Week 29 oh My

Your baby's muscles and lungs will continue to develop and mature during your pregnancy at 29 weeks and the weeks ahead. At 29 weeks pregnancy your baby's brain is also developing and maturing, with billions of neurons forming daily. The baby's head is in proportion to the rest of the body. Fat continues to accumulate under the skin. The brain can control primitive breathing and body temperature control, and the eyes can move in the sockets. The baby is becoming sensitive to light, sound, taste and smell.

Starting next week I will change the titles. Next week, week 30, we begin the countdown. With our little girl now growing at an excelerated rate I have to leave this post and find some fruit and water for my wife.

Ok, I am back. I realized I don't have to leave the post; I can walk away and come back. You would never know the difference.

This week, sad for Charissa, has been the most physically uncomfortable she has been. Sleeping, sitting, standing, walking are all more of an effort. Pray for her health and stamina. She is emotionally great as always but the body is not cooperating as it should :)

I am off to do more projects and more water refills for Charissa. This time I am leaving for real.

Some famous people will share their birthday with our celebrity....


15th Feb 1874 Sir Ernest Shackleton
15th Feb 1907 Cesar Romero
15th Feb 1929 Graham Hill
15th Feb 1914 Kevin McCarthy
15th Feb 1927 Frank Dunlop
15th Feb 1927 Harvey Korman
15th Feb 1950 John Adams
15th Feb 1951 Jane Seymour
February 15, 1564- Galileo Galilei, inventor, invented the telescope
February 15, 1820- Susan B. Anthony, Women's Suffrage
February 15, 1964- Chris Farley, actor Comedian, SNL

Or will they? If she is on time and punctual like her dad, then yes. If she is reading the paper when suddenly realizing its time to join the world, like her mom, she may be a day after.

Time will tell. I say, the sooner the better.

Week 28 - The Third Trimester

How Big is the Baby at 28 Weeks Pregnant?
By 28 weeks pregnant your baby is 15.75 inches or more! She weighs in at about 2 and a half pounds during pregnancy at 28 weeks!

Your Baby's Growth and Development

Up until now if you were to look at your baby's brain during your pregnancy week by week it would appear smooth. By about 28 weeks pregnant however this changes, as the brain starts to mature and form grooves that we commonly associate with a human brain. Your baby may also be growing longer hair on her head by pregnancy at 28 weeks, though many babies will come out bald at birth. Others will be born with lovely locks of hair that will fall out and even change color some time after delivery.

Your baby should also be sprouting eyelashes by pregnancy 28 weeks, which will blink repeatedly if you were to shine a bright light on your belly.

I think I am going to try that last line. Just sounds fun.

Super Charissa has finished the crib skirt, whatever that is, and has now completed all her nursery tasks. She now turns her attention on the house itself. (Poor house). I am still working on refinishing the rocking chair. Which is a funny story in and of itself.

I am outside in the garage. I have a TV to watch sports. Some drinks. And cool weather to enjoy. The challenge: Chemicals for the rocker. This gooey substance, approved to sell, recommended by the people at Home Depot actually says "This chemical has been shown to cause cancer in our studies with rats. Please be careful". So me, half high on fumes, and freaking out everytime a piece of hair falls out, laborously works on the rocking chair. I am 80% complete with the stripping, not me the chair, and should move on to staining in December. Its a fun mix of total fear and statifing work. Mostly fear though. I will let you all know how the tests come out afterward.

I am slowly laughing at child humour

Week 27

Your Baby's Growth and Development

Your baby's systems continue to mature during pregnancy week 27 and your little one even starts accumulating some weight in the upcoming weeks.

Up until between the 27th and 28th weeks of pregnancy your baby's eyelids are fused together. After this week or next they will open. The retina or the light sensitive portion of the eye typically starts maturing at about 27 weeks of pregnancy. The layers that form in the retina will allow your baby's eyes to receive light and transmit the information it is receiving to the brain to form images. This basic process is referred to as 'sight'. Imagine that, at 27 weeks pregnant your baby is a tiny, seeing human being! As hearing continues to develop, your baby may start to recognize your voice as well as your partner's. Sounds may be muffled, though, because the ears are still covered with vernix, the thick waxy coating that protects the skin from becoming chapped by the amniotic fluid. The baby will grow over 1/2 inch this week and will be about 14 inches long and a little over 2 pounds!

