22 weeks and 2009!

Well, we have finally made it...to the year our baby will be born! 2009 promises to be a year to change our lives, and we so look forward to it!




This week the baby is the size of a one pound bag of coffee beans...

Here's what's happening with baby this week...

• The fetus reacts to loud sounds.


• Baby starts having a regular sleeping and waking rhythm.
  
• The mother's movements can wake her baby.


• Taste buds are forming on your baby's tongue.


• The baby is 28cm long (crown to heel) and weighs over 450 grams.

The weekly weight gain has increased to around 70 grams.Your baby is about 11 inches long and weighs in at about 1 pound. That's about as long as a package of Oreos and as heavy as a large bag of tortilla chips. The eyebrows and eyelids are fully developed, and the fingernails cover the fingertips. Sounds from a conversation are loud enough to be heard by the fetus in the uterus. If you talk, read, or sing to your baby, it's reasonable to expect him or her to be able to hear you.

Your Mini's hands have grown bigger and stronger and the nerve endings in her fingers have developed her sense of touch. She's in there testing out her newfound abilities by touching her face and grabbing the umbilical cord. Other cool developments:

You're already raising a little Einstein. Your baby's brain is developing at a clip this week and will continue to do so until she's five years old (so load up on the Omega 3)! Baby's hair is now a short, bright white crop (Billy Idol, eat your heart out!). No matter what color it will end up—red, blonde, black—all babies' hair lacks pigment at this point.

Your baby has started growing taste buds and may be able to detect strong flavors in the amniotic fluid. If you could see inside, you might catch her sticking out her tongue for a taste and then grimacing, a sign that perhaps you should chill on the chili powder.

His lips, eyelids, and eyebrows are becoming more distinct, and he's even developing tiny tooth buds beneath his gums. His eyes have formed, but his irises (the colored part of the eye) still lack pigment. If you could see inside your womb, you'd be able to spot the fine hair (lanugo) that covers his body and the deep wrinkles on his skin, which he'll sport until he adds a padding of fat to fill them in. Inside his belly, his pancreas — essential for the production of some important hormones — is developing steadily.

Here's me at 22 weeks (The front-facing pic came out blurry this week, so that's why it's not included)...

Well, I for one am glad to be past the holidays and into the new year. I usually look so forward to Christmas, and love the holidays, and this year was fun, but I am just ready to settle out of the hectic and back into the norm. I am finally feeling better as well. I am more or less over my cold, but it took me a week and a half. I got a good chance to rest last Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, so that was HUGE! Nathan and I took all the Christmas decorations down on Saturday and got the house and our lives back into a normal working order! :-)


I have my next doctor's appointment this Wednesday, and we look forward to seeing our baby again. I'm definitely having more fun, as I feel the baby moving more and more. He/She is getting more active and I love those feelings of movements, kicks, and punches! I know everyone tells me..."just wait, you'll be wishing they'd stop soon"...but so far, I am thoroughly enjoying it!! It brings a smile to my face still every time!


As much as I wanted to get back to "normal life"...it was hard to wake up and go back to work yesterday and today! I really did enjoy my 4 days off, and had fun finishing a project that I started and put aside about 8 months ago. This is actually a pretty crazy, busy week at work, but that's all right, it always makes the time pass quickly!


Stay tuned for pictures of baby this coming Wednesday!!