26 and 27 Weeks

Woops! Got all caught up in our vacation and forgot to blog last week - so, this week I'll update you on last week and this week...lots of growing going on!

Week 26:

Our baby is now about 14inches long (as long as the cucumber pictured above) and weighs-in at 1 2/3lbs! Brainwaves are detectable in Baby's brain now, which means he/she is able to register changes in light and sounds (meaning he/she DOES hear what we're saying and can recognize a difference between sounds now!). The retina in the eyeball is also now fully developed, which means that if it weren't so dark inside, Baby could actually see things! Baby continues to practice his/her breathing every day, strengthening those little lungs to prepare himself/herself for life outside the womb. Baby's also continuing to put on the baby fat, which will be boosting his/her weight as well as preparing Baby to keep warm after delivery.

Not much changing on my end, just continuing to grow :) Also started noticing some swelling in my feet - completely normal, though not pleasant! Love feeling Baby move all of the time, he/she is definitely one a pretty regular schedule - little movements here and there and more active movements at specific intervals around the clock. Unfortunately, it still feels like Baby is more active at night - calm down, kiddo - don't you know we all like to sleep at night?! I can't complain - I love feeling Baby move!

Funny side note - Baby did very well flying! Seemed to notice the pressure changes more on descent and was extremely active at this time. This usually wasn't a problem, unless I'd forgotten to go to the bathroom during the flight which meant that Baby thought my bladder was a punching bag - super uncomfortable! Definitely had to do the pregnant-lady-has-to-pee waddle through Atlanta International :)

Week 27:

Wow! Baby's up to 2lbs (weighing about as much as a head of cauliflower - don't suppose that extra weight could be contributing to my back pain?!) and measures 14.5inches long from head to heel. Super exciting development this week - Baby's eyes are no longer fused shut!! This means Baby is opening his/her eyes in utero (probably not seeing a whole lot, since it's so dark) - so exciting!! Another exciting marker - Baby's lungs are continuing to develop and are to the point now that they are able to breathe oxygen on their own, giving Baby an 85% survival rate outside in the real world (NOT that we want to put those statistics to the test, but it gives me a little less to worry about!). Because Baby is continuing to swallow amniotic fluid, he/she occasionally gets the hiccups (which I think I may have felt for the first time today?). Also, as I mentioned above, Baby's brainwaves are very active now, with his/her nerve endings firing like a normal newborn already...our Baby's a genius :)

As for me...some websites say that I am officially in my 3rd trimester, others say this is the last week for the 2nd trimester - either way, we're almost there!! As of Aug. 4, I only have 3mos to go until due date! Really exciting and also a little scary at the same time. Tyler and I watched an animated video of "what happens during birth" - needless to say, it freaked both of us out a little (not that it was new to me, but this time...I have to think about the fact that it's gonna happen in 3mos or less!!). We have officially purchased Baby's crib (gotta love Craigslist - found a beautiful white convertible crib for $100 less than retail price!) and bought a rug from Ikea to put in the nursery - slowly but surely starting to come together. No, no pictures yet - still way too much other "stuff" being stored in there temporarily ;) Also, had my glucose test today - NO PUKING!!! Yay :) The sweet cola really wasn't too terrible (tasted like flat fruit punch) and they were able to draw my blood easily - should know the results in about 1 week!

2 things to note - 1) this 27week old baby is tiny (note how big the preemie diaper is!) but still significantly larger than other babies in previous pictures; 2) no ventilator! This baby can breathe on her own (with the help of external oxygen)!

Tyler and I just finished our vacation time for the summer - we had a blast! Got back into Ft. Wayne late late on Thursday, July 26 in preparation for my mom and Sam's wedding on the 28th. Perfect day, beautiful wedding, wonderful couple - great time had by all! So glad we could be home to experience it with them :) On Sunday the 29th, my wonderful aunt Nancy and cousin Lauren threw me a BEAUTIFUL baby shower, complete with baby-food guessing and diaper-smelling games. It was wonderful to share the excitement of Baby's arrival with friends and family...thanks so much, ladies, for hosting such a perfect shower! Sunday night Tyler and I headed up to Big Barbee Lake for some much needed rest and relaxation with Dad and Sandy. Couldn't have asked for a better 2 days - weather was GREAT and got to spend some quality time out on the boat...perfect! Wednesday was our 3 year anniversary - didn't celebrate because we were supposed to be traveling all day (notice I said "supposed to"....). Had several flight delays/cancellations/etc that left us in Ft. Wayne for 1 night longer than expected - a little frustrating, but at least we got to see my mom and Sam another night! Thursday we finally made it back to Norfolk around 2pm and were finally able to celebrate our anniversary with a nice dinner at Freemason Abbey - yum! Friday we made a trip up to Ikea (in Woodbridge, VA - 2.5hrs away and only about 30min from Washington D.C.) - what a successful trip! We came away with 3 very large picture frames, a dresser for the two of us, 2 nightstands that match our dresser, 3 lamps, and a rug for the nursery. Surprisingly, it all fit into our Camry...barely ;) Saturday and Sunday were spent putting furniture together and getting things done around the condo. Needless to say, our vacation was perfectly busy/productive/relaxing - we had a great time off together and were very sad to see it end this morning :(

Here are some pictures from our visit - more on Facebook and on my camera (which have yet to be uploaded...)

Can't believe how big Alex is getting - miss this kid!!

One picture from the wedding - waiting for more to come up on FB (ahem, mother....): Me, my lovely Mom, and Katie Shirring on the wedding day!

Here begin pictures of the baby shower (courtesy of Lisa, pictures stolen from FB) - enjoy :)

Don't worry - the "dirty" diapers were melted candy bars!

Is this bib perfect or what?!

This week, our friends Brok and Andrea Lahrman are coming out to spend a few days with us - really looking forward to spending some time with them and showing them around our lovely area of residence :)

Sorry to have kept you all waiting - I'm sure everyone was very disappointed about the lack of blogging last week ;) Seriously though, thanks for reading and praying for us. Please continue to pray for Baby's growth and development, for our preparation for him/her to grace us with his/her presence, and for all of the little things to get smoothed out (nursery, childcare, finances, etc). Also, please pray that my glucose test results will be normal :) A few extra prayers for my sanity as we get closer and closer to the big day wouldn't hurt either!

Love and prayers of thanksgiving for you all - thank you for all that you do!