Week 17: Onion

Hey everyone ... sorry it's late. It's been a wild week ... Like normal this is all from www.babycenter.com

How your baby's growing:Your baby's skeleton is changing from soft cartilage to bone, and the umbilical cord — her lifeline to the placenta — is growing stronger and thicker. Your baby weighs 5 ounces now (about as much as a onion), and she's around 5 inches long from head to bottom. She can move her joints, and her sweat glands are starting to develop.
See what your baby looks like this week.

How your life's changing:Starting to feel a bit off balance? As your belly grows, your center of gravity changes, so you may begin to occasionally feel a little unsteady on your feet. Try to avoid situations with a high risk of falling. Wear low-heeled shoes to reduce your risk of taking a tumble; trauma to your abdomen could be dangerous for you and your baby. You'll also want to be sure to buckle up when you're in a car — keep the lap portion of the seat belt under your belly, drawn snugly across your hips, and also use the shoulder harness, which should fit snugly between your breasts.

You may also notice your eyes becoming drier. Using over-the-counter lubricating drops may help. If your contact lenses become uncomfortable, try wearing them for shorter stretches of time. If you still have discomfort, switch to glasses until after you give birth.
Dreams During PregnancyMany women report that their dream life shifts into high gear during pregnancy. Interestingly, during the second and third trimesters, you spend less sleep time in rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, the cycle in which most dreams occur. Why, then, all those frequent and vivid dream memories?

It's probably at least in part because you may be interrupting a dream-filled cycle when you wake up to pee, cope with heartburn, leg cramps, restless legs, or a backache, or to shift to a more comfortable position. Waking up during REM sleep makes you more likely to remember your dreams.

It may also be in part that dreams seem so vivid during pregnancy because for most women pregnancy is a time of such heightened emotions — from joy to apprehension and everything in between — but no one really knows for sure.

This Week's Activity:Start a baby name list. Make a list of ten names you like. Have your partner do the same. Trade lists and each cross out one name on the other's list that you dislike. Keep taking turns until you have a set of names you can both live with. Talk about why you like and dislike certain names. Many couples even create ground rules, such as no names of former girlfriends or boyfriends and no names that have ever been used for family pets.

I've always been one for dreaming and remembering my dreams but they've certainly been vivid that's for sure. Even stressful sometimes. Which wipes out the effects even if it's a full night's rest. As for the actvity of the week ... we started that a while ago but need to add to it more. Don't forget ... we'll happily take any suggestions you might have. And of course we're both excited for our appointment in less than 2 weeks. Still deciding on whether or not to find out on that day or to have them write it down n we'll open it and find out later. Stay tuned. Have been pretty good getting some sleep. Resting as much as I can possibly can right now with the amount of work to be done. Lots of games and lots going on in the office for the games because we've got lots of events coming up for our accounts. Tummy is getting rounder and clothes are getting tighter. I finally told the rest of my department. All of them of which told me that were dying while waiting for me to tell them. Even one of the guys said, "well that's the least shocking news I've heard in a while, but congratulations". Even my boss told me if I hadn't I better because it was coming more obvious especially within the last week. Lol!! Even two of the girls are fighting over who gets to drive me to Kaiser-Walnut Creek should I go into labor at work. Hope everyone enjoys the week ... I'll try to get out the update on Sunday night of this week since I have another hectic week. Love you all ... and happy I got a chance to see my family ... no matter the circumstances.