24 Weeks

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.
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It's amazing how fast the baby is growing now. And I know that will just keep picking up speed until the end. I remember really early on being like "Wow! The baby gained half an ounce this week!" and being very excited about it. Crazy.

This week T and my dad and his dad all left for South Dakota. It's not as weird for me this time having him gone since my mom and ellie (their dog) came to stay. We have had a very relaxing weekend - it's been great. We ventured out of the house once yesterday to go pick up a few things at Wal.mart. We didn't take showers or anything, we just thought we'd make a quick trip. Little did we know, but we arrived about 5 minutes before they had trick-or-treating in the store! So much for a quick, quiet, incognito trip to the store. We each saw about half of the kids in our classes and the store was packed. Awesome!

This week we have conferences, so our schedule is totally whacky. Plus, I'm also taking a day during the week - in the morning I have a meeting, but I'm taking the afternoon sick to go to my 24 week doctor's appt. So all in all, I'm going to be seeing my kids 2 days this week, and one of the days, we're having our Halloween party pretty much all afternoon. These kinds of weeks are few and far between, so I'm going to enjoy it!

Mom has been a busy little seamstress this weekend. Saturday she made the dust ruffle for the crib and as I'm typing this, she's making the valances. Once it's all done, I will post pics. :) SO CUTE!!!

Of course the best thing that happened this weekend was a little game that went on Saturday in AA. They should call it the big sad house. Not only my spartans triumph over u of m, but they also seemed to be in a battle with the officials - or more specifically the officials in the replay booth who apparently have no clue as to the rules of how a touchdown is actually scored. The superior team won anyway and it was a great day! :) Go Green! :)

23 weeks

Turn on the radio and sway to the music. With her sense of movement well developed by now, your baby can feel you dance. And now that she's more than 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound (about as much as a large mango), you may be able to see her squirm underneath your clothes. Blood vessels in her lungs are developing to prepare for breathing, and the sounds that your baby's increasingly keen ears pick up are preparing her for entry into the outside world. Loud noises that become familiar now — such as your dog barking or the roar of the vacuum cleaner — probably won't faze her when she hears them outside the womb.
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Hmmm... dancing... that hasn't happened in a while. The squirming I have definitely been feeling a lot of lately. Very random. Whenever I try to have T feel them, she never cooperates. Hopefully soon. :)

Glad to know that when she gets here she'll already be accustomed to the dogs barking. Although really it's just Smokey barking and us yelling "Remy! Stop humping your brother!" It's nice that she's getting used to that now.

Wow, this weekend seemed to go by in the whirlwind. Saturday my mom and I headed to the fabric store to get what we need for the crib set. Then home to watch my poor spartans get their arse whooped by a very good (I hate to admit) osu team. :( Then a nap and a sweetest day dinner out to the closest restaurant to us. Sunday was spent madly cleaning our house. I was exhausted by the time my parents and T's parents got here for an early dinner. As soon as everyone left, I was back on the couch for a long overdue nap. Then up again this morning to start a new week at school. BAH! I didn't even get a chance to watch all my tivo shows this weekend :( This coming weekend I'm not planning on leaving my house. T and the dads are making a pilgrimage to the promised land (aka pheasant hunting paradise in s. dakota) so my mom and their dog are moving in with me and smokey. Good times!

I keep meaning to post pics of the crib and everything. My parents also brought over the antique cradle that I used when I was a baby. My dad repainted it last week and it's just gorgeous. It's not something that's been in our family forever - it would be cool if it were, but my grandma was able to bargain it from the people that they bought a house from. It was in the attic of the garage and the previous owner was showing her around. She made an offer and they left it! :) So it's a "new" antique to us. Well, like 40 years or so. I WILL post pics soon. Promise.

Okay, I have to go to bed. Exhausted. Yawn. G'night...

22 Weeks

At 11 inches (the length of a spaghetti squash) and almost 1 pound, your baby is starting to look like a miniature newborn. His lips, eyelids, and eyebrows are becoming more distinct, and he's even developing tiny tooth buds beneath his gums. His eyes have formed, but his irises (the colored part of the eye) still lack pigment. If you could see inside your womb, you'd be able to spot the fine hair (lanugo) that covers his body and the deep wrinkles on his skin, which he'll sport until he adds a padding of fat to fill them in. Inside his belly, his pancreas — essential for the production of some important hormones — is developing steadily.
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Sorry for the lack of post this week so far. But here it is.

