Week 25!!!

My Baby
As your baby grows, she'll take up extra space in your uterus, which means you'll feel her kicks, pokes, and rolls even more now. This week, your baby weighs in at around 1.5 pounds and measures about 9 inches in length from crown to rump. Wow! Although she's still skinny and her skin rather wrinkly, it will all smooth out as she develops a healthy layer of body fat beneath it. Her hands are fully developed at this point, complete with mini fingernails and fingerprints, and are probably keeping busy touching and grabbing her face, feet, and the umbilical cord.

My Body
Get ready to kiss your petite little belly goodbye soon! As your uterus continues to expand upward -- the top is nearly midway between your breasts and belly button now -- your middle will grow longer and wider. Makes sense; your baby's going to be pushing the 2-pound mark in no time at all, and you've gotta make room for her in there.
Speaking of changes to your uterus, one of the things your doctor examined during your mid-pregnancy ultrasound was the position of the placenta. If yours was either partly or completely blocking the opening to your cervix -- which is fairly common -- you'll be monitored more closely in the coming months. According to the University of Pennsylvania Pregnancy Health Center, 90 percent of such cases resolve before delivery because as your uterus continues growing, the placenta will naturally shift upward, away from the opening of your cervix. If this doesn't happen by the end of the third trimester (a condition known as placenta previa), your doctor may recommend that you have a c-section. In the meantime, you might have some extra ultrasounds to monitor the position of your placenta.

My Life
Remember how you used to throw (or at least attend) long, lavish dinner parties? In a few short months, an uninterrupted night of adults-only conversation is going to become a bit of a luxury. So sneak in a party before baby arrives. Break out the fancy plates and table linens from your wedding registry, light candles and pour some vino in your good crystal glasses (with Pellegrino or sparkling cider in yours, natch). It's a great way to spend a long, lovely evening chatting up and reconnecting with your best pals, since you've likely been busy or distracted lately.

So, who's up for a dinner party? I can't believe I've hit week 25 already! My due date (I think I said this yesterday) was bumped up a day yesterday to 1/16 intead of 1/17, so I get into week 25 a day earlier than I thought. I'm excited! The earlier the better. If they want to bump me up to Christmas, I'd be okay with that! But I would like to get together with people soon, though I do better when people come over to my place. I love to entertain, so if anyone wants to come over, feel free!

Anyway, that's about all the news from here right now! I'm at work, so I should keep this short, but it's pretty quiet today - no one is here, so that's a good thing!

Pictures of a 24 week mama!

Here are some recent pictures of me 24 weeks pregnant!

Week 24 check up and other random things to write about

Today I had my 24 week appointment. It went really well! I started seeing the other doctor in the practice, whom I like much better than the doctor I was seeing, so I think I'll stick with her for the time being. John hasn't gotten to meet her yet, as today was the first time I met her, and he had to work today. I'm hoping that maybe my November appointment can get scheduled for a time that he will be able to make it. I think he would come if he could, but doctors offices are always only open at the same times as schools - go figure.
Anyway, the baby's heartbeat was 154 beats per minute, which is good. My due date got bumped up another day, to 1/16/2007, but I'm not going to worry about that, because it's a whole one day difference. But I'm glad the appointment went well.
There isn't a whole lot of other news. I still have some gripes about my job, but there isn't much anyone can do about it - stupid working for a non profit that doesn't have enough grant money. I should have known what I was getting myself into when I took this job. Subbing is going well, as always. I still wish I'd gotten the teaching thing to work out this year, but no such luck. Maybe next fall when the baby is older, I'll look for a teaching job again. I'm starting to consider getting a masters so I can teach. It would be great if John and I could operate on similar schedules. At least with my shelter job, I am only working 12 hours a week there, so it would practially be like having the summer off with him. Plus, I get a 3 day weekend, so we could still go away if we wanted to, and not have to worry about leaving after work, etc.
The only other gripe I have probably isn't really appropriate to post in a plublic blog. It has to do with people that lots of people I know are friends with, and I don't want to start a big issue. So I guess I'll just leave it at that I am missing a lot of my friends right now - it's hard to have virtually all of my friends not know what it's like to be pregnant, or getting ready to plan for a baby. Sometimes I don't even feel like John understands completely how much this is going to affect our lives. I think he's trying to understand. I think women just understand it more because we're the ones to carry the baby until it's born. It's much more real for someone that feels the baby, or the pain, aggravation, etc., that goes with it.
Anyway, that's about all the news from here for now. I'll be back again later in the week to update!

Week 24

My Baby
Your baby has now developed his sense of balance, so he can tell which way is up inside your belly. (The inner ears control this skill, and as of this week they're fully formed.) There's still enough room in there for him to easily flip around, tethered by the umbilical cord. The cord, by the way, is pretty darn amazing. It contains two arteries and one vein and is quite long -- by birth, most average around 2 feet long! Every 30 seconds, nutrients and oxygen-rich blood travel from the placenta to the fetus through the single large vein. Then the blood returns to the placenta through the two arteries. It's an ingenious system that ensures the baby gets what he needs while keeping your blood separate from his.

