Billy has just 10 weeks to go, which means Antoinette is soon going to begin her 8th month of pregnancy. In just 6 weeks (March 9th), she will be considered full term. Hard to think this little journey is coming to a close this quickly. Although we know tha this is really just the beginning of a much longer journey. While many women feel like they have been pregnant forever at this stage, Antoinette doesn't at all. Despite the increased symptoms of pregnancy, she is still loving every second of it. She's typically bright and cheery, and seems to spend a great deal more time rubbing her belly and just smiling, especially when she's laying on the couch.The little guy is growing like a rabbit inside of his Momma. He's approaching 11 inches in Crown-to-Rump length and exceeds 17 inches from tip to toe. If you were to weigh the little guy, he would be a bit over 3 lbs. now. Just 4 more to go to hit typical birth weight for a healthy full term baby. We're still in a healthy growth phase of pregnancy where baby, placenta, and amniotic fluid are increasing in size and amount quite rapidly, which is why Antoinette's belly has begun to push out so quickly over the past couple weeks. This will continue until about Week 36, at which point his growth will slow until birth, typically in Week 39-41. Due to this phase of internal growth, Mom's should be packing on about a pound a week for normal baby development. We'll get an update on that on Monday when we wrap up the week.
With the increased size, clumsiness is close behind. The body is attempting to adjust to its changes, but the mind struggles to catchup in some areas. The increased weight out front is throwing the body's center of gravity off, and this adjustment is not easy to correct for. The result is that pregnant women can lose their balance easily, and during pregnancy, while few falls result in any significant injury to Mom or baby, no fall is a good fall. Also, the increased water retention in the hands causes some issues with grip and the brain doesn't overcompensate for this quick change, which results in a lot of dropped items. Antoinette seems to have a reoccurring problem getting her lunch in the fridge at work and routinely drops half of it on the floor.
Antoinette is doing her best to keep good posture while sitting and standing to help alleviate many of the symptoms of pregnancy, especially in her back. Having a bad back to begin with, the increased weight shift to the front is a tougher adjustment for her than for most women. For those of you with back pain, you can imagine how amazing it is that she is able to remain so pleasant during this time. She is also trying to aid herself in this department by rolling to her side when she has to get up instead of just attempting to lift herself off of the bed/couch.
Billy is cushioned well from any sort of injury by the strong muscular wall of the uterus and the shock absorbing qualities of the amniotic fluid, but that being said, he can now distinctly feel pain and will react accordingly. The baby's lungs continue their stretching "workouts" to prepare for a life outside of the womb. These are his first "breaths", although they are not of air, and each one becomes stronger and more efficient at this process. Unfortunately for the little one, this also results in some fluid going down the wrong pipe which can increase the frequency of hiccups. Moms can typically attest to the feeling of hiccups inside their belly. Antoinette has not experienced this very much.
The accumulated fat inside of Billy's body has allowed him to likely have crossed a threshold of development. At this point, his fat accumulation has begun to "smooth" out his skin in appearance, which is allowing him to insulate himself and to have sufficient emergency energy stores if need be. The milestone is that if he were born today, he could satisfactorily keep himself insulated, regulating his body temperature on his own, which is a key to human survival. Translation: Less time in the incubator if he were born today.
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