Week 28: Munchkin is a Chinese Cabbage

Welcome to Week 28: Munchkin is a Chinese Cabbage!!! We are officially in the 3rd trimester! Only 3 more months to go! Time really does fly!

Weight: 2.25-2.5 lbs
Length: 15-16 inches
Most important news of the week: I PASSED MY GLUCOSE TEST!!!!! Phew! My wonderful OB called me on Friday (only 1 day after I had taken the test) to tell me that I got an A+ on the test! Yea!!! What a relief to not have to do the 3 hour test! Thanks to everyone for all of the positive thoughts!

My sciatica continues to be pretty painful...although it's not preventing me from doing anything yet. I'm a much happier person when I can go to the gym everyday!

I went with my friend Jaimee (who I met in the 3 hour line for the swine flu shot 4 months ago :) ) to meet a well respected pediatrician in the area. I got to ask lots of questions as well as listen to Jaimee's questions. I really liked her and respected her responses to all of my questions. J.D. and I might choose to meet with a couple of other pediatricians before we make a decision...we'll see.

I had another doctor's appointment yesterday. She measured my fundal height to be 28 centimeters, which my doctor described as "being right on the money!" (Fundal height is the distance from the top of the uterus to the pubic bone measured in centimeters. Starting in the second trimester, fundal height usually matches closely to the number of weeks you've been pregnant.) The baby's heart beat was about 145 beats/per minute...also perfect!

My belly is continuing to grow. Check it out:
The baby continues to do flips, rolls, kicks, and punches. It's very cool to look down at my stomach and see it move!

I'm not sure if I've mentioned it on here before or not, but I joined a mom's group of first time moms that live in the area and are due around the same time as me. We met again at a Thai restaurant this past week. It's really fun to be able to get together with people that are going through the same thing at the same time. Great suggestion...thanks Jaimee!

The nursery continues to come along very well. We got a blue rug, which looks excellent..pictures to come soon. My dad and J.D. spent several hours last weekend painting and doing several other projects around the house to get ready for our little one's arrival. There is still much to be done, but they got a great start! For any of you that don't know, my dad is by far the handiest person I know. He can do anything from carpentry to plumbing! J.D. is learning so much from him! Thanks Dad and J.D. for all of your hard work!

We've had a lot of snow this winter, but the predicted 30 inches of snow didn't stop J.D. and I from going to see the CAPS game in a suite with Ryan and Ned. It was quite an adventure and very much unlike us. We left at 5 pm (there was only about 2-3 inches on the ground) and drove to the parking garage at Ned's building about 1.5 miles away. We left our car and took the metro to the game! What a great time!!!

We metro-ed back to Ned's. There was quite a bit of snow on the ground, but we only had to drive 1.5 miles on Wilson (a major road--straight and relatively flat road--- that had been plowed pretty well). We made it home perfectly safely (even though lots of people were very worried about us). An hour and a half later there was so much snow that our neighbor couldn't even get in the driveway. As of right now (noon on Saturday) we have between 21-24 inches of snow and blizzard conditions! It's still snowing very heavily and we are expecting up to another 12 inches of snow! We are also supposed to get more snow on Tuesday night....ugh! We promise to stay snowed-in today and most likely tomorrow...don't worry Mom, Dad, Suz, and Joel!

Here's J.D. shoveling, me getting ready to go on a walk adventure, and us both!:
He can blink his eyes, which now sport lashes. With his eyesight developing, he may be able to see the light that filters in through your womb. He's also developing billions of neurons in his brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world.

• Eyebrows and eyelashes are now very noticeable!
• Hair on baby's head is growing longer. Some babies are born with almost none at all, while others appear to be ready for their first haircut!
• Eyes are completely formed now. Quite a view from inside!
• Your baby's body is getting plump and rounded. Most of that increase is muscle tissue and bone. Fat will be added during the third trimester.
• Muscle tone is improving. Preparation for the Olympics feels like it is taking place in your womb!
• Lungs are capable of breathing now (but baby would still struggle and require medical attention if born now)
• Talk to your baby often, reading stories, singing songs and more. He or she can recognize your voice now and will often calm to it later on!
• Your baby weighs in now at 2.2 pounds (1005gm) and is 14.8 inches (37.6cm).

Your baby has doubled her weight in the past month and is the size of a bag of flour. She now weighs almost 2 1/2 pounds. Her total length is nearly fifteen inches. Your baby's lungs are now capable of breathing air! This is big news. It means if the baby is born from now on, she'll be able to survive with less medical intervention. Your baby's main job right now is to put the finishing touches on major organ systems, such as her brain, lungs, and liver. As you can probably tell, she's also working on gaining layers of fat. Her body fat is about 2 to 3 percent. Your baby's eyes, which were covered by her eyelid folds at the sixth week of development, are capable of opening this week. Her sucking and swallowing skills are improving.
Your baby is settling into the proper position for birth, with his head facing downward (toward your body's nearest exit!). Your little work in progress is now about 2.5 pounds and almost 16 inches long. He's busy adding new skills such as blinking to an already impressive repertoire of tricks like coughing, sucking, hiccuping, and taking practice breaths. Your baby's sleep now includes the REM (rapid eye movement) phase — and that means he could be dreaming already (what do you suppose he's dreaming about?). Though his lungs are nearly fully mature (so both of you might breathe a little easier if he were born now), your baby still has plenty of growing to do.

How your life's changing: You're in the home stretch! The third and final trimester starts this week. If you're like most women, you'll gain about 11 pounds this trimester.

While it's good news that your baby is settling into the right position for childbirth (since you're now entering the third trimester), the potentially painful news is his head — plus the weight of your uterus — may now be sitting on your sciatic nerve, which runs through the lower part of your back, buttocks, and legs. This common condition (called sciatica) can cause sharp, shooting pain and/or tingling or numbness, starting in your rear end and radiating down the backs of your legs. The best thing to do for sciatica (and the rest of your week 28 aches and woes)? Take it easy — and hope your baby changes position sooner rather than later.