Belly Shot, One Day Late (Sorry)...

Here's that belly shot. Sorry its a day late. This is Antoinette at 25 weeks pregnant, even though today begins her 26th week. This new week also marks the last of her 2nd Trimester. One week from today, Antoinette starts the 3rd Trimester and the homestretch. Her belly is really starting to show now and from a profile, she has a distinctly pregnant shape to her. We'll get back to her in just a second.

In week 26, the little guy will reach approximately 9.25 inches in length, crown to rump. From head to toe, he's well over a foot in length. His constant addition of muscle tissue, bone density, and brown baby fat has chubbied him up to about two pounds. For a typical Mom, this would equate to about 16-22 lbs. of overall weight gain, but Antoinette is in that 12-14 lb. range right now. Billy has slid up a bit, so he is often found pushing and poking on his Mom's rib cage, requiring the occasional adjustment. If they didn't last week, this is likely the week the little guy opens his eyes for the first time. There's not much to see in the dark, but if you were to shine a light into Mom's belly in a dark room, you'd almost certainly get a reaction assuming he's awake. Despite the fact that we have a good three months to go, his eyes are almost completely developed already. While those eyes are likely blue or slate in color, they will most likely change within 3-6 months of birth, and sometimes not for a year depending on how much of a shade shift is required. For our little guy, we're guessing they'll be brown, which I believe we calculated out an 87% chance would be the case based on our lineage. That brown fat is being added in layers now, but he would still look "lean" if he was born today. His excess skin may look a bit wrinkled now, and over the course of this week, that capillary development from last week will continue, once again shading his skin from pinkish to a very light reddish in color. His fingernails and toe nails are still growing, too. His support system has come an equally long way as his placenta is about the same size he is and his ever thickening umbilical cord is constantly growing to keep pace with his nutritional needs. Ready for the great news? If Billy were born today in a hospital setting, his chances for survival will have shot up to 70%!!! Amazing for a little guy who still has 3 months to go.

Back to Mom now. Antoinette has an interesting symptom last night. Racing heart rate and a "weird" feeling. After doing a little research, it appears this is due to the hormonal changes and some women can feel this "symptom" as early as week 12 of their pregnancy. As long as this is not accompanied by chest pain or blacking out, its perfectly normal as the typical female will increase her resting heart rate by as many as 20 beats per minute, and increase her blood volume by as much as 30-50%!!! She's also getting additional pokes and prods under the ribs and even down by her hips. The baby is routinely pushing and kicking inside there and its pretty common now to see her belly jump and hop when he decides to deliver a round house to her belly button. Her fatigue level is increasing, which is common when that 3rd Trimester starts to approach, especially due to the baby's rapid growth. Her barely pregnant belly is going to turn into a beach ball sized pregnant belly in just 3 months covering a period of rapid belly expansion corresponding to a baby who will nearly quadruple in weight over that same period. Wow!!! Don't tell Antoinette or she'll be taking her baths in Cocoa Butter!!!

Also, a condition known as lordosis will begin to affect Antoinette. Typical in pregnant women, this condition results in an increase in the anterior convex shape of the lumbar spine. It is the body's way of acclimating her sense of balance by keeping the center of gravity over the legs in spite of an enlarging uterus. General aching, weakness, and numbness of arms can result due to the added pressure being exerted on ulnar and median nerves. It can also result in a changing posture. These changes are what give pregnant women that altered gait, similar to a waddle, and can also lead to some back spasms or the evil sciatic nerve pain. I've been hearing about that one since I was born, so it must be a doosy.

Baby Room for Belly Shot Until Tomorrow...

Antoinette was feeling a little under the weather yesterday, so the belly shot will be put off until tomorrow's update, the first of Week 26. In its place, I'm going to bring out another Baby Room update and then you'll get two belly pics next week. One will come on Tuesday and the other on Sunday or Monday.

This Baby Room picture is of the Glider. This thing is fantastic. Also made out of the same wood as the dressers, the Glider feels brand new. Very smooth glide and a stationary foot rest. We looked at the Gliders with the foot rest that also glides, but it seemed like you had one foot off of it on the ground trying to push off anyway. The stationary footrest makes that easier. The Doctor's wife had the cushions all custom upholstered on this bad boy, so ultimately, its a great deal. This thing is very relaxing.