In an exciting development - on Monday I had a couple of doctor's appointments in GR so I was able to swing by and pick up our crib and changing table, that were finally in! :) I also spent some quality time at B 'R Us... and became more confused than ever about the gear that I thought that I wanted. The stroller set I was totally sold on IS SO HEAVY!!! It's adorable, but I think I'm going to pass on it. I stopped like 3 other women in the store with babies and asked them if they liked their travel system. One woman said, "Well this IS the number one safety-rated system." Um, yeah, of course, I knew that. Oy. I've also been talking to other friends to see about their systems and now I think I have a new favorite. I wanted to go check everything out myself first before taking T to look at everything.

Tonight I got home from choir practice and T had put the whole crib together! :) I had told him that he couldn't go to Dakota until at least the crib was put together - I'm so mean!! But I did finally decide on the crib set that I want and we have a very crafty friend who will be making the little quilt and bumper and my mom is going to do the rest. I needed the crib to be put together so we knew how long to make the dust ruffle. This weekend we're heading to the fabric store to get what we need. :) YAY! :) It's coming together!

Ummm... what else... MEAP is going on this week and one more day next week then that will be all done and over with - hooray!

Last weekend was quite uneventful (love that) and I think that the same holds true for this weekend. We're hoping to go to get registered, or at least knock out some of the bigger gear things soon. I do NOT want to go on a saturday - I've been there before on a weekend and I would rather chew tin foil. So maybe that can be a trip for some evening next week.

Pics

Here are our latest pictures of our little girl... :) Last night she was very squirmy so getting clear pictures was a challenge, but here's what we've got...





In this one, she's looking right at you and her little arms are up by her face.

NOW WE KNOW!!!!

Okay, it's not ever 100% for sure, but from what the tech could tell, she was quite sure that we're having a GIRL!!!!!!!! She said she saw no sign of boy parts (which are of course the most obvious), and she thought she saw some girl parts. :)



We're still in a little shock over finally finding out. Now it's time to go SHOPPING!!! :) PINK PINK PINK!!!!!!



I told T that it's only fair- I've been the only girl around here for a long time, we need a little more estrogen in this house!

21 Weeks

Your baby now weighs about three-quarters of a pound and is approximately 10 1/2 inches long — the length of a carrot. You may soon feel like she's practicing martial arts as her initial fluttering movements turn into full-fledged kicks and nudges. You may also discover a pattern to her activity as you get to know her better. In other developments, your baby's eyebrows and lids are present now, and if you're having a girl, her vagina has begun to form as well.
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On Friday I turned 31. Nothing particularly eventful during the day, but for dinner we went to a very tasty place and then my mom and I went to see Mamma Mia (the musical, NOT the movie) for like the 7th time. This was our first time we were in the front row for that show. I love the front row - being able to see performers' faces, watching the pit, starting the standing ovation, all of it - awesome!!! It was a great evening! :) After dinner, we also did some shopping around and I got what I'm hoping is the last of the maternity wear that I'm going to need. I finally found khaki pants!! I was very happy! Saturday we made the trip down to Ik.ea and found lots of fun things! Once I have a theme for the baby's room, we will certainly go back. I've got lots of ideas now after being there. On the way home, we visited Twe.lve Oaks and had a lovely time there as well. We also tested out my new birthday GPS on the way there. Very handy! I was not at all prepared for how incredibly pooped I would be from walking I did Saturday! I'm writing this Sunday night and my legs are still hurting!! Lots and lots and lots of walking. Sunday was spent at home (except when when I had to make a quick trip to the store to deliver T's wallet to him when he forgot to take it grocery shopping- oops), and I put away birthday things and did some cleaning and lots of laundry. I also got caught up on all my ti.vo. :)

This week we have our next (and probably last) ultrasound on Tuesday night. If we are to find out blue or pink, I will for sure post that when we get home!!! Keep your fingers crossed that fuzzy is cooperative! :) It's still hard for me to believe that we're now into the second half of this whole experience. We just received our first baby stuff borrow - a gorgeous swing in the pattern that I'm very seriously considering for the whole travel system, etc. Thank you thank you thank you M and V for your generosity!! :) We ordered the crib and changing table quite some time ago and hopefully that should be in anytime. That will be exciting to get that all set up! I'm hoping to start picking out nursery decor/theme next weekend (provided that we're able to find out boy or girl this week). My mom is going to be making the comforter, bumpers, bed skirt, valances, etc for the baby's room - we just need to go find the fabric. I'm picky about what I want (shocking, I know!) and a lot of the pre-packaged bundles of those things are SO EXPENSIVE!!! Anyway, hopefully more decor updates soon. :)

How about a poll!