24 weeks!

How far along? 24 weeks

Baby's size: He is over a pound and roughly 11.8 inches long, comparable to an ear of corn. Of course, considering he was a pound 4 weeks ago, there's no telling how big he is now.

Total weight gain/loss: I think my scale at home must like me because I thought it was only 8 for awhile. It was definitely 13 at my last appointment.

Stretch marks? Nope, not yet... and hopefully not ever. Bio Oil and cocoa butter are my BFFs.

Sleep? I have rhinitis of pregnancy, so breathing is pretty difficult, which makes sleep harder to come by.

Best moment this week: Seeing my belly jump for the first time. Bryson is very active throughout the day, but gets rowdy between 9:00 and 10:00 each night. I think he's practicing his ninja skills.

Worst Moment: I had my first bout of Braxton Hicks contractions last night. I could definitely do without them; it was scary until I realized what it was! My weirdo circadian rhythm is all messed up, so I often wake up and expect it to be 5:30 or 6:00, only to discover it's only 11:15. :(

Cravings: I wouldn't be surprised if he was born with grapes for eyes. I could live off them, pineapple and salt & vinegar chips.

Symptoms: Outside of Braxton Hicks, I'm having a slight bit of round ligament pain again every once in awhile.

Miss Anything? Sleeping on my belly. *whine*

Movement: Lots. We have an active little guy.

Anything making you queasy or sick? Meat that isn't in a casserole, soup or on a sandwich. I can handle chicken fingers/nuggets though.

Moody: Nope, not really. If you asked Clay, he'd say I haven't been mad, but cry a lot. I say I don't cry more than usual. What? I'm a sap!

Wedding Rings On or Off? On and very comfortable.

Sex: All boy, for sure.

What is baby up to? At 24 weeks, he would be "viable" if he were born early. The survival rate of a baby born in this week is 40% with neonatal intensive care and hospitals would automatically perform whatever lifesaving procedure necessary.

His lungs are beginning to develop little branches and in coming weeks, will start producing surfactant, a substance that will prevent the lungs from sticking to each other and will help him breathe when he makes his appearance.

Keratinization starts this week. New skin cells that are created in the deepest part of his skin will move toward the surface. Once they become part of his epidermis, they will be shed and the process will begin again.


In other Bryson news, we finally registered for the things Little Man will need. I am even more excited about his arrival after picking out cute baby things. Anybody who looks at our Babies 'R' Us registry is going to think we're very sports obsessed. I'm not sure why- perhaps it's the 472 sports themed receiving blankets or even the football pacifiers I'm dying for.

And well, to add to that thought, Bryson's wreath is done. I wanted to have something on his door, but decided to come up with something out of my norm.