On Saturday, Antoinette and I took a tour of the new hospital we'll be having the baby at. We had an opportunity to go through, check out the rooms and the facilities, and meet some of the staff. Ultimately, the main rooms are very nice. They are about 3 times the size of a typical hospital room and they are private. The hospital does not have a nursery, instead choosing to keep the babies with Mom and Dad at all times in the room (which is huge for me because I'd be following the lady who takes my kid out of the room all over the hospital). The rooms have fancy wooden headboards and dressers and all of that stuff to make it look like a bedroom. They also have brand new TV's with DVD players and VCR's, etc. The couch folds into a bed for me. Very nice setup.

As for little Billy, his hands are fully functional, so when he's awake, which seems to be on 10-15 minute intervals, he's spending most of that time groping around in the darkness. With some milestones being met in motor function, extremity development, and an increased brain capacity and nerve system, the baby can actually "touch" and "feel" inside. His little nose holes (nostrils) are clear now, so he can "breath" amniotic fluid through them for the first time. His spinal cord has developed into a very complex system unto itself, consisting of 150 joints, 33 vertebrae rings, and around 1,000 ligaments. Capillary development explodes this week, so his see through skin is beginning to take on a pinkish hue. That increased blood vessel/capillary capacity has also expanded into the lungs, allowing for expanded growth for the respiratory system.

Baby Room Furniture Update #2 - The Changing Table Dresser

The baby room update today is the changing room dresser. This dresser has as much space as the previous dresser, is made of the same sturdy material, is in tip top condition, and has this changing table built into the top of it. Since we plan on hanging onto this furniture through the birth of all of our children and their first couple years, which could take the next decade or so, this changing table top should come in handy. If the dresser lasts beyond that point, we can just pull the grooved changing pad off and the dresser can stand alone since none of the changing parts are permanent. But 10+ years through 3-5 kids or so could be wishful thinking. We'll play that one by ear. You'll also notice a snazzy little diaper genie next to this. Also given to us by the very nice doctor's wife, this guy has a circular opening in the top that you put dirty diapers in. Then you spin the top and a weight inside of the lid pushes the diaper into the garbage bag once the opening is upside down facing into the trash. Also, this model allows you to use regular household garbage bags, so you don't have to go out and buy those special ones strictly for diaper genies.

This week, we tested out the stethoscope idea. At first, we thought we were hearing the heartbeat, but quickly realized it was beating far too slow to be the baby's heart, which beats at 150 or so beats per minute. It sounded more like Antoinette's heart, heard clearly through her pregnant belly. When we moved the stethoscope around, no heartbeat. Then we realized that in a certain spot, not only could we hear this strange heartbeat sound, but that it was swooshing with each beat. Turns out what we were actually listening to was Antoinette's heart pumping blood and nutrients to the baby through the umbilical chord, which was just as neat. Maybe a week or two to hear the heartbeat, but we'll keep trying.

Hard to believe, but this is week 25 we're in. Week 26 marks the end of the 2nd Trimester, which means in a week and a half, Antoinette will be starting her 3rd Trimester already. Crazy that we're that far along. For the baby, the bones are continuing to harden. He's also sucking his thumb more as his body prepares for a life outside of the womb. The waxy coating, vernix, which improves the baby's temperature regulation after he's born, is beginning to add another layer or two. The baby's new trick this week is an ability to actually cry. All of the tools are in place and if born, the baby would be able to let you know how much he wanted to be put right back where you got him from. Sweet, salty, and sour are beginning to develop as receptors that will comprise his taste buds. Also, this could be the week that the little guy decides to open his eyes for the first time. Worth noting again is the rapid brain development this week and the constant addition of brown baby fat as the little guy begins adding weight in preparation for birth in approximately 109 days.

Week 25 Begins With a Story...

Just after telling you all in the one of the recent blogs that Antoinette would begin feeling the first lodged foot in her rib cage, this morning I hear this story.

