24th Week

Now I’m an eggplant!!  

There have been some “fun” things happening to me these last couple of weeks.  I have the joy of experiencing very annoying, "wake you from the dead",  leg cramps in the middle of the night.  It's like someone has stuck your leg in a vice while you weren’t looking!  From all that I've read…there is no definitive reason why.  Some say it's has to do with the extra blood volume, or even dehydration.  The only solutions I've found are to, eat a banana, drink a glass of milk, or take a calcium/magnesium supplement.  Another fun change is that my belly button has decided it needed a change and turned itself inside out.  Well, half of it is out and the other is still contemplating.  Let me tell you, that's a weird look. :s And as a result, I have finally had to remove my belly button ring.  I guess we all have to grow up someday! 

We've decided to share the name(s) we've chosen. It will be Bryce Anthony.  (Let's really hope the Ultrasound tech didn't make a mistake in their gender identification)  It's a name that "Daddy" has wanted for a long time…even before he ever imagined having a baby.  Its meaning is significant to us and we hope it will translate into a successful, happy life for little Bryce. 

  

We made our first real baby purchase this week.  A Stroller/car seat combo. I can tell you I never thought in a million years that I would EVER get to buy a stroller or car seat.  (This pregnancy is still very surreal!)  And it wasn't an easy decision with all the options out there!  After many days of searching online, I happened to come across the Britax brand.  It got amazing reviews for safety, comfort,  and ease of use.   I'm very excited for it to arrive next week.  I wonder if Maddie Dog will let me push her around in it for practice! What would the neighbours think?!  Lol

What’s happening with Baby this week?  “It's another week full of exciting developments for your magical growing baby! Just take a look at the checklist for this week: 1) ears: done; 2) fingernails: done; 3) (if you have a boy) testicles: taking their 3-4 day trip from the abdominal wall to the scrotum; and 4) lungs walls: secreting "surfactant". What's surfactant? It's basically what it sounds like: a surface-activated fat that helps your baby's little lungs inflate (where inflate = fill with air not get more expensive for no understandable reason). In the meantime, your submerged baby is still breathing in their amniotic fluid (and a bit of pee), preparing and rehearsing their lungs for an oxygen-filled life outside the womb. By the end of this week, your wee womb-squatter will be weighing in at a whopping 2 lbs and 14 inches long. All this new weight means your tiny baby is actually starting to fill out their skin, but they're not anywhere near their adorable fat-baby potential. Most of the fetal "filling out" is coming up in that long awaited (and slightly dreaded?) third trimester. Woo-hoo! Get ready!”

Only about 100 more days to go.....