Growing Baby

My unborn child is growing and kicking and definitely making her presence known- I often ask the kids to act out her movements- and they are very cute doing so. She is around 1 lb 5 oz and has the most beautiful profile. We got a head on shot of her at our last appointment and it looks like she is dressed up like a skeleton for Halloween! I am learning her sleeping schedule and am very interested to see if she keeps it up when she is finally here. Her lungs are getting ready for life outside of the lukewarm pool she is currently thriving in and her fat production kicks into high gear this week. At the end of this week if she decided to break free from her incubator she would have a 50% chance of survival, even though she would likely have some serious challenges to get thru. That blows my mind away- what a blessing to live in world that takes care of their tiniest inhabitants and give them a chance at life. Also she is working on developing her fingerprints and footprints. Her inner ear is developing too so she will likely know when she is upside down- something Leila and Nathan love, and we have no doubt she will love too.

I am over the halfway mark and am a bit surprised she will be here in less than 4 months. One more visit at 4 weeks, then I switch to every 2 weeks. Wow. Time flies when life gets crazy I guess. At my doctors appointment yesterday we found my placenta is movin' on up-- which is a good thing. I am feeling much better but definitely have my limits. I am having prep-contractions or braxton hicks- and normally these are painless, but I am definitely experiencing some discomfort(I won't say pain because having had real contractions before and know what real pain feels like). They gave me guidelines on when to call regarding my contractions. I can't decide if this pregnancy is actually harder than my previous pregnancies, or if I was either so distracted by working or my memory of the yucky parts simply faded away. Thanks to those of you who keep checking in and insisting on helping me. I am enjoying being taken care of, but don't often let people do so, so this has been a treat. I am finding I really love it when you don't give me a choice(Thanks Amy-- again!)

Things about being pregnant:
I LOVE feeling the baby move, I don't love getting kicked directly on the bladder- ping, ping, ping
I LOVE having my family feel the baby move, I don't love strangers touching my tummy or me
I LOVE not feeling like I need to restrict what I eat, I don't love heart burn or waking up in the middle of the night hungry
I LOVE no guilt with a middle of the night PB Sandwich or bowl of ice cream
I LOVE back rubs by my husband, I don't love feeling indebted to him to return the favor
I LOVE seeing my baby in the ultrasound screens, I don't love the internal ultrasound screens
I LOVE strong fingernails
I LOVE dreaming about and thinking about and loving my baby already.