Lately, Antoinette has been feeling a little pressure right under her rib. We have been assuming this was a foot, since we hear so much about the lodged feet and we know a lot of recently pregnant women (many of which receive this blog). Well, last night, Antoinette gets this feeling again, as if something is putting constant increasing pressure under her rib. Kind of like something is pressing on her rib cage from the inside out. So, like she's done in the past, she gives a gentle, constant pressure back to try and dislodge the foot/hand/head and get the little guy to shift positions to something that's a bit more comfortable for both of them. This time, he moves, and follows that up with a thump, as if to say, "hey, quit pushing up there!" A bit later, Antoinette gets the lodged foot again, so once again, she gently presses down. Well, he shifts again, only this time, he's fed up. Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump... Like Muhammad Ali working the speed bag in the gym. I guess she upset him. Apparently these two need to need to have a discussion about sharing, only this time its about sharing Antoinette's abdomen and not about a Little Tykes Firetruck or something. I guess its never too early to learn a good life lesson for the little guy.

Speaking of the little guy, he's about 8.8 inches long, crown to rump, and weighs in at about a pound and a half. The long process of adding the insulating brown baby fat is still progressing at a rapid rate, which accounts for much of the baby's rapid weight gain. His rapid increase is size equates to a rapid increase in uterine growth for Antoinette, whose uterus will be about the size of a soccer ball at the end of this week.

If the baby were to be delivered this week, he would have a good chance of surviving, which is much better than a couple weeks ago when we were talking about the only child ever to survive that premature. These odds continue to improve with each passing week he remains inside of the safe, warm uterus of his Mother. Premature babies at this stage will have to spend several months in a hospital and are more susceptible to complications and infections, but this is just another factor that improves as the weeks go by.

This is the first week that parents who own a stethoscope (which we do since Antoinette is a nurse) can often hear the baby's heartbeat. In rare cases, a curious Dad (a category I clearly fit in to) will even be able to hear the heartbeat unaided by pressing his ear to Mom's belly and waiting patiently for the baby to shift into the proper position to allow for it.

Since we are having a baby boy, his "equipment" begins its descent into his proper position this week. He can also make a complete fist, which his Mother may have already begun to feel during his Friday Night Fights episode in her belly last night. Within a week or two, he will be able to grab a hold of his own feet, which is something he'll enjoy doing once born. The right handed or left handedness begins to appear this week. While both Antoinette and I are righties, we both have lefties in our family. I believe Antoinette's little sis is a lefty and so was my Grandmother.

Because its interesting and I was bored the other night, I checked into the likelihood of this. The odds of two right handed parents (which we are) having a left handed child are 9-10%. One right handed and one left handed parent having a left handed child is 10-22%, depending on if the lefty is Mom or Dad (if its Mom, the odds are higher). And two left handed parents having a left handed child is 26-30%. That is from a study of 70,000 people. Also, this trait does not appear to have an isolated gene determining this that we are aware of according to the study I read, and an average of 10% of people are left handed around the world, regardless of culture or race. One more interesting fact: The number of left handed people as a percentage of the global population seems to be increasing and could be as high as 11.2% within the next 50 years. Weird.

Belly Pic to Close Out Week 24...

Rapid overall growth of the baby continues this week. Seems like I say that every week, but its true!!! His brain is developing rapidly this week and his lungs and taste buds are following suit. The main lung tissue is beginning to develop branches with special cells that produce surfactant, which is a substance needed to inflate the air sacs in his lungs. The reason preemies have difficulty breathing at birth is the dramatically reduced number of these lipoproteins produced by the new type II alveolar cells. He is also seeing a lot of vascular development as extra blood vessels are showing up bringing fresh blood and oxygen into those developing lungs in increasing quantities. The sheer growth in overall mass is a product of increased dense muscle tissue and the little guy packing on the brown baby fat that will help him try and regulate his body temperature at birth. He also adds some bone mass and additional organ tissue development. White blood cell development hits a new level now. These cells will help the baby fight disease and infection throughout his life.

Antoinette is seeing that belly continue to grow. The little guy is a kicking machine and his kicks are more and more pronounced. On some days, we can feel his head (or what we thing is his head) pressing against the outer wall of her belly. Some of the major pregnancy symptoms will soon begin for Antoinette. Which week this occurs, we don't really know. She's experienced minor cramping, a little discomfort sleeping, etc. Ultimately, nothing too crazy yet.

Week 24 Baby Room Update...

Yesterday, my buddy Randy and I went to pick up all of the baby furniture and bring it back to the house. 80 degree weather and plenty of sunshine made it a pretty easy move. It was a bit of a challenge to get those two decent sized dressers down the stairs, but the glider, crib pieces, and extras all went pretty fast. So thanks for your help, Randy.

