25 Weeks

What is that, a hairy onion?! No, it's actually a rutabega, which is apparently the same weight as our little one at this point in the pregnancy - 1.5-2lbs! Baby measures 13.5inches from head to foot, or 9inches from head to rump - I have a feeling it's starting to get a little crowded in there! Baby has more hair - and, if we could see it, we could tell the color and start to feel texture! He/she is also able to feel the sensation of touch, thanks to it's little brain development and the progression of nerve endings. This explains why he/she responds when we touch my tummy! Our baby also now has fully developed hands and feet, complete with tiny little fingernails and toenails - so cute! - and he/she is actively "feeling around" in utero (the face, the umbilical cord, the placenta, etc). Baby's skin is starting to smooth out and "pink up" as some baby fat is developing and the capillary system continues to develop, and the arms and legs are about the length they will be at birth (weird!). Another cool development - the nostrils had been plugged up to this point, but now they are open and clear, allowing Baby to practice breathing in and out through his/her nose! The blood vessels in the lungs are also starting to develop this week, bringing Baby just another step closer to breathing in the real world! Last big "'update" on Baby's development - some sweet numbers to meditate on: Baby's spine now consists of 150 joints, 33 rings (of cartilage), and about 1,500 ligaments - that's a pretty well-developed spine!!

As for me, I continue to expand and allow for Baby to grow - my uterus has now reached the size of a soccer ball or volley ball (and according to Tyler, it looks like I have swallowed one!) - no wonder my digestion has slowed down a bit! I've also been experiencing some pretty significant swings in my blood sugar, which tends to make me weak, dizzy and cause some blurred vision - not fun! This is not too uncommon for me, as I have had issues with my blood sugar dropping prior to pregnancy; it just seems that the "symptoms" are a tad worse now that I'm pregnant. The midwife isn't concerned at this point, only recommends eating more healthy "protein packed" snacks at frequent intervals throughout the day. Also coming up in the next few weeks.....my glucose test! YIPPEE!! Haha, not! Eww...have to drink a very sugary drink in 5min and get my blood work drawn 1hr later - so not looking forward to that! This is testing for gestational diabetes...yippee. Other than that, I've been feeling great and things are going well :) Feeling the baby move pretty regularly, and it's still so exciting!

We've painted the nursery!!! YAY!! We also have (almost) finished painting the entire condo - only kitchen and bedroom remain. It looks very nice; Tyler's done a great job :) I've helped with taping and painting trim, but he's done all of the rolling...such a hard worker! We have also decided to deliver at the Midwifery Center, and we've decided to get a 3D/4D ultrasound on September 1st! So excited!

Here's a 25weeker outside of the womb - so cute, but oh so tiny!

We are SO excited to be coming home in a few short days - very much looking forward to a vacation and spending some time with family - and of course the wedding and baby shower!! Prayers for safe travel would be greatly appreciated. Please continue to pray for the growth and well-being of our little growing child, that God would keep him/her inside and developing appropriately. Lastly, continue to pray for us as we prepare for his/her arrival; that we would be good, Godly parents and raising our child as He directs us.

Thanks for all of the love and support, and we look forward to seeing most of you (hopefully!) in the next few days!

24 Weeks

24 weeks - 16 weeks and counting until our little bundle of joy makes its debut! This week, Baby is about 1 foot in length and weighs 1 1/3lbs (which is a 4oz gain from last week) and is projected to gain about 1/2lb this week alone! We've definitely entered the growth-spurt phase - grow, Baby, grow!! Our baby's brain is continuing to develop and fine-tune specific areas with each week; also, his/her ears are fully functional now, which means Baby is fully able to hear all kinds of wonderful sounds! Another side note on the ear/brain - Baby's inner ear is developed now which means he/she has a sense of balance and can tell when he/she is upside down, sideways, etc. Pretty neat! Baby's tastebuds are developing and almost functional this week (not that he/she really has a whole lot to taste at this point - hmm...wonder what amniotic fluid tastes like....eww). The lungs are continuing to develop and surfactant (which is produced in the alveoli inside the lungs - little sacs of air that allow for gas exchange and allow us to have oxygen circulating in our bodies) is starting to be produced. This is important because the surfactant allows those alveoli (mentioned above) to stay open during inhalation which allows for better gas exchange. All of that scientific mumbo-jumbo means - Baby is getting one step closer to being able to breathe on his/her own! Baby's skin remains pretty transparent, but is becoming less and less so as the weeks go on. I can tell you from experience, Baby is definitely an active little peanut, especially on night shifts! He/she is moving quite frequently, and Tyler gets the chance to feel him/her every once in a while. The other morning, I had the joy of seeing Baby punch/kick/head-butt my stomach and actually saw it move! Loving every minute of this; can't wait to see what this week holds for us!

As for me, I continue to grow in size also :) I know I keep mentioning that I'll post pictures - maybe one day I'll follow through. Sorry about that, Tyler and I will take some more pictures on Sunday (which will mark the 25 week mark) and I will TRY to remember to post them (maybe even post the progression of pictures that we've taken). Hopefully we get better at "capturing the moment" before our baby gets here - we're going to need to start taking more pictures! I'm sure it will be easier when we have a super cute subject to capture ;) We're also trying to find a childbirth class to sign-up for and still looking for childcare. We have our 24 week appointment on Thursday and will be discussing pros/cons of the Midwifery Center and (hopefully) making  final decision on what we're going to do. Please continue to pray for wisdom for us as we make these decisions about the birth of our baby :) Tyler's started taping in the nursery, and we'll hopefully paint it within the next week or so (before we come home for Mom's wedding at least!). We also still continue to look for nursery furniture on Craigslist - we've definitely found a few good possibilities!!

