Final Week of the 2nd Trimester & a Happy New Year...

Antoinette is wrapping up the final few days of the 2nd Trimester. On Tuesday, she'll begin the homestretch. For the baby, the alveoli, which are air sacs in the lungs that allow for the transfer of oxygen into the bloodstream, are beginning to come online. These little anatomical features will continue to develop and grow for the next decade in the baby and typically reach full development when he's in about 5th grade or so. There is a membrane that attaches the alveoli to the blood vessels in the lung and that membrane is key to the ability of the lungs to function properly. As the baby develops, the membrane begins to thin. At a point, it becomes thin enough to allow the oxygen to pass through it and be absorbed into the blood stream. At that critical point, you have a functioning lung.

Billy's retinas have completed their development. His eyes, which could be open already, are fully functional now. Also, his auditory and visual systems take a quantum leap forward as dramatically increased brain waves in these two sections of the brain can now be detected. For me, this marks a milestone, as it is generally considered the point at which the little guy can hear my voice and distinguish it from his Mother's internal echo. There exists mountains of research proving that babies recognize familiar sounds at birth and both Mom and Dad's voice qualify are on the top of the list.

As for Mom and Dad, we received a little hands on advice on New Year's. Our next door neighbors are about our age and just recently had a baby of their own (3 weeks ago). We walked over there on New Year's (safest place for a pregnant Mom to be on New Year's) and spent the evening with them and two other couples. As you can imagine, with little Billy right around the corner, there were questions galore. Especially since this was our friend's first child, as well. Lots of "adjustment" questions, tips for beginning parenting, etc. There was a bunch of helpful tips and advice, and it was even neat to see a near replica (from a size point of view) of who we will be welcoming into our home in the next couple months.