Now, let me tell you all how smart I am. When we got the furniture back to the house, I had the job of trying to put this crib together without a manual. So after hours of searching online, we were able to find the manual and use it to build the crib, but since we recently switched to Vista, our Windows printer didn't work. Without a printer, I had to bring all of the crib pieces into the office and try and build it in there. After nearly two hours, the crib was finally assembled. I figured, I'll drag this into the baby room, move all of the other baby furniture where it goes, and basically get the baby room ready and fairly clean for when Antoinette wakes up. Imagine my surprise when I realized the crib did not fit through the doorway. Not even close.

Not only did the crib not fit, but the part that didn't fit through, the end pieces, were firmly attached to every single piece of the crib, meaning removing a piece or two would not do the trick. The whole crib had to come apart, move three feet into the baby room, and go back together again. After several curse words, I went to bed. This morning, the tearing down and building back up began and finished.

This is the first picture in the series that I will put on here for the furniture. It is the dresser that came with the four piece set that Antoinette found. The wood is a light colored beech wood and the dresser is well built. On top of the dresser is a lamp with a custom made lamp shade that the former owner had made to match her furniture and glider. Sitting on top of the dresser are the baby's first three stuffed animals (two bears and a blue elephant) that were given as gifts for the little guy. Thank you to those of you who gave us these. We know he'll love them.

Today was the day we were supposed to check out the hospital and the labor and delivery rooms. Instead, it turns out they were too busy today so the tour was cancelled. We will be trying to get in there on Wednesday or next Saturday now and hopefully have a chance to finalize our hospital then.

The baby is expected to gain about a half pound this week. He's very active in a very cramped space, so the result of that is Moms that begin to complain of a strange sensation in their rib cage. This is a foot. Baby's often get that foot wedged in there, which may feel comfortable to him, but not for Mom. Also, while loud noises have been startling the little guy for weeks, this is the first week where the space available/baby size ratio results in Antoinette being able to feel that startled jump. Mom's begin to inherently know when their babies are scared. Comforting sounds included Mom's heartbeat, her breathing in and out, gas bubbles (as weird as that sounds), and a growling hungry belly. And most importantly, the most comforting sound is Mom's voice, which he's been hearing in various audible levels for some time now, becoming clearer and clearer each day.

The inner ear of the little guy has begun working, so for the first time, he knows if he's hanging upside down or right side up. With each day, his sense of balance and equilibrium improve. He will also feel himself sliding around in Antoinette's belly if she decides to kick on the radio and dance around the house when nobody is looking.

Doctor Visit in Week 24...

Antoinette had a doctor visit yesterday for her first meeting with the midwife. Its unlikely we continue with this hospital/doctor/midwife, but her new doctor suggested that she not go too long between visits to a doctor, so he recommended she keep this appointment. She meets with the new doctor after the New Year. Anyway, on this visit, the midwife saw her, took some measurements, listened to the baby's heart beat, weighed Antoinette, took her blood pressure, and checked her pulse, etc. All tests check out right on target. So we're good until the next visit in January.

On Saturday, we will be visiting what could potentially become Antoinette's new hospital for a tour to make 100% sure that's the direction we want to go. It is a bit late in the game for a switch, but by no means too late in the game. Some women will switch hospitals as late as two months prior to the birth. Saturday's visit will allow us to tour the facilities, check out the labor and delivery room, and make sure we can get any questions we have answered. I'll let you know how it goes on Sunday.

As far as the Baby Room, we have an update there, as well. The Doctor's wife we are buying the baby furniture from called on Tuesday and told us that we can come and pick it up whenever we are ready. Her new replacement furniture should be in within a week so they figure it will be easier to move their new furniture around in an empty room. On Saturday, I will be picking up the furniture with a buddy and moving it all into the baby room one piece at a time. I'll take pictures individually so you can see them little by little and then get you an updated full baby room photo, so we can spread some of those changes to that room over a month or so. More on that as it happens.