My Body
Sometime in your second trimester (usually between 24 and 28 weeks), your doctor will probably screen you for gestational diabetes, a condition in which sugar levels in your bloodstream are higher than usual. The disease rarely has symptoms, so it's important to get tested, especially if regular diabetes runs in your family or if you were overweight before you became pregnant. Most women with gestational diabetes deliver completely healthy babies; the main risks are high birth weight and increased odds of your child developing type 2 diabetes later in life. If it turns out that you do have gestational diabetes, don't panic. First of all, the condition usually will go away after pregnancy (your hormone levels re-adjust, which helps your body absorb sugar more efficiently). And it's great that you found out now, because gestational diabetes can often be controlled or reversed with simple lifestyle changes, like cutting back on refined carbohydrates (pasta and white bread) and getting more exercise.

Week 23

My Baby
Your baby's lungs are in major growth mode this week, with blood vessels expanding and preparing to help her breathe after she's born. Although she's making breathing movements in the womb (so cute!), it's still just practice with amniotic fluid; your baby will get all of her oxygen delivered from the placenta until she's born. But here's why this lung development is so fabulous: If your child should happen to arrive early (though only 2 percent of babies in the U.S. are born before 32 weeks), her odds of surviving are significantly better now that her lungs are up and running. Of course, these and other important organs still have a long way to go to become fully developed, but most experts count weeks 23 and 24 as important, reassuring milestones when it comes to long-term healthy outcomes from preterm labor.

My Life
Is your belly getting big enough that you -- eek! -- suddenly feel like you have nothing to wear? Time to update your closet! Lucky you, because maternity clothes are just as stylish as anything your non-preggo pals are donning (and honestly -- way more comfortable). Among our favorite must-haves: designer jeans (Citizens of Humanity, 7 for All Mankind, Joe's, and more, in boot cuts, bells, skinny, and capri styles); flattering, fitted tees that play up your curves rather than trying to hide them under billowing fabric; and office wear that's tailored and chic, yet still comfy. You may need to give your shoe wardrobe a facelift too, since many moms-to-be find that their feet expand (sometimes permanently!) by as much as a half or whole size during pregnancy. Now's not the time to show off those pointy-toed pumps, either. With your balance a little off these days, flats are a much safer bet. Pick up a pair of ballet slippers (so comfy and trendy right now!), loafers, or sandals that'll treat your tootsies well.

Nerdiosity

Week 22, New Job, what else...?

My Baby
This week taste buds begin to form on your baby's tongue, and he's fine-tuning his sense of touch (thanks to maturing brain cells and nerve endings). Your baby may experiment with these newfound skills by feeling his face or anything else he can get his hands on. Now weighing about a pound and almost 7.5 inches long, your baby will develop two kinds of hair in utero. The first is lanugo, a soft, downy body hair, which usually falls off before or shortly after birth. Then there's the hair on his head. He may be born with next to none -- or something completely unexpected. Towheaded couples often have babies with full heads of black hair; brunettes can have a little blond or redhead. Got great curls? Your kiddo might arrive with pin-straight hair. The locks your child is born with probably bear little resemblance to his future hair. By the time he's about 6 months old, his birth hair usually begins to fall out, to be replaced with the real deal. Look back to your and your partner's own baby pics -- they may give you a glimpse of what to expect.

Only 18 more weeks to go! I can't believe how fast this whole pregnancy thing goes by! You never believe it at the beginning when people say "Oh, it will go by so fast!" And you're thinking "Gosh, I hope not, because we have SOOOOOO much to do now!" But it all gets done, and it's great. And it all really does fly by, but that is great too, because you spend so much time getting excited for the next doctors appointment, or ultrasound, or whatever might be coming next. My next doctors appointment isn't for another 3.5 weeks, so I still have some time. Nothing too exciting happening at this one anyway. The next time I have an ultrasound scheduled, I've got to try to get it in at a time that John can come. That won't be until 28 or 32 weeks or something like that.

I started my new job yesterday, the case manager position at the homeless shelter in Stratham. So far, I really like it! I thought it was going to be tricky, because the director of the shelter and I don't always get along on a personal level (we know each other from church), so I'm hoping we can put that aside for the sake of professionalism. I'm a little nervous about bringing the baby to work when that time comes, because I am afraid that she will try to tell me how to raise the baby. But I'll cross that bridge when we get to it. I may be worried over nothing. Yesterday was a pretty basic day, I went over the case files for the families currently in the shelter, I got caught up by Pati (the director), then I moved in some of my stuff. After that, and lunch, I met briefly with the people that were there in order to set up a time to actually have a long meeting with them next week. So that was good. Pati and I had a long conversation with the one man that is in the shelter right now, because he has quite a few issues going on, and we needed to see if he could meet us halfway with some of the things that have been going on. That took probably 45 minutes right there. Then I just got to meet with the woman that does our book keeping, make a couple of phone calls and meet the outreach worker. That was really the extent of my day, but you know - if that's all it is, I can DEFINITELY handle this! I think it will be good.

My wand

Wood type: maple Length: 10½ inches Core: Kelpie Hair get your own wand!