25 Weeks

THIS WEEK
I am 25 weeks pregnant, and I probably say this every week but I am just so grateful to be pregnant and to get this far - I can't believe I've been so blessed to carry this little girl for twenty-five weeks and I pray, so very much, that I will be able to carry her for these next few months before she is safe in my arms. This was a tiring week, there have been a few days where my round ligament pain kept me in bed (it got so bad that *I* considered a bath, something that I have as a precaution avoided for the last nearly 4 years that we have been on this journey). We were also waiting anxiously for my appointment with my obstetrician to talk about the echogenic bowels. The appointment went very well, I absolutely love my ob and he was so reassuring that this shouldn't be something we worry about. He told me he would watch us closely, closer than already, and that he is expecting to deliver our baby girl when I reach 37 weeks - due to our history, unless anything concerning arises which we of course pray wont. I was kind of relieved to hear we should make it to 37 weeks - that means 12 weeks left, 3 months! 3 months until our beautiful girl is in our arms. Although I will soak up every moment during my pregnancy, marvel at my growing belly and love every strong movement she gives against my stomach - I cannot wait until she is here safe in our arms.

 BABY UPDATE
As mentioned in the past few weeks the fruits/vegetables that the books/apps/websites use to show the size of the baby are starting to get a little weird so we've had to improvise a bit (and probably will for these last few months as we get closer and closer to meeting our baby girl). So, long story short, over the next few weeks our baby girl is the size of a papaya weighing between 1.5 lbs to 2.20 lbs and is anywhere from 13.3 inches to 14.5 inches long!

The part of baby girl's brain that is responsible for emotions, reasoning, planning and the ability to problem solve is the most prominent part of her brain at this point but memory is beginning to develop now, so the music and voices she hears will begin to leave an impression on her brain which will help her recognize these noises when she's here.  Now that her hands are fully developed loud noises may prompt her to cover her tiny ears - although with our crazy house I wouldn't be surprised if she isn't bothered by most noises. Blood vessels are busy developing inside the lungs and her nostrils are beginning to open. Her skin has now changed from translucent to more opaque and her little body is already incredibly developed; her spine has 1000 ligaments, 150 joints and 33 vertebrae.

MOMMA UPDATE
Physically I have been beat, my back and hips have been in such terrible pain, but knowing that she's okay makes the pain more tolerable. She's safe and that's what matters, pain is just pain as long as she's okay. Emotionally I've been okay, I wasn't terribly anxious leading up to my appointment compared to when we were waiting to talk with my ob about baby girl's two vessel cord since he did go over on the phone what echogenic bowels could mean before I met with perinatal. But we want nothing more than our precious baby girl to be healthy, and although our love for her wouldn't change, as most parents we don't want her to have to face the difficulties that CF or DS would have (not to mention that both are associated with an increased risk of stillbirth, something we really don't want) - so of course there was some anxiety and worry, like I mentioned before they will continue to watch us closely (typically, echogenic bowels are a non-issue) and we will continue to pray for our baby girl to be born healthy and unaffected. Her movements are getting so strong and I love feeling her move and kick around. Sleep is becoming more difficult and I am still having a nightly stuffy/runny nose but I manage to get a nap in the morning to make up for my lack of sleep and I'll be ready for the broken sleep that comes with midnight feeds and cuddles with our baby girl - I'm alright with that. I also noticed this week that some of the stretch marks I had from our first pregnancy have started to get a little red at the top and I am wondering if this means the ones I have will get a little worse (not that it matters, they fade and I love that my growing belly means our baby girl is growing).  I have been craving all sorts of Halloween goodies this week as we lead up to Halloween; from roasted pumpkin seeds to a candy corn trail mix. Although I'm usually not the biggest fan - but Dyl is, I also baked up and thoroughly enjoyed pumpkin pie dessert (think pumpkin pie mixed with a crispy cake, YUM).

Belly is measuring 42.75 inches!

DADDY MOMENTS
When we were out Daddy picked up a copy of Aesop's Fables and has been reading the short stories to baby girl every few nights, I know I've said it before but seeing the bond these two have already is adorable.

FAVORITE PART OF THE WEEK
Being told by our ob not to worry about the echogenic bowels.

LOOKING FORWARD TO
I can't wait to start on our nursery, we bought a beautiful basket for baby girl's nursery and it is so exciting to see our nursery plans start to come to life.

xo, Anne.