Week 26: Mother's Day

Week 26: Baby Bluey is an English Cucumber!

Weight: 1.7-2 lbs
Length: 14 inches

Baby Bluey

  

Baby Tyler


We have had a great week! 
 Hello week 26 and hello sciatica and round ligament pain.  Truth be told, both of them started about 3 weeks ago, but the sciatica has gotten significantly worse this week if I lay in the same position for too long. I am able to do some yoga positions to move the baby off of my sciatic nerve and get some temporary relief, so that's good.  Again, nothing is as bad as feeling so sick for so long...so I really hate complaining.  This was the first week, however, that I asked, is this pregnancy over yet? I know I have a lot longer, so I'm hanging in there and the time is passing surprisingly fast since I have Tyler.  I just love him so much!
Tyler made whipped cream and strawberries at school to give to his mommy!...YUM!

 We went to the Orioles game (thanks Ned for the tickets) and it was very exciting! Chicken nuggest and french fries for dinner.  Tyler got to eat them in his own chair like a big boy...dipping them in ketchup all by himself!

The Oriole bird came to our suite and Tyler thought it was the coolest thing ever!!! He's been talking about it non-stop.  He can also tell you about all of the players he saw (he can probably name and recognize at least 10) as well as several plays that happened during the game. 

I had the best Mother's Day ever!!

All weekend, Ty has been saying "Happy Mother's Day Mommy." Any time anyone mentions Mother's Day, Ty says "that's your day mommy".  

It started out the day before when they brought me home pink roses that Ty picked out.  The morning of Mother's Day, my boys let me sleep in.  They came to wake me up with smoothies that they made together, a card from each of them, a beautiful white rose they had picked from the garden that morning, and a present-one of J.D.'s undershirts (my favorite thing to sleep in) with Tyler's hand prints on them...J.D. said that every year, he will add a new set of hand prints to the shirt...Does it really get any better than that?!? To top it all off, J.D. got us a couples massage at the spa on our babymoon in the Keys! Can't wait for that!

After drinking smoothies in our bed, it was time for some family time. 

 Brunch with our whole family at my parents house.  My dad made french toast.....wow.  Enough said.

Tyler helped to make the coffee.

 Tyler with his Gee Ga Jo and Gee Gee Sue

 The Moss boys minus Tyler

 He loves his Uncle Ryan!

 Reading with Pops

 The love of my life

 Taking a snooze with Uncle Ryan in his new big boy construction bed at my parents house.

 All of the mommies and Tyler

 My little man!

After naptime, we walked to Clarendon (2.5 miles) and went out to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory.  Tyler got a huge bowl of mac and cheese...which he managed to finish 3/4 of....a pretty impressive take down! Look at him eating like a big boy!!

 After dinner, doing some stickers with Daddy

 After dinner, we walked another 2.5 miles home.  Needless to say, I was a little tired!

What's happening with Baby Bluey 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.
• 

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!