29 Weeks

This week, baby is the size of a basketball. This means baby is as long as a basketball is wide...

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

• Your baby now weighs about 2 and a half pounds (1150gm)
• and is about 15 inches (38.5cm) long from head to heel.
• Brain is busy developing billions of neurons.
• Baby's muscles and lungs are continuing to mature.
• The fetus can taste and respond to pain.
• The milk teeth have developed under the gums.

The baby's head is growing bigger to accommodate the brain, which is busy developing billions of neurons. The eyes can move in their sockets. They may be able to follow a blinking light. As well as your baby's increasing sensitivity to changes in light, they may also be able to taste. Various studies show that your baby may indicate preferences or dislike for particular tastes at this stage.

Baby is also moving from side to side, but probably still is head up. In the next few weeks, they will move to the head down birthing position. At times you may feel as if baby is performing somersaults for an olympic gold medal. Baby may be performing fewer movements because living conditions in the womb are becoming more cramped. The baby is still doing a lot of kicking and stretching. Some of your baby's kicks and punches may even take your breath away.

Baby hears things better from the vibrations all around, and can now distinguish real sounds and voices. Do not forget to continue to 'teach' your baby in the womb by exposing them to music, literature, and simply talking to them. At this stage baby eyes are almost always blue and can distinguish bright sunlight or artificial light through the uterine wall.

Having a baby prematurely is frightening, no doubt. But here's a reason to relax: Due to the impressive advancements of medical technology, if your baby is born this week, she'd have a 9 out of 10 chance of survival, which is seriously great news. Other awesome developments:

Baby's brain can now control her breathing and body temperature. She can also cough, and her sucking abilities have been perfected. Look out, boobs!

Your Mini's skin is looking less wrinkled as she packs on the pounds. She's starting to look more like a Pampers model and less like a Depends model. She's now beefing up on the energizing and insulating white fat she'll be born with (unfortunately, white fat is not energizing and insulating for adults!).

And speaking of energy, your little Energizer Bunny is on fire these days. You're sure to feel your share of kicks, punches and elbows, especially when you're lying down. You might want to start keeping a kick chart to monitor your baby's movements, and also to later show your 13-year-old child what you endured for him or her. Ask your doctor how to count kicks and how often you should do it.

This week your baby is a little over 15 inches long—about the length of a loaf of bread—and weighs about 3 pounds, as much as a Macbook Air laptop.

Here's me at 29 weeks...

I am starting to notice that I am getting tired much easier again, and don't seem to have as much energy as I did a few weeks ago. I think I am finally beginning to feel those changes they talk about in your 3rd Trimester. I have even had a few instances of mild nausea when I was hungry. Nothing bad, just noticing that things are once again changing as baby continues to push all my organs out of the way and basically feels like he/she is taking over my body!

We were out of town the weekend before last for a wedding in Tucson, but this past weekend Nathan got back to work on our closet/nursery remodel. He was able to get everything framed out and the electrical wired and installed for the lights in our new closet. We had a couple of friends who came to help him, which was awesome! He was able to get all of this done on Saturday and then went to church and rested on Sunday. He plans on trying to get most of it close to completion this weekend.

God has blessed me with a truly amazing husband!

Here are some pictures of what he accomplished this past Saturday...