how far along? 24 weeks
development: baby boy is about 10.5 to 11.8 inches long and weighs about a pound! his lungs are developing branches of the respiratory tree, his hearing is fully developed and most vital organs are well developed by now. until now, he's had very little fat and now he is accumulating more fat under the skin which will then help him maintain an ideal body temperature after birth.
from thebump.com
maternity clothes? yes, and discovering other clothing that i haven't worn in a while, trying to get creative with what still fits.
sleep? it's been interesting tracking my sleep with my jawbone up - my light and deep sleep alternates as it should in a normal cycle and i've seen a pattern develop with what time of night i'm getting the best sleep.
stretch marks? none yet.
best moments this week: homemade saturday morning breakfast sandwiches, a la mcdonald's, compliments of anthony • a row 5 night out to a hershey bears hockey game • my homemade apple pie (pat myself on the back) ;) • loving my new hair color - and yes, it's safe. unless ingested, hair dyes pose very little risk to a developing baby (as i read on many trusty internet sources). i did it myself and used a semi-permanent color with no ammonia, even better. in fact, it was such a more pleasant and less stinky experience that i may continue to purchase the same kind in the future. bring on the red!
miss anything? no too much
movement: yep! getting stronger - feeling movements throughout the day off and on.
food cravings: my weekly ciabatta bread and olives from the grocery store! i also got back on the weekday breakfast smoothie wagon - protein powder, oats, frozen fruit, frozen spinach and oj
anything making you queasy or sick? nope
gender: baby boy... "every puppy should have a boy." - erma bombeck
pregnancy symptoms: some back pain. haven't noticed any swelling in hands or feet yet.
wedding rings, on or off? on
happy or moody most of the time? happy!
looking forward to: enjoying thanksgiving with family and being thankful for what i have in my life • gotta look at registering soon for a hospital visit and child care classes in the next few months • two daycare visits next week and one the following week
notes from dad: Who is he? Baby names! This one's tough. You always want to pick just the right one. But what's the right one? Of course, we have heard the "Do not call your baby!..." names: Johnnie Walker, Herschel Walker, Luke Sky Walker, Jimmie Walker (DYNOMITE!). Then there are those names that are too "ethnic" or too trendy. Not to mention, I have a preconceived image of most names - "Nope, I knew this guy once..." Well, we have our master list growing and new names keep popping up. I cant wait to decide - I am so proud and grateful to be able to give a life a name. It has to be just right. Our little whoishe?
so, i had another checkup appointment today - quick and easy. just a check on my blood pressure, listen to the babe's heartbeat, and a measure of my belly. almost not even worth the trip there, but glad to know that things are seeming to be as they should.
i was informed today to watch my carb intake and asked if i drink many juices, since those especially contain empty calories. (after returning to work, i was briefly discussing the appt with my boss, since he and his wife went to the same practice and he laughed when i told him about the juice issue - the two of them referred to that doctor as the 'juice nazi', haha).
the doc was not overly concerned with my weight gain so far, but wants me to be conscious of watching what i eat from now on. guess i'll have to give my ciabatta bread a rest.
my next appointment is the routine glucose screening on 12/20 to check for gestational diabetes, and how efficiently my body is processing sugar.
^^ homemade apple pie... and a pretty darn tasty one, if i do say so myself.
^^ hershey bears hockey at the giant center - a winning game!
^^ i recently downloaded an iphone app called ovia pregnancy, and i thought one of the coolest features was seeing how big our babe's hand is from week to week. the gray outline is supposedly how large his hands will be when born, and the pink shows the size now, at 24 weeks. cute, huh?
one month until christmas, and the end of the second trimester. week 24 down, 112 days to go (less than four months!).