Love seeing the pictures of babies at the same gestational age as ours (even though, sadly, I get to see some real-life examples at work) - just keep praying that our baby waits at least 14-16 weeks so we don't see him/her this small!!

Hope all of you are doing well, looking forward to seeing some friends and family in a little over a week for Mom's wedding and my baby shower :) Miss you all, thank you for all of your love, prayers, and support!

23 Weeks

23 weeks - can't believe we've made it this far already! I realize the mango appears to be smaller than the spaghetti squash, but the ever reliable internet assures me that, yes, our baby is indeed bigger than it was last week (even if their comparison doesn't make it look that way). Baby's over 11inches long now and just a little over 1lb in weight. And, wow, this past week has been awesome - Baby has been moving all over the place! I can feel his/her little movements throughout the day, and even Tyler has been able to feel them - he absolutely loves this! He came to visit me at work yesterday for lunch and I could almost swear Baby was saying "Hi" to him - Baby started kicking and moving as soon as we sat down to eat! SO cute :) So, thank you for your prayers - Baby has indeed started moving around quite a bit ;)

As far as developments go, our Baby's ears are becoming fine-tuned to sounds now. He/she is able to hear our voice, Sampson and Delilah's chirping (hope Baby gets used to it - they sure do chirp a lot!), and other noises outside the body (as well as internal noises such as my heartbeat, my stomach growling, etc). Baby's skin is becoming more red in color and less translucent as it thickens, more blood vessels develop, and fat begins to develop. Apparently our baby will double in size between now and 27weeks - looks like lots of expanding headed my way! This is exciting, though, because every week that passes and every ounce Baby gains puts him/her closer to being fully developed and healthy!! 23-24 weeks is considered the "technical" age of viability (ability to successfully live outside of the womb, with significant medical help obviously); however, we want baby to stay in MUCH longer than that!

 

 

This is a life-size doll model that was made after a live 23 week gestation baby that was born. It's a little prettier of a picture this way; this just gives you a size estimate :)

As far as changes for me, it's mostly just my ever-expanding belly :) With all of the heat we've all been experiencing, it's hard to tell if the swelling in my hands and feet is from the pregnancy or the heat! Still continue to have back pain (definitely noticing some sciatica pain down my right buttock and leg - not pleasant at all!) and may look for a chiropractor if the pain continues or gets worse as Baby grows and puts more pressure on my back. Continued prayers for a pain-free back would be welcomed! We're still trying to decide if we're going to continue with the Midwifery Center or if we're going to go through standard Labor and Delivery - prayers for wisdom would be appreciated :)

We've finished our registry (I think..may still add a few things here and there!) - we're at Target, BabiesRUs, and Amazon (have to search for Baby registry when you get on Amazon - it's not an automatic link). It's hard to know if we've registered for everything or not - seems like there is so much to want/need for another sweet little human being!! Really looking forward to the first baby shower back home at the end of July :)

Hope all of you are doing well and surviving the scorching heat of the summer - sending prayers for rain your way!! So happy to have you all following our progress on here - can't wait 'til our little sweetheart is here!

Blessings to you all!

22 Weeks

At 22 weeks along, Baby is the length of a spaghetti squash (about 11inches from head to heel) and is almost 1lb (about the weight of a bag of tortilla chips, apparently)! Baby's senses are continuing to develop and become refined for use in the outside world; for example, his/her sense of touch is improving and Baby will touch his/her face, suck his/her thumb, and grab/play with the umbilical cord! One website also mentions sense of taste - apparently Baby will experiment with this sense by sticking his/her tongue out into the amniotic fluid and, depending on what I ate for breakfast/lunch/dinner, may make a facial response to the taste...how cool! Tooth buds are also starting to develop in the gums. If we could look in and see Baby, he/she would look pretty wrinkly as there isn't a whole lot of fat developed under the skin yet - that's still a work in progress! Also, Baby now has hair on his/her head - apparently it is white at this point because it lacks pigment....hmm, I wonder what color it will turn? I'm so excited to finally see Baby! Only 18 weeks to go.....

Last post I mentioned how low Baby was sitting - I am happy to report that he/she has definitely demonstrated the ability to move around, including moving up higher in the uterus! Yay! This means I felt more movement this weekend, especially during the day which was super exciting. Tyler still isn't able to feel anything, but I assured him it's coming soon :)

 Not a whole lot of new developments on this end - still expanding to accommodate our growing Baby :) Trying to wrap up some projects on our condo before his/her arrival - repainting, building a mantel for the fireplace, and building a microwave/kitchen storage shelving unit (yes, these are all Tyler's projects, but I guess I'll help him out when I can ;) ). Seems like we still have a lot of time before the baby gets here, but when you think about it, it's coming up pretty fast!

We made a trip back to Indiana this past weekend to say good-bye to Grandma Stiles. It was a hard weekend, but we are so thankful that we were able to fly home and be with family. Everything was beautiful and I think Grandma would have liked the service :) I'm thankful that she is finally at peace and spending eternity with our Savior.

Please continue to pray for our Baby as he/she grows and develops, coming ever closer to the day we finally get to meet! Prayers for Tyler and I also would be appreciated, as we are making more decisions and adjusting more and more to the fact that it will no longer be just the two of us for a long, long time :) We're very excited about this new addition to the family, but we're also trying to really take advantage of and really appreciate/enjoy the last 18 weeks we have together to just be us!

Thanks for all of the love, support and prayers; sorry it's a bit of a short post this week, most of the developing is done - all Baby needs to do is keep on growing!