Week 23

Baby's development: The baby measures about 8 inches and weighs about a pound. His bones and organs are still visible underneath his transparent skin. His hearing has also developed a lot more now so that he can distinguish the noises from outside the uterus and from inside the body.

The baby has been really active recently and I've identified at least two periods during the day that he likes to move around and kick. First is in the morning, just shortly after I get to work and sit down (~8:30 am) and the second period is almost 12 hours later in the evening (~8:30 pm). Ryan has been trying to play "games" with the baby by poking it and trying to illicit a response. The baby is kicking me right now as I type!

I know that I was praising maternity pants last week, but I've changed my mind a little about how I feel now. I realized that the pants I bought were too big! I could only choose from three sizes: small, medium, and large. I purchased the small but the hips are too big and the pants slowly fall down as I walk. I find myself pulling up the pants every other step. I tried to purchase some petite maternity pants, but the lady at the store told me that petite just meant shorter, not smaller in the hips. So, I'm still in the hunt for some good maternity pants! The good news is that I am now a whole bra size bigger!

I reached my five month mark a couple of days ago, which means that in four more months the baby will be born. Time is really flying by quickly!

Week 22. It's a boy!

Baby's development: This week we found out that the baby is a boy! The ultrasound technician said that the baby has legs like his dad -- long! The baby is about 7 1/2 inches and weighs a little under a pound, which is slightly bigger than the average baby during this time. The baby's testes have already begun to descend and primitive sperm are forming. As Liza suggests that I should be saying, "I'm growing a small penis!"

We are very excited to be having a baby boy and are now looking for a name. This has been the most difficult part! As you can see from his ultrasound, so far he's got a button nose and big cheeks. We got to see him swallowing and touching his ear with his hand. They also made sure that he had all ten fingers and toes. We got to watch him for a while. It was pretty great to see him moving around in there!

Liza and Tracie were in town for the weekend and helped me buy some maternity pants. Who knew how comfortable maternity pants could be? Also, why didn't I get some leggings sooner? It's great to feel cute and comfortable in clothes again.

Week 20/21

Baby's Development: The baby measures about 7 1/4 inches and weighs about 10 1/2 oz. The baby has reached its half way point! The baby can now hear and recognize my voice. The complex connections required for the development of memory and thinking are already being formed. Taste buds have developed and the development of the brain and nerve endings are advanced enough to let the baby sense touch.

The baby has been really active in the past week. I went from constantly "trying" to feel the baby move, to now expecting the baby to move. Ryan and I can even feel the baby moving by touching my stomach. This is usually in the evening, after I've eaten dinner and sit down to rest. After about 10 minutes of sitting still, I feel a serious of jabs and kicks. It's pretty cool!

Our trip to Costa Rica was pretty awesome. The best part was being to lounge around in loose clothing. No Bella Band or tight wasted sweats. I took some bikini belly shots for these two weeks. I was at first apprehensive about being in a bikini since I think I don't look that pregnant yet, and my pooch could have just been mistaken as a beer belly. But then I realized that it didn't matter because at least I knew that I was pregnant. Plus, the baby can now sense light and basking in the sun was probably good for the baby.

Ryan and I have the 20 week ultrasound on Thursday and we get to find out the sex of the baby. I'm very excited. We both think it's a boy, but really have no good reason to believe that.

This pregnancy is starting to very real now. In about 4.5 months, we are going to be parents! For the first part of the pregnancy I felt like I was constantly worrying about being pregnant and hoping that the baby was OK. Now it's really hit me that once we have the baby, it's when the worrying really begins. We are going to be in charge of another human being!