26 Weeks

The fetus makes breathing movements, but there is no air in the lungs yet. Hands are active and muscle coordination is such that they can get a thumb into the mouth. Thumb sucking calms the baby and strengthens the cheek and jaw muscles.The fetal brain scan will show response to touch. Touching and playing with the baby is possible now, as they may respond to your touch through your belly wall. Brain growth continues with brain wave activity for the visual and auditory systems starting to develop. Baby is probably very active in the womb, as the most active weeks are typically between weeks 24 and 28.You may begin feeling your belly tighten and relax at odd moments or irregular intervals. These are Braxton Hicks contractions. They are painless and help the uterus prepare for the birth. Many babies have developed a predictable routine for sleep and active periods. If your back is feeling the strain of your growing belly, try doing some pelvic rocks to relax it. Stand with your back against the wall, knees slightly bent. As you inhale a breath, press the small of your back against the wall. Exhale and relax your back. You may be experiencing shortness of breath as the uterus is very close to the rib cage at this stage. Some moms are not able to fully expand their rib cages; however, this does not negatively affect the baby in any way.This week marks the end of month six, which is the last month of the second trimester

Baby Shower in Erie

Grammy gave us the most beautiful shower! We got so many gifts we could not even see out of the windows in our SUV on the way back to Savannah! It was great! We have been so busy since we have been back unpacking and washing baby clothes!

I just got started back to work and we are just going to say it is very "interesting"! Lucas is very busy in the evenings kicking around. He is probably wondering what the heck I am doing all day...never sitting, loud yelling children...when I come home and put up my swelling feet he wakes up and starts kicking around. It does not bother my one bit at night because I am exhausted, I go right to sleep! Andrew has been feeling him through my tummy...so fun! I will soon post an updated belly pic...I AM STILL GROWING!

25 Weeks

Baby is now pretty well built portion wise even though it still has little body fat and its skin is thin. The structures of the spine begin to form -- All 33 rings, 150 joints and 1000 ligaments. The tiny brain is growing rapidly, and the baby is starting to fill the space in your uterus. The uterus is now about the size of a soccer ball and mom looks pregnant.
Your baby's hands are now fully developed, although some of the nerve connections to the hands have a long way to go. Dexterity is improving. Your baby can make a fist and clasp objects placed in palm. Exploring the structures inside your uterus may have become baby's prime entertainment. Fascinated by the amount of tactile stimulation a fetus gives itself; it touches a hand to the face, one hand to the other hand, clasps its feet, touches its foot to its leg, its hand to its umbilical cord. Blood vessels of the lungs develop. Your baby's nostrils begin to open. The nerves around the mouth and lip area are showing more sensitivity now. Their swallowing reflexes are developing. Baby can hear sounds outside the womb and the brain cells are starting to mature also. Already it can learn and remember and can recognize its mother and fathers voice.

24 Weeks

Your baby is producing surfactant. This is stuff that keeps the small air sacs in our lungs from collapsing. The unborn baby is covered with a fine, downy hair and the skin is protected by a waxy substance. Some of this substance may still be on the child's skin at birth at which time it will be quickly absorbed. The baby practices breathing by inhaling amniotic fluid into developing lungs.
Baby gains about 3 ounces this week. The weight is in muscle, bone mass and organs. The body begins to fill out with his appearance increasingly becoming more like a newborn. Taste buds begin to form. If mom drinks something strange or bitter, baby may be observed showing his or her distaste.
Little creases have appeared on his palms. The muscular coordination of the hands has improved as they suck their thumb. Over the next week or so, the sweat glands will be forming in the skin. The lungs are developing branches of the respiratory tree and cells that produce surfactant, a substance that helps the air sacs inflate easily.
Baby now weighs about 1.3 pound and is around 12 inches long.

23 Weeks

Your baby does a regular 'workout' inside your womb. He turns from side to side and head over heels. Thanks to a fully developed inner ear, which controls balance, your baby may have a sense of whether he is upside-down or right side up in the womb. Skin pigment is now forming. The fetus is now proportioned like a newborn except it is a thinner version of a newborn baby since its baby fat has not developed much yet. The pancreas, essential in the production of hormones, is developing steadily. Baby has begun producing insulin, important for the breakdown of sugars.
By this week, your baby weighs a little over 1 pound and is 11 inches long.

22 Weeks

Your baby is about 11 inches long and weighs in at about 1 pound. The eyebrows and eyelids are fully developed, and the fingernails cover the fingertips. Sounds from a conversation are loud enough to be heard by the fetus in the uterus. If you talk, read, or sing to your baby, it's reasonable to expect him or her to be able to hear you. By this week, your waistline is definitely gone. The top of your uterus is now about 1 inch above your bellybutton. Your friends and relatives can tell you are pregnant. It would be hard to hide your condition.

The baby is about 11 inches long and weighs in at about 1 pound.

GUESTBOOK/COMMENTS

GUESTBOOK is now installed! Please sign in and leave us a message!

I also fixed the comment section. You should be able to comment on any post. Click on comments. Another window will come up, leave your comment in the box...when it says Comment as...there is a drop down box. Click Name/URL and just type in your name...don't worry about URL. Try it out...any problems let me know!

Also take the poll at the bottom of our website...When do you think Lucas will be born?

Lucas's Room

Daddy and Mommy worked all weekend getting Lucas's Room cleaned out and ready for his nursery. We also picked up his crib and dresser/changing table from Grammy and Pappy Kensinger. What a great gift! Thank you so much Grammy and Pappy! We both helped put it together but, Mommy grabbed some great pics of Daddy at work! We had a lot of fun and good laughs while putting it together! The crib has the bedding in it but, no matress yet so it is hard to see what it will really look like because the fitted sheet is just bunched up under the bumper pad. We have some decorating to do but I am loving it so far! It is so fun walking by and seeing the crib in that room...it is really starting to feel real! We are really looking forward to the baby shower on August 22. I AM SO EXCITED!!!

**Check out the new belly pic on the left side!**

21 Weeks

Your baby's bone marrow has started making blood cells, a job done by the liver and spleen until this point. The placenta has provided nearly all of your baby's nourishment, now your baby will begin to absorb small amounts of sugar from swallowed amniotic fluid.Based on the size of baby's head, which is about 2 inches (5cm), the date of birth can be determined to within one week. The fetus is steadily gaining fat and has grown a whitish coat of a slick, fatty substance to protect skin in amniotic fluid and to ease delivery.The baby can hear and recognize the mother's voice, and may respond to some types of music.

20 Weeks

Your baby reacts to loud sounds. Baby can actually hear noises outside of the womb. Familiar voices, music, and sounds that baby becomes accustomed to during their development stages often are calming after birth. This is an important time for sensory development since nerve cells serving each of the senses; taste, smell, hearing, sight, and touch are now developing into their specialized area of the brain.
Your baby now weighes about 11 ounces and at roughly 7 inches long they are filling up more and more of the womb. Though still small and fragile, the baby is growing rapidly and could possibly survive if born at this stage.