Then we get to one of the stars of our show, little Willie. By the end of this week, he'll grow to about 8.5 inches in length, which is nearly a full inch of crown to rump growth in just two weeks, putting his crown to rump length about the size of a typical TV remote. We measure him in pounds now and by the end of this week, he'll have packed on enough baby fat to weigh about 1.25 lbs. Space is really at a premium inside of there now and he has 14-16 weeks to go!!! Somersault and cartwheel days are over. If it wasn't before, Billy's face is nearly complete. By that I mean all of his parts are in all the right places. Eyes and ears in place, eyebrows and eye lashes continuing to grow, and even hair on his scalp, if he'll have much at all. This is the time when the stitch like pains can begin to shoot through a Mom-to-Be's abdomen. Uterus stretching is typically the culprit, especially in the previously unstretched uterus of a first time Mom. Unluckily for her, Antoinette has already experienced one of these whoppers and from the sound of it, they don't seem like much fun.

A Week 23 Belly Pic...

In one hour, Antoinette is officially 23 weeks pregnant. To mark this momentous day, my brother's lovely wife Tina just gave birth to their third child. A beautiful baby girl named Krystal Marie, who is 7 lbs. 9 ounces and 21 inches long. Both Momma and baby are doing great. That means our Antoinette is next in line in our family. Congratulations to you two!!!

Back to Antoinette and little Billy. Along with the extra kicking and punching inside of Antoinette's belly, little Billy also has extra movement in this fingers and toes. His eyebrows and eye lashes continue to form and his lips are becoming more distinct. His eyes are continuing to develop, but at this point, they still lack color. His rate of growth is a steady 6 ounces per week in weight gain now. That's over 1/3 of a pound a week.

As for Antoinette, here she is posing with Billy's Christmas stocking. He's big enough where he could probably wear this as a Santa hat if he were out here. He's been kicking up a storm lately. It seems like every night we can see his kicks through Mom's belly now. Don't tell her I told you, but often enough, you'll catch her just rubbing her belly with a big grin. She's the cutest Mom-to-be you've ever seen. She loves the baby's kicking. Probably because he's not strong enough to deliver a karate chop to the inside of her rib cage right now, but still. It seems like she's getting better at being able to determine which way he's oriented in there. This is the week that Mom's are supposed to begin sleeping on their side because the little one is big enough that sleeping on your stomach would just hurt and sleeping on your back can reduce the blood flow to the placenta. For you ladies that don't like sleeping on your side, this can be the beginning of the discomfort stage of pregnancy.

The last thing I'm going to leave you with is a Baby Shower update. We had contemplated sending Antoinette back to Chicago for a baby shower sometime in the next month, but right now, it looks like we will be coming home in June for a post-pregnancy shower. That way, all of you can see the baby at the shower for the first time. He'll be a tiny little two months old at the time and Chicago should be warm enough for his thin Florida skin!!! Looking at the middle of the month for that Shower for any of you that want to attend. More details will be on the way over the next couple months.

Perfect Ultrasound...

The baby's ultrasound was on Friday and everything checked out. His body is growing right on schedule. He's about 15 ounces now and should crack that 1 pound mark by the end of this week. Typically the due date is not changed after the first ultrasound, but the doctor will sometimes recommend a tweak based on the baby's growth rate. For our little guy, he's right on target, so the April 14th due date is still intact. Also, with some saying there is a 3% error rate on determining the baby's gender on ultrasounds, we double checked and sure enough, he is still a he. That puts us at about 1 in 10,000 that they are wrong on that, so I didn't waste my time painting his room blue. Bones are all looking great and the ultrasound showed a very close up, incredibly accurate view of his heart. This time, with the structure about double the size, all four chambers were clearly distinguishable, pumping away at 155 beats per minute. Brain growth is right on track, hip bones look solid, and he was pretty active in there.

The bad news is that the burn of the DVD does not seem to have worked properly, so I won't be able to convert this into a viewable video for those of you that were asking for it. Sorry about that. I'm going to see what I can do, but in my computer, it just locks everything up. I'm not real sure what she did.

Other news out there is that Antoinette is changing doctors. The one we were with was good, but her office kept screwing up the appointments. If we had to reschedule one, they would change it, then leave the old one on the schedule, call us for both to confirm we were coming in, give us flak about cancelling too late even though we cancelled weeks ago, etc. Just constant mistakes in their front office that were confusing us, the ultrasound labs, the midwife, and the doctor herself. On top of that, we found out about some fairly ridiculous charges for nonsense that most doctors we talked to did not charge. Little things, but enough to annoy you. Like charging you $1 per page to print or fax your medical records or charging $35 to put their signature on your FMLA paperwork. Up front fees for this and that which the other doctors were not charging made us leery. So, its early enough to make a switch.

