Week 26: Munchkin is an English Cucumber!

Welcome to Week 26: Munchkin is an English Cucumber!

Weight: 1.7-2 lbs
Length: 14 inchesIt's been yet another good week, and I must admit, it's been wonderful to have J.D. home. The baby has been moving more and more and the movements do seem to be getting stronger. I've only had 1-2 movements this past week that have made me say "ouch" out loud.

I also wonder if the baby is sitting on some nerve that affects my upper right thigh/butt. When I sit on the couch for an extended period of time and then get up, my upper leg is slightly painful. After I walk for a minute, it goes away. hmmmm.... who knows!

A special thanks for Robert and Lauren for a wonderful "Baby Emergency Car Kit"...which I'm sure will get some good use once we figure out how to use all of the item! Also, as always, thanks to Lauren for her continued advice about EVERYTHING. What would we do without you!?!

My mom and spent a night this past week going through several bags of clothes that Torrey and Jay have given us (THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH!). We organized all of the cute little clothes by size! Little boys clothes couldn't be more adorable!

Also, thank you to Suz for my new subscription to Parents Magazine! I'm hoping it will tell us what to do when the baby is born. Tell me again why babies don't come with "How to" manuals.....

This past week, after telling two separate people that I was pregnant, they asked if I was three months along. When I told them that I was 6 and a half months, they were shocked. Despite this, I feel pretty big. I'm still going to the gym around 6 times/week and feel great! I'm really hoping that I'll be able to keep that up until the end! Check out my belly this week (again, at its prime - right after dinner):
What's happening with Munchkin this coming week:
The network of nerves in your baby's ears is better developed and more sensitive than before. He may now be able to hear both your voice and your partner's as you chat with each other. He's inhaling and exhaling small amounts of amniotic fluid, which is essential for the development of his lungs. These so-called breathing movements are also good practice for when he's born and takes that first gulp of air. And he's continuing to put on baby fat. He now weighs about a pound and two-thirds and measures 14 inches (an English hothouse cucumber) from head to heel. If you're having a boy, his testicles are beginning to descend into his scrotum — a trip that will take about two to three days.
This week marks a major milestone in your baby's hearing and sight. Your baby's hearing system (cochlea and peripheral sensory end organs), which began fine development during week eighteen, is now completely formed, and over the next few weeks, he'll become increasingly sensitive to sound. In about a month, you'll feel him jump if he hears a sudden loud noise. Sound passes easily into your uterus, which helps his ears develop. His eyes are almost fully formed. A baby's eyes don't get their final color until a few months after they are born. The air sacs of the lungs, called alveoli, will be developed by the end of this week and will begin to secrete a substance called surfactant that keeps the lung tissue from sticking together.

• Your baby may weigh about two pounds now (average is 1.7 pound, 760gm) and is 14 inches (35.6cm) in length
• To support the fetus's growing body, the spine is getting stronger and more supple. Though no longer than the span of the average adult hand, it is now made up of 150 joints, 33 rings, and some 1,000 ligaments.
• Air sacs in the lungs form now.
• Lungs begin to secrete a greasy substance called surfactant. Without surfactant the fetal lungs would stick together and couldn't expand after the baby is born.
• Although they've been sealed shut for the last few months, your baby's eyes are opening and beginning to blink this week. Depending on ethnicity, some babies will be born with blue or gray-blue eyes (which may change color in the first 6 months of life) and some will be born with brown or dark eyes.
• Retinas begin to form.
• Brain wave activity for hearing and sight begins to be detectable.
• Fetal brain scans show response to touch. If you shine a light on your abdomen, your baby will turn his head, which according to researchers, means his optic nerve is working.
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Feel like you're carrying the Karate Kid with all the kicking going on? Your baby is actually practicing all kinds of movements that will eventually be used in life on the outside — including pedaling against your belly, a sort of prewalking skill. As your baby's nervous system becomes more developed, the movements will become much more coordinated. And as the baby gets bigger and stronger, the movements will become much more powerful…and occasionally, even painful to you. If your baby lands a good one, that tiny left hook might hurt — a lot. Another trick he or she may try — stretching that leg out so far that the foot becomes lodged between your ribs (ouch). Next time you come under attack from the karate kid, try changing positions or doing some stretches of your own. You can also gently push your baby back with your hand when your knee-jerker jerks a little too hard. You just might be able to send your slugger back into the corner of the ring!