Her name in Chinese

Curtains Are Done

Week 26

There is a lot going on with our girl this week. The picture below is not our baby, but what she looks like about now....Read with great wonder below....

Your baby’s developed oil and sweat glands are now functioning. Her fingernails, toenails, eyebrows and eyelashes are now fully present and will continue to grow until birth. The fetus can respond to sound and can hear you and those around you. Although we assume that the uterus is a quiet place, the baby has been surrounded by noise for a long time. Things like your heartbeat, digestion, other body functions and external noises are heard by the baby. In fact, you may feel the baby jump at a sudden noise. Your baby is now about 14 inches and weighs a little under two pounds.

The uterus also allows some light to be seen so your baby is aware of light and dark. Your baby’s skin is wrinkled and translucent and may have a reddish color due to the presence of dermal blood vessels. Veins are visible through your baby's skin, although it is quickly changing from transparent to opaque. The following months will see increase in body fat. The lungs continue to mature with the development of “air sacs” and begin to secrete surfactant (a substance that will help your baby’s lungs expand at birth. At this stage of development the various organs have formed.

As the blood vessels in the lungs began last week, the air sacs in the lungs begin this week. The lungs begin to secrete surfactant which covers the inner lining of the air sacs which then allows the lungs to expand normally during breathing.

Besides the active lung growth, the brain kicks in with brain wave activity for the visual and auditory systems.

Although your baby's eyes have been sealed shut for the last few months, they will soon open and begin to blink. Depending on ethnicity, some babies will be born with blue or gray-blue eyes (which may change color in the first year of life) and some will be born with brown or dark eyes. Eyelashes are growing in, as is more hair on the head.

This is a picture of the two of us from the summer in Galveston. It is a good picture of our relationship through pregnancy. The two of us have not been fighting or begrudging one another. It has been a great thing to know we have a daughter coming and that the two of us have such a good partnership through it all. I am getting lots of practice serving and know I will have to step it up even more when I have two Charissa's to love on.

We are also getting more and more projects done. Each Monday Night Football game I spend in the garage repairing or building something while watching the game. Charissa has been a sewing maniac doing curtains, bumper pads, crib skirt, and who knows what else for the nursery. She is great. She can make the nursery and the baby all by herself; all with a full time job and teaching college.

That's my girl!!

.

A Miracle

We have a cross collection, like many people, but ours, I think, is unique. Every cross has its own story behind it which makes them all great. This one in particular has its own story as well.

We bought a cross that looks similar but said Faith. Was a nice gift to one another and a reminder of the bond that holds us. Through our tough times we bought another cross called Hope. This cross we looked at everyday and hoped for a child. We wanted our faith to push our hope that God would grant us our desire. It stayed on the wall for a long time.

Charissa bought Miracle one day before we even knew we were pregnant. She had faith and hope in what God would do for us and kept it as a secret from me. Just her own sign unto God. When we found out with joyful tears we were pregnant she showed me the cross. It now hangs with all the others with its inspiration and story. As you enter our kitchen you will see all three and can be a witness with us of all the Lord has done.

Week 25

Now that you are 25 weeks pregnant, your baby should be weighing about 1 pound 5 ounces (660 grams). Baby's little hands are busily feeling her surroundings, touching her own skin and the umbilical cord. These little hands are now quite dexterous; baby's fingers can even curl into a fist! At this stage in your pregnancy, you will also start to notice that baby has busy and resting times; and you may be more aware of the fetal activity when you are lying down or sitting still.

Your baby's hearing is so developed, that she may now be able to hear you! This week, the structures of the spine (including 33 rings, 150 joints and 1000 ligaments) start to form. The blood vessels of the lungs are also developing and baby's nostrils begin to open.