24 Weeks

Friday, 16 August 2013

How far along: 24 weeks

How big baby is: 1 ⅓ pounds, 1 foot long (Wow!)

Baby is the size of: an ear of corn

Baby’s development: Her brain is growing quickly now and her taste buds are continuing to develop. Her lungs are growing “branches” of the respiratory “tree” as well as cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help her air sacs inflate once she is in the outside world. Her skin is still thin and translucent, but is not starting to turn pinker due to the formation of capillaries under the skin that are filling with blood. Also, her nostrils, which have been plugged up until now, are starting to open this week.

Mommy’s weight gain: 1 pound this week, 14 pounds total

Mommy’s belly:

This photo is from 24 weeks, 2 days

Baby’s movements: During this last week baby A has been pretty mellow. I have still felt her moving several times a day, but not as strongly as I had before, not as frequently, and not for as long. But I have decided that perhaps she had been getting some extra sleep due to a growth spurt because yesterday she was very wiggly again and her movements seemed to have a lot more force than before. In fact, last night during church I was watching my belly move and bounce here and there and saw, for the first time, one of her limbs push out and roll all the way across my belly. It was so fun to watch! It’s exciting to feel more than just the little kicks now that I can feel larger movements. There are times when it feels like she is changing positions, or rolling from one side to another, that feel super weird and uncomfortable, but I love it.

Symptoms: I can’t think of any symptoms I have had this week - unless you count that it’s just much more difficult these days to bend over to pick something up and to get off the couch. :)

Food cravings: I don’t have strong cravings right now, but I have been in the mood for fruity drinks and ice cream - which makes the cream slush from Sonic my current favorite treat.

Emotions: Last Saturday I felt very blue - but I think that had more to do with just missing my babies that have already gone to heaven than with being pregnant.

Sleep: I still wake up pretty frequently during the night. It’s getting harder to stay comfortable. I’m usually sleepy enough to go to bed by 9:30 although I try to stay up until 10:30 so David and I can go to bed at the same time.

What I am looking forward to: Today we paint the girls’ bedrooms! I’m not really excited about painting - I hate painting. But I’m excited about the progress we will make. Painted rooms means putting furniture where it belongs once the rooms are dry. Penny will have all her new furniture in place and we will move what needs to be moved into Ariana’s room. I’ll still have tons of stuff to sort through and move out to the shed or attic, but we’ll be one huge step closer to getting everything ready for A’s arrival.

I am longing to meet this little girl! I can’t wait to find out what she looks like. Last night David and I were talking about how we both imagine that she’ll look a lot like Penny did and that we’ll be shocked if she looks completely different. I am thoroughly enjoying being pregnant and looking pregnant and feeling this sweet girl move inside of me, but I am aching to hold her and snuggle her! It’s crazy how I almost feel like I miss her --  I know her and am just waiting to have her in my arms. It’s hard not to wish away the days and months ahead of me, but I keep telling myself to slow down and enjoy every moment of this - my last pregnancy. I’m so thankful for this miracle pregnancy and this sweet little baby that God has entrusted to me.