24 weeks - Viability!!!

Fetal development in pregnancy week 24:

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. Woo-hoo! Get ready!

My Thanksgiving!

Well like always I cooked and I made the most amazing bird! A whole 24 lbs of juicy goodness...

I was told it looked pretty enough for like Home & Garden or Good Housekeeping!

On the upside there are plenty of leftovers. Kiera had fun too. She got to play with Sierra and Nathan. Then we went to Brandon's cousin Michelle's house where his mother was. She had a ball there. Plus we have the Christmas tree up.

Here's a pic of Kiera lately too. Hope everyone had a great holiday!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope everyone has a terrific Thanksgiving today!!!

We heard Bella's heartbeat via doppler last night! Awesome! She's kicking up a storm this morning!

Off to start Thanksgiving dinner!!!!

23 weeks

Fetal development in pregnancy week 23:

At this point you’ve pretty much adjusted to the fact you’ve got a moving little gymnast inside of you, but now they’re going to kick up the party a notch because they can hear and react to sounds from the outside world. Sounds from your alarm clock, a thunder roll, or that darned car honking at you across the intersection can actually jar their little ears enough to elicit a kick or violent bout of squirming. Of course this also means that their little ears are picking up the sounds of your voice and those near you. So go ahead, sing a lullaby to your little angel—if they start kicking, it’s likely they just want you to stop… or maybe it was a kick of approval? You decide. Your baby's tiny taste buds are still growing and their bones are continuing to ossify (harden), their tiny veins are visible through their translucent yet wrinkly skin. (Think of it this way: they’ve been swimming in the equivalent of a long hot bath for the past 23 weeks, so you can’t blame them for being a little prune-like.)

Awww!

Brandon finally felt Bella move last night! It was so sweet. I was sitting there feeling her kicking up a storm so I grabbed his hand and he got thumped! Then he bent over and started kissing her and telling her how much he loved her. It almost brought a tear to my eye! Sitting here thinking about it brings a smile to my face while Bella kicks at the laptop!

I am DONE!

with Christmas that is!!! *LOL* I finished wrapping all of Kiera's presents today. I still have to wrap my niece's and nephew's few presents that my mom got them and I have one more present to buy for them (they want that Connect 4 x 4) but other than that I'm all finished! Woo Hoo!!!!

Sisters Forever

Photo Tinks by WiddlyTinks.com

Countdown!!!

Pregnancy Tickers

New Blog Layout!

I've been totally bored today so I updated my background to play around a little! What do you think? I like it although I found another one I liked better but it's all good!!!

22 weeks

Fetal development in pregnancy week 22:

The grow must go on! No wonder you’re getting so big, you’re now housing a wonder-baby who weighs nearly a pound and measures nearly a foot in length. Their perfect little pancreas is now further developed and they’ve also started producing their own hormones! Your baby's future in the circus as a world-famous tight-rope-walker is secure: their inner ear is now developed to the point that they have their own sense of balance. Lucky for your little explorer, balance also promotes physical dexterity, which has them actively feeling out their surroundings where skin, body parts, and the resident umbilical cord are the big sensory experiences. Your foot-long baby, is looking a bit like an oversized raisin right now as more and more wrinkles are showing up each week. Not to worry, all that excessive wrinkling is just their skin’s way of planning ahead for the time when they’ll start piling on that irresistible baby chub.

21 weeks

Fetal development in pregnancy week 21:

Your beautiful little miracle-gro baby will be putting on a full ounce and a half this week (and weighing up to 16.5 ounces), but that’s just the beginning! Within the next five weeks, they’ll really be packin’ it on! For now, we’re pleased to report the addition of rapid eye movement (REM) a key component to any healthy baby’s sleep schedule. While in the dermatology department: their thin soft skin is very red, rather translucent, and a bit wrinkled. Not to worry, it’s not a premature aging disease. It's just their clever little body setting them up with extra space that will smooth out once your little one starts packing on the baby-fat. That won’t be for a few more weeks, though. So for the time being, your munchkin is still a little lean mean growing machine! The beginnings of what is commonly called “brown fat” is just starting to fill in to help your baby retain some body heat, which is crucial as they’re not yet capable of regulating their own body temperature.