That being said, we are going to take a tour of the new hospital this upcoming Saturday or the following Wednesday and if all checks out, we'll make it official. Antoinette meets her new doctor, who comes highly recommended from the girls at her office and even at the ultrasound clinic on Friday, for the first time on Wednesday.

Some extra updates on the little guy include a doubling in weight over the next four weeks (2 pounds by mid-January). Also, his inner ear bones are seeing some advanced development which means that he can become extra mobile in a loud noise environment, such as around vacuum cleaners, loud TV's, etc.

Also, this is critical development time for the little guy when it comes to premature survivability. For a baby born at 23 weeks, the survival rate is anywhere from 10-70% dependent on a huge host of factors. Those that are born this early can have some long term disabilities. For every week from here on out, the baby will gain another 3-5% in the survivability department until the completion of Week 27 (because its a baby boy and they mature more slowly than females...throughout life), when the baby's premature survivability rates leap forward to 80-90%. Every extra week of cooking in Momma's "oven" adds a large amount of extra development to aid this factor and present us with a more complete and ready for the outside world baby boy.

Anyway, so far, so good. Tomorrow, we'll wrap up Week 23 with a new belly picture from Antoinette and maybe some updates on how she's doing and how she's feeling. We even bought the little guy his first little Christmas stocking, so maybe we'll get Antoinette to pose with it!!!

Last Ultrasound Coming in Week 23...

The next update will have a lot of detail about the final ultrasound we will have for this little guy. Or what should be the final ultrasound anyway. That will be at 8:30 AM on Friday morning. Can't wait. As with the previous ultrasound, I will put a video together with music and with explanations for any of you that want to see it.

On to Week 23 updates. Little Billy hits the 8 inch mark this week, crown to rump, or about the width of a sheet of paper. He's also hit the 1 pound mark!!! His appearance is very human at this point, looking more or less like a thin, miniature newborn baby. His house, Antoinette's uterus, can be measured a full inch a half above her belly button, which is why her belly has really begun to stick out in the last update. Antoinette is still behind the average in weight gain. She's up about 10 pounds from pre-pregnancy weight and the average mark at this point is 15 pounds.

The Braxton-Hicks contractions get stronger this week and the baby can actually feel the uterine walls gently squeezing and relaxing around him, like a little massage. They will increase in intensity and frequency as the pregnancy continues.

Despite looking quite red and wrinkled, the baby is adding baby fat very quickly. Skin cells are being added at a far more rapid rate than fat cells and the result is excess skin folds (the wrinkles). The reddish coloring is the result of the skin finally losing its transparency and adding pigment. At this point, the baby's daily sleep/wake cycle is easily followed by his Mother as she can feel each punch and kick inside.

In previous weeks, the baby was able to "suck its thumb", which amounted to the baby being able to stick its thumb more or less in its mouth. This month, the baby can actually perform the "sucking" mechanism, and therefore he will actually truly suck his thumb for the first time. The drinking, swallowing, and recycling of amniotic fluid continues, only now, the baby's internal systems are developed enough where he can actually process and digest some of the nutrients and sugars that are present in the fluid to supplement that which comes through the umbilical. The result of this increased digestion of nutrients are the first hiccups, which Antoinette has felt. More or less little "jumps" of the belly all at once. Will the baby hiccup 20-30 times before stopping like Dad, or will he hiccup 2-3 times before stopping like Mom? You probably don't care, so on we go...

Pancreas development has reached the point where the organ system has begun to actually develop insulin in small amounts. The insulin will eventually be responsible for aiding in the breaking down of sugars in the body.

Finally, the little guy is starting to get a bit cramped in there. If he thinks it is tight quarters now, he has no idea what's in store for him over the next 4 months. Bones, muscles, organs systems, are all growing at a steady rate. Just the highlights in this update, Folks.

On Saturday, Antoinette will officially be 5 months pregnant!!!

Can You Tell She's Pregnant Now?...

This marked the end of the 22nd week of pregnancy. Its a bit more obvious that Antoinette is carrying a child, wouldn't you say? On Friday, we go for our fourth and final ultrasound to get our final internal sneak peaks of the little rascal. We'll make a DVD again for anyone that wants me to email it to them. Just let me know and I'll throw it together on the weekend and forward it out.

