25th Week!

We are adjusting to Aaron's new schedule this week. He is taking a 6 week summer class and so is gone until almost 9pm on Monday's and Wednesday's. This means he also has to work later on the other nights to make up for leaving early for class and so is not home until close to 6pm. I know that this is a minor and temporary thing, but it has me tired out. Jeremiah misses his papa during the day and often asks, "papa home?"

But on a more positive note - I start week 25 of pregnancy this week! Time moves along.

There is much to be done today so I will end this post with the weekly fetal development update.

Fetal development in pregnancy week 25:

Your tiny grower’s physical proportions are evening out at this point and most of their remaining development will largely be weight gain and lots and lots of nervous system development. The good news is: if your child is born premature now they’ll be more likely to survive without too much trauma as their lungs began to produce “surfactant” last week, which means their tiny respiratory system is getting stronger with each passing day. Yes, now’s a good time for a minor sigh of relief and a quick pat on the back—all that hard work and conscientious living is really getting your child prepared for a healthy delivery. Keep up the fabulous work mama! This week they’ll be scootching slowly out of the old breech position and start rotating (already!) into a better position for exit during their birth. Their head and feet are slowly rotating so that the head is pointed down towards the birth canal. Time is short (or really long, depending on who you ask)—just (still!) 14 weeks left before you can go back to being a single-resident human.

5 months down 4 to go!

I can hardly believe it even as I type it. Only 4 more months of pregnancy to go. Yipee!

I had my 24 week doctor appointment today and since my babysitter canceled on me Jeremiah came along for the ride. Thankfully it was just a weigh, measure (my tummy), and check the heartbeat so we were in and out of there pretty quickly.

Much to my surprise my weight gain is right on target. This surprised me because I feel huge and have pretty much been eating whatever (mostly sweets) and not really paying attention. The measurement of my tummy is good too - showing that the baby is gaining and growing right on target. And the heartbeat is still strong.

Jeremiah had fun standing on the scale and investigating all the equipment while we waited for the doctor. He greeted the doctor with a cheerful "hewo doct-oct" and watched intently while the doctor did his thing. He then said, "right baby?" I had explained that we were going to the doctor to make sure everything was alright with the baby. Such a caring little fellow.

Thanks to all of you for all of your prayers. I feel ok on most days aside from the usual tiredness that comes with pregnancy, caring for a 2 year old, and not sleeping very well. Food still tastes funny (not sure why, it tasted great when I was pregnant with Jeremiah) but I am able to eat and don't feel any nausea anymore.

Oh - many of you have asked about names. The truth is we haven't even talked about names the past few weeks. So, we have a list of names we both like but no decision has been made. Another difference between the 1st and 2nd I guess - by this time Jeremiah was already named but this time we don't feel any rush or pressure. We may even wait to meet the little guy before we decide - we just don't know.

Fetal development in pregnancy week 24:

This is another big week for your smaller-than-life magic 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 that? Well, surfactant is sort of what it sounds like: a surface-activated fat whose main purpose is to assist the air sacs (their little lungs) during inflation (as in: filling with air, not getting more expensive). Just in case you’re curious, your submerged baby is still breathing in amniotic fluid, preparing and rehearsing the lungs an oxygen-filled life outside the womb. By the end of this week, your child is around 2 lbs and 14 inches long—perhaps a little more plump, but isn't anywhere near their full baby-fatted cute-self. Most of the cutesy “filling out” is coming up in that long awaited (and slightly dreaded?) third trimester. Woo-hoo! Get ready!

Week 23!

Week 23 of the pregnancy starts today!

I still have good and bad days (doesn't everyone?) but most of the time I am able to function fairly normally. Our home is not spotless but at least is presentable. Dinner makes it onto the table most nights. So I feel like I am making progress.

The little baby is still very active and my belly is definitely to the visibly pregnant point. It is also feeling very heavy and in the way. However, Jeremiah has noticed the growth in my belly and likes to rub it and most days even kisses it at some point saying "hey baby."

