the flat spot.

Week Twenty-Five

• The structures of the spine begin to form -- joints, ligaments and rings. These will protect the all important spinal cord which serves as the information transmitter for your child's body.
• Blood vessels of the lungs develop.
• Your baby's nostrils begin to open. There is a study out of Belfast that suggests babies at this stage have the capability of scent preferences!
• The nerves around the mouth and lip area are showing more sensitivity now. When baby is rooting for food later on, these will be valuable!
• His swallowing reflexes are developing.
• Dexterity is improving. Your baby can make a fist and would clasp objects placed in palm.
• Your child has now obtained an approximate length of 13.6 inches (34.6cm) and weighs 1.46 pound (660gm).

Week Twenty-Six

• Your baby may weigh about two pounds now (average is 1.7 pound, 760gm) and is 14 inches (35.6cm) in length
• To support the fetus's growing body, the spine is getting stronger and more supple. Though no longer than the span of the average adult hand, it is now made up of 150 joints, 33 rings, and some 1,000 ligaments.
• Air sacs in the lungs form now.
• Lungs begin to secrete a greasy substance called surfactant. Without surfactant the fetal lungs would stick together and couldn't expand after the baby is born.
• Although they've been sealed shut for the last few months, your baby's eyes are opening and beginning to blink this week. Depending on ethnicity, some babies will be born with blue or gray-blue eyes (which may change color in the first 6 months of life) and some will be born with brown or dark eyes.
• Retinas begin to form.
• Brain wave activity for hearing and sight begins to be detectable.
• Fetal brain scans show response to touch. If you shine a light on your abdomen, your baby will turn his head, which according to researchers, means his optic nerve is working.
• The nerve pathways in her ears are developing, which means her response to sounds is growing more consistent.
  

wee has definitely been on the move lately and the other night would not be still. i don't know what was going on in there. it is a weird feeling to lay there and feel something moving around in your belly which led me to think of 'alien' and i thought it must have been written by a woman but no, i googled it and it is not (my english teacher would have a field day with that last sentence). anyway, a weird feeling but i loved it.

the belly:
*first, let me say that i am looking the part. my belly is getting big and while it changes in appearance depending on how wee is at that moment, one thing that does not change is the flat spot. most pregnant women have that cute round belly with the outie belly button. i have a flat spot. sigh.
i have always wanted an outie ever since i saw my first one in elementary school and this pregnancy was my big chance. but no, i have the grand canyon for a belly button and i don't think the pregnancy belly button pop is in the cards for me. cute round belly? no. exaggerated beer gut? yes.
i blame my parents because i must blame someone.

i am still happy because there's a wee baby in there.

random stuff:

*this week i have averaged about three hours of sleep a night. it's great fun

*tonight i dreamed that i had a puppy instead of wee baby. it was a girl....papillon. i went to swaddle it and it turned into monkey (our cute kitten that turned into a tank with attitude) who does not liked to be touched anywhere other than her head so she kept biting me. once swaddled (i am persistent) it turned back into the puppy. i was excited about the new baby until i realized it was, in fact, a puppy. at this point i was just kind of like "oh man, i really wanted a regular baby". then i woke up.

*i have been tested for gestational diabetes. i am still waiting on test results but this is conveniently coinciding with the return of my sweet tooth. uh oh.

*did anybody notice that are less than 100 days left? i did.