Big surprise!

No, we are not having twins! We are having a baby sooner than expected! I had a period after the baby was already conceived, so we were a bit off with dates. So...

Baby is 22 weeks 5 days. Only 121 days to go until January 20th. The ultrasound showed a very active baby, but I could not even see the screen. The scanner is 20 years old, or at least that is when the hospital bought it. Travis said he could make out a few things but it was definitely not new technology.

I am having little contractions with walking and standing. I will be on modified bed rest until I stop having them. Hope that's not on January 20th! So all is well and my belly is growing fast. Funny that I was thinking that this Thursday meant 20 weeks, half way, but here we are ahead of schedule!

Baby's growth: Your baby's brain is growing daily. Her senses are also starting to develop. She can hear the sound of your heart along with your breathing. As she wiggles her fingers, she may touch her face or even suck her thumb. Her lungs are becoming more mature, and she even goes through the motions of breathing. She can also swallow, although she won't have her first real meal until delivery day.

Your baby-to-be reaches about 7.6 inches in height (crown to rump) and weighs in at just over 12 ounces.

I saw this great slide show comparing the size of a fetus to produce. It is called Poppy seed to Pumpkin. How big is your Baby? Click Here for the slide show. Below is the "size" of the baby this week.

Another Thursday!

Oh boy! We are coming along. 19 weeks today (17 weeks gestation). I feel like I grew 8 inches around the belly in the past week. Well, let's see... Groan, almost 10 inches since pre-pregnancy. I have vowed to myself that I will get back down to a size 8 by the time the baby is 1 year! I am just so sick of people saying that I am Sharayah and Shannon's big sister and meaning it as a fat joke! I will post pics tonight of me sideways. I think I am carrying high, but you tell me.

This week in baby's development: Your unborn baby's organs continue to grow. His body is covered with lanugo—soft hairs and a sticky protective coating that keeps his skin from drying out in the amniotic fluid. Your baby is moving frequently, and by now you should be able to feel those movements. Your physician can hear your baby-to-be's heartbeat with a stethoscope placed on your abdomen.
Baby is covered in vernix, a white, cheesy "cream" that protects her skin from the long bath in amniotic fluid. Preemies are covered in vernix at birth—"posties" have almost none.
Your little one weighs in at around seven ounces and he's between five and six inches long (crown to rump).

Tomorrow is Thursday, our day for counting a new week. It has been a while since I last posted. It has been crazy around here, but I am back now.
Tomorrow baby turns 18 weeks new (16 weeks gestation). Lately the baby has been moving so much and last week I felt a very hard kick up into my stomach, it feels like a field goal.

Around this time your baby's ears pop from his head and Baby-to-be can now sense sounds. After all, he has plenty to listen to in utero! He's accustomed to the strong beating of your heart, blood rushing through your veins, and your stomach grumbling. He can also discern sounds outside the uterus, like your voice and music. Although, according to the Mayo Clinic, whether he can distinguish the sound of your voice versus other sounds is not yet clear.
This week your little one weighs in at around five ounces and stretches to just over five inches (crown to rump).

We loaned the baby Doppler to our friend who is due in 3 weeks, so no thump-thump for about a month. Also, the darling baby jacket I made is at her place. I am planning on making her a newborn size jacket because the one I left there is preemie size. It probably won't fit her baby boy for long, if at all. They are elated to see different baby items.

I am planning on trying EC for the new baby. EC stands for Elimination Communication, kinda baby potty training, but more natural. I am just sick of dealing with so many diapers and there are many "undeveloped" nations around the world that do not use disposable diapers or even reusable diapers. I remember reading of the early Native Americans who placed their infants in baby boards and would take them out to hold them in a squat on the ground to poo and pee. Why not now where we have in house plumbing and flush toilets?
So this blog is going to go past just pregnancy and I will change the heading from Pregnancy to whatever when the time comes.
The time is passing. Babyzone.com shows me as 17 weeks, 6 days with 155 days left until February 11, 2010. Tick-tock!