The biggest drain on my energy and patience now is the potty training of Jeremiah. Yep - I was all set to wait until he was 3 years old but it seems that he discovered the fact that if he plays with his "little boy parts" and takes it out of his diaper then "pee-pee ewey-whea" (translated: pee-pee everywhere). So, since I was changing his wet clothes about 4 times a day anyway we figured all that work might as well have a purpose. Jeremiah definitely understands the concept of using the potty. About every 20 - 30 minutes I ask him to sit on his potty and he pees right away, empty's the pee into the big toilet, and then flushes. He has yet to volutarily ask to use the potty though. So, lots of work for me trying to keep up with when he needs to use the potty. But so far today he has been dry all morning.

Anyway, if you are interested read about how our little one is developing this week and be amazed at the way that God is forming this little boy. I continue to be amazed at the fact that God knew about our little boy(s) before He even created the earth!

Fetal development in pregnancy week 23:

At this point, you’ve pretty much adjusted to the fact you’ve got a moving little gymnast inside of you, but now they’re going to kick up the party a notch because they can hear and react to sounds from the outside world. Sounds from your alarm clock, a thunder roll, or that darned car honking at you across the intersection can actually jar their little ears enough to elicit a kick or violent bout of squirming. Of course this also means that their little ears are picking up the sounds of your voice and those near you. So go ahead, sing a lullaby to your little angel—if they start kicking, it’s likely they just want you to stop… or maybe it was a kick of approval? You decide. Their little pink taste buds are still growing and their bones are continuing to ossify (harden). Your baby's tiny veins are visible through their translucent yet wrinkly skin. (Think of it this way: they’ve been swimming in the equivalent of a long hot bath for the past 23 weeks, so you can’t blame them for being a little prune-like.)

Insomnia

This is driving me crazy!

I am physically, mentally and emotionally exhausted by the end of the day. But no matter what time I go to bed or what I do before going to bed it is after midnight before I finally fall asleep. That means that for the past few weeks I have only been getting about 5-6 hours of sleep. Some nights it is less because I get up with Jeremiah.

I am absolutely exhausted. And I am not a very nice person when I haven't had enough sleep.

Will you please pray that God will enable me to have deep and refreshing sleep at night?

Week 21!

We have now technically crossed the halfway point!

It truly is through the grace of God and your many prayers that I have made it this far.

Positively I would like to say that the past few days I have been feeling more like myself. Food is starting to taste relatively normal again and I have had more energy to fulfill my tasks as wife and mother. This week I have a cold coming on and so that has sapped my strength.

One item for prayer - for some reason I have not been able to sleep well the past few weeks. No matter how tired I am at nap or bed time it takes me about 2 hours to finally fall asleep and then I don't sleep that well. This is extremely frustrating.

We talk with Jeremiah a lot about our "baby in mama's tummy." Now if we ask him where our baby is he pulls up my shirt and rubs my tummy. Cute. As we think about names we like we ask Jeremiah to pronounce them - we are trying to make sure that he can say the baby's name too.

Check out what our little boy is up to this week!

Fetal development in pregnancy week 21:

Your beautiful little miracle-gro baby will be putting on a full ounce and a half this week (up to 16.5 oz), but that’s just the beginning! Within the next five weeks, they’ll really be packin’ it on! For now, we’re pleased to report the addition of rapid eye movement (REM) a key component to any baby’s healthy sleep schedule. And in the dermatology department: their thin soft skin is very red, failry translucent, and a bit wrinkled. Not to worry, it’s not a premature aging disease. It's just their clever little body setting them up with extra space that will smooth out once your little one starts packing on the baby-fat. That won’t be for a few more weeks, though. So for the time being, your munchkin is still a little lean mean growing machine! The beginnings of what is commonly called “brown fat” is just starting to fill in to help your baby retain some body heat, which is crucial as they’re not yet capable of regulating their own body temperature