As for the baby, while he may or may not have hair on his head, if he does, its without pigment and therefore bright white. He'll routinely begin to strengthen his grip by grabbing onto that umbilical in there. While the eyelids are still fused shut, he can perceive bright lights now through Momma's belly and a quick flick of a flashlight at Antoinette's belly that shown in his face would cause a reaction. He can react to rhythm, music, or the sound of a friendly voice. Fingernails are now complete. His male "baby making equipment" has begun to descend from the abdomen into the lower region where they will remain his entire life.

For Antoinette, weight gain will begin with an expanding belly. Antoinette is up 10 pounds from her original starting weight, which is a bit behind schedule for the average. That's OK because every pregnancy is different. This is the first week of Braxton-Hicks contractions. Not sure if we've had any yet, but I'll let you know if she says that changes. Pounding heart, pale skin, shortness of breath, and extreme fatigue are all symptoms at this stage. Leg and foot cramps and mild swelling of the ankles are all natural signs, as is a voracious appetite. Increased Calcium and Potassium can decrease the chances of cramping.

Regarding the Baby Room furniture, the couple we are getting the furniture from just advised that their replacement stuff will be in within a week to 10 days, so within 2 weeks, we should have a newly decked out Baby Room that we can begin filling in. She's also giving us a primary colors mobile and a diaper genie. Very cool.

Baby Room Update in Week 22...

We've cleared all of the paint supplies out of the Baby's Room now, reorganized what's in there, and prepared the room for the arrival of the furniture, which should come within a week or two. Antoinette and I found a nice Neonatologist's family (a doctor specializing in the care of newborn infants) that was looking to sell their existing baby furniture. The furniture consists of a crib, dresser, changing table top dresser, and a glider with a footrest, which was custom upholstered. All of the furniture has gone through just one child's use, is in great condition, and is made of quality light colored wood that Antoinette preferred for her Baby Room design plans. On top of all of that, we were able to acquire the furniture for 75% off the purchase price if we had bought all of it new, so we couldn't pass on a deal like that.

The Baby very much resembles that of a newborn infant, only thinner. The brown baby fat that is beginning to develop is doing so slowly at this point, but it is coming. As he gains weight, his wrinkled skin will begin taking on a much smoother shape. His pancreas has begun a period of accelerated growth this week, as well. His eyes and lips are very distinct when viewed internally, although his iris still lacks pigment. Eyelids and eyebrows are well formed. His little tooth buds we have talked about for the past couple weeks can now actually be seen under the gum line.

On Monday, we'll have an update about how Momma's doing and hopefully a week 22 belly picture to go with it. Antoinette's belly is expanding at rapid pace now and her ligament stretching cramps cause the occasional sharp abdominal pain. All normal stuff, but I won't spoil the update for Monday. Have a great weekend everyone!!!

22 & Counting...

Antoinette is already in Week 22!!! Can you all believe it? My how time flies. Anyway, Billy has crossed the 7.5 inch mark this week and he weighs a bit over 12 ounces, or about 3/4 of a pound. Antoinette's belly is clearly growing much quicker now. Billy's liver has begun producing enzymes, although they are different than the ones they will produce after he is born. His healthy liver has the task of breaking down billirubin, which is created as blood cells expire. Billirubin is produced at a far faster rate than in an adult, so the umbilical is needed to filter the excess into Antoinette so that her liver can process the leftovers. If this is not processed sufficiently, the baby will be born looking like it has a yellowish tint, or a bit jaundiced. This condition is very treatable.

Another milestone this week for the baby is that his neural network is sufficiently developed to the point that he is capable of processing his surroundings. Although he won't remember any of this when he's older, he is carefully (and sometimes not so carefully) exploring his surroundings with his more capable sense of touch. He will begin to touch his own face and his own arms and legs now.

Antoinette's blood volume has consistently been increasing throughout pregnancy and most of this increased volume is plasma, or the liquid portion of the blood. The result is that Mom's can develop physiological anemia and have to be checked for this by their doctor. Iron levels reach their low point this week, so the symptoms of this need to be prepared for to keep an eye on more serious forms of anemia that can develop.

A time of incredibly rapid brain development is beginning and will continue for the next 5-6 years for the little one, all the way up to about kindergarten.