08-7-2009 - 24 Weeks Pregnant

My mood while writing this blog: Ok

You are now at the end of the second trimester of pregnancy so enjoy this period while it lasts as the last three months will only involve putting on a lot of weight thus making you uncomfortable and not as mobile as before. The uterus keeps expanding now to accommodate the growing size of the baby. The fetus does not have as much room in the uterus now as space gets tighter. Because of the increasing weight of your body you can experience backaches, bladder problems, and fatigue and sore feet along with nose bleeds in some cases.

Your mommy gave us quit a scare tonight. She fell down a filght of stairs. We rushed her to the hospital to make sure you were ok. They hooked her up to a lot of monitors and it took them a long time to find your heart beat. After a while they almost gave up because you were moving so much. This was a good sign. After all the time we spent at the hospital we were assured that you were ok. Mommy is real sore because she hit her bottom on every step going down and she struggled to keep you away from the fall. She will be a bit bruised and her tail bone will be quite sore for a while. Actually, watching her was quite funny but hearing her yells for help afterwards put me into check, I knew she was hurt. It really was a scary situation. We finalized your shower date and it will be September 13th. The only day still available. I finished making all the baby shower decorations and we are all set. We also talked about what will be on the menu and we came up with some good ideas. Tomorrow I will call to order the cake and get the cost of that so we can budget even more. It is amazing how much a blessing can cost so much. We want you to stay inside for another 16-18 weeks so you can Cookbabycook.

The baby now has no place in the uterus to do somersaults and cartwheels as the baby is getting plumper and the tummy tighter. he baby is growing rapidly now and is 11 inches long with a weight of 1.25 to 1.5 pounds. The baby’s brain is developing rapidly during this period and so are the lungs and the taste buds. The main lungs are developing branches as well as special cells that produce surfactant needed to inflate the air sacs. Babies who are born prematurely have difficulty breathing as these cells have not had sufficient time to develop or produce enough surfactant. The baby will continue gaining muscle weight and deposit of brown fat on the skin which will help the baby later to retain body heat. Babies born in this period might have disabilities and would require long-term intensive care as they have difficulty regulating body temperature as well as coping with their breathing due to immature development of the lungs. The baby will not be affected by the Braxton Hicks Contractions that you might experience at this stage. The baby’s face is complete now with the features well developed and in the right place though the eyes are still shut. Hair will continue to grow on the head and the eyelashes are well formed. The baby is now just a thinner version of how he would look when born. The baby will start gaining more weight in the next three months. The baby starts practicing breathing by inhaling the amniotic fluid into the developing lungs.