Week 24: Ear of Corn (length)

And it’s official … we’re into our 6th month. And I’m looking and feeling UGE. I don’t think Jamie knows this term … Jamie … this is the NY term for being BIGGER than HUGE.

My craziness of 6 games in 11 days is OVER and I survived. I’m not going to lie, Thursday was REALLY hard for me. And Friday Brandon let me work from 9:30am-6:30pm which didn’t happen because I STILL slept through my alarm and didn’t get to the office until 10:45am. Fortunately he kicked me out at 6:45pm though.

Now we’re getting heavy into renewal push. This is where all my hard work of schmoozing and getting to know people throughout the season pays off. Hopefully … So I’ll remain busy and Mike has events practically every week from here until mid April as well … so unless you come to us … don’t plan on seeing us much. As Debbie/Gary found out and came over for dinner last night. Anyways … here’s the update …

How your baby's growing: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.
See what your baby looks like this week. (Or see what fraternal twins look like in the womb this week.)

How your life's changing:In the past few weeks, the top of your uterus has risen above your belly button and is now about the size of a soccer ball.

Most women have a glucose screening test (also called a glucose challenge test or GCT) between now and 28 weeks. This test checks for gestational diabetes, a pregnancy-related high-blood-sugar condition. Untreated diabetes increases your risk of having a difficult vaginal delivery or needing a cesarean section because it causes your baby to grow too large, especially in his upper body. It also raises your baby's odds for other complications like low blood sugar right after birth. A positive result on your GCT doesn't mean you have gestational diabetes, but it does mean that you'll need to take the glucose tolerance test (GTT) to find out for sure.

Finally, if you don't already know how to spot the signs of preterm labor, now's the time to learn. Contact your caregiver immediately if you notice any of the signs mentioned below.Relief for finger pain.

This Week's Activity:Tackle your home improvement projects. Sit down with your partner and take stock of the things you'd like to fix around the house before your little one arrives. Then let your partner handle them. (You shouldn't be exposing yourself to chemicals or getting up on ladders.) Some things for the list:
• Install or check smoke detectors, get a fire extinguisher for each floor of your house, and plan a fire escape route.• Fix or remove any broken furniture or fixtures.• Paint the nursery, hang curtain rods, assemble new furniture.

As for me …

• Debbie brought over ears of corn last night to eat with dinner … *gasp* we’re eating our own son/grandson!!! Hahahaha


• Uterus is the size of a soccer ball … makes sense as to why I look so big. But I’m STILL not smuggling basketballs no matter what any silly person at the arena says!!!!!


• I’ll be having my glucose screening test this weekend on Saturday. Since our Kaiser lab is open on the weekends it allows me to not have to miss any work during this crucial time. Minus the darned root canal I’m so NOT thrilled to be having tomorrow. Man … the things I’m going through for this kid. He better NEVER tell me he hates me!!!!!!!!!

As for the honey-do list around the house. Same … we already started to work on some of these things. The nursery … looks AMAZING!!!!! Mike did such a wonderful job. He took a panoramic photo of the room that I’ll send hopefully tonight when I get home. But for the rest of the stuff … we’ll need a blackout shade for the nursery and have to clean out the closet in there. Need to move a bit o-stuff around. But we’re doing pretty good. Starting it early helps and having an idea or a vision has really helped.

Mike FINALLY felt our boy kick on Saturday!!! It was only once and it was while he was lying his head on my belly but he felt it nonetheless. So we’re very excited. I’m starting to notice a trend in times when he’s active and I’m feeling him more and more. Which means in no time Mike and others will be able to feel him kicking, karate-chopping or dancing in no time.

Alrighty kids … time to get out of here … I have a not so fun day lined up tomorrow that I still have to figure out in its entirety. Take care!!!!!!!!!!!!!