroom or else baby kicks me and keeps me awake. I'm just loving the kicks. They're the best thing in the world. I only wish that hubby could feel what the kicks feel like on the inside.

Still people who don't know me well aren't daring enough to ask if I'm pregnant... I almost bought a shirt today that said something about pregnancy just so I could wear it on friday to the sports day with all those people I only see once a year and it be obvious. I don't want all the attention that TELLING everyone brings but I want them to know so they don't think I'm getting fat.

How your baby's growing:

And they don't even mention the biggest excitement of this week! Viability! The hospitals will try save babies born after 24 weeks. Within the next few weeks, baby's chance of survival skyrockets!

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

How your life's changing:

In the past few weeks, the top of your uterus has risen above your belly button and is now about the size of a soccer ball. That's just unreal to me... soccer balls are so BIG!! Most women have a glucose screening test (also called a glucose challenge test or GCT 1 hour test) between now and 28 weeks. Not sure if I'm hoping to do it before or after our trip to Nevada... I'll ask the Dr. when he usually books them when I see him on thursday. This test checks for gestational diabetes, a pregnancy-related high-blood-sugar condition.

Untreated diabetes increases your risk of having a difficult vaginal delivery or needing a cesarean section because it causes your baby to grow too large, especially in his upper body. It also raises your baby's odds for other complications like low blood sugar right after birth. A positive result on your GCT doesn't mean you have gestational diabetes, but it does mean that you'll need to take the glucose tolerance test (GTT 3 hour test) to find out for sure.

Finally, if you don't already know how to spot the signs of preterm labor, now's the time to learn. Contact your caregiver immediately if you notice any of the signs mentioned below.

Last week

l

l

V

This week

l

l

V

Laundry

You know you're going to be a mom when you're SUPER excited about laundry soap and wool dryer balls ;)

Best part: It's cloth diaper safe and baby friendly. It's also 18 cents a load ($20 for the whole thing) and once it's used up, it's 9 cents a load because we can refill the tin at the store we got it at for $10.