Week 29: airplane pancakes, biking, friends

Baby Bluey is a Butternut Squash

Baby Bluey:

 With Baby Tyler:

  

This week has been a little harder.  I've definitely had some cramping which I'm guessing is Braxton Hicks contractions (I never had those with Ty).  This baby also seems so much heavier than I remember Tyler feeling.  My job is a very physical one---lifting kids, getting in an out of swings, getting off the floor, crawling around, sitting a very small tables in very small chairs....overall very physically demanding.  At the end of the day, I'm exhausted and very achy.  It's hard to believe it's only week 29.  Today I felt like this has to be week 36...... Patience is a virtue.  I'm trying to remember that. 

Fun speech/language updates/funny sayings:

• Tyler has been asking tons of why questions in the last month, which so far is really fun (yes, I'm a speech pathologist, so even though most people find a child asking why questions over and over again annoying, I love it!)  
• If two adults are having a conversation and he doesn't know what you're talking about, he will interject with "what you taking 'bout?" and demand an explanation of the conversation so that he can participate.
• When asked Gee Gee Jo asked Tyler what he did at the park on Monday with Buh Puh, he responded with a list of all of the things he did and the last one he said was that he went on the motorcycle.  Gee Gee Jo asked if Buh Puh went on the motorcycle too and Tyler very plainly said "No, Buh Puh can't go on the motorcycle.  His tushie is too big."  We obviously were hysterical laughing and Tyler immediately said "why you laughing Mommy?" ....to him, he was just stating the obvious.....
• Tyler love rhymes.  He thinks they are so funny.  If you give him a word, he can tell you another word that rhymes with it.  He would play this rhyming game with you all day! 
• Tyler uses a lot of correct irregular past tense verbs (found, ate, etc.) . 

Here's a picture of Tyler eating an airplane pancake (Thanks to Pops for the airplane cookie cutter).  Daddy makes good pancakes! (Also check out how long his hair has gotten...although it is a bit unruly in this picture since he had just woken up.  He is getting a haircut tomorrow.)

 This weekend, Tyler went to the park with his friends Alex and Lizzie.  Tyler loves Lizzie (one month younger than Ty) and idolizes Alex (age 5).  He wants to do everything Alex does.  Alex taught him how to play hide and seek.  When I asked him how to play, he said "I cover my eyes and then I count like this 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10.  Then I say "I found you".  " Pretty funny!

 

We walked to Clarendon for dinner at Pete's Apizza on Sunday and then walked back (a bit over 5 miles)......and boy I was tired when we got home.  Here is Tyler taking a break from the stroller to "ride" one of the big bikes.

Week 29: Munchkin is a Butternut Squash!

Welcome to Week 29: Munchkin is a Butternut Squash!

Weight: a little over 2.5 lbs
Length: a little over 15 inches

Your baby now weighs about 2 1/2 pounds (like a butternut squash) and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel. His muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and his head is growing bigger to make room for his developing brain. To meet his increasing nutritional demands, you'll need plenty of protein, vitamins C, folic acid, and iron. And because his bones are soaking up lots of calcium, be sure to drink your milk (or find another good source of calcium, such as cheese, yogurt, or enriched orange juice). This trimester, about 250 milligrams of calcium are deposited in your baby's hardening skeleton each day.
Your baby is about two and a half pounds and would be between fifteen and seventeen inches tall if she could stand. Your baby's adrenal glands are producing a chemical which will be made into estriol (a form of estrogen) by the placenta. This estriol is thought to stimulate the production of prolactin by your body, and the prolactin makes you produce milk. So even if your baby comes early, you'll still be able to breastfeed. Each passing week improves the likelihood that your baby will be born strong and healthy. Her brain can detect rhythmic breathing and control body temperature, so she's less likely to need breathing assistance should she be born early. She's growing eyelashes, adding fat, and developing her brain. Because of brain wave activity, researchers have speculated that babies can even dream at this time!

• Your baby's head is in proportion with body now. He appears more like a newborn each and every day!
• Fat continues to accumulate under the skin -- only now preparing for entering the *real world*.
• Your baby's brain can control primitive breathing and body temperatures.
• His eyes can move in their sockets. Soon he will be able to follow a blinking light.
• Your baby is increasingly sensitive to changes in light, sound, taste, and smell! Various studies show that your baby may indicate preferences (or disdain) for particular tastes or odors at this stage
• He is also moving from side to side, but probably still is head up. In the next few weeks, he will move to the head down birthing position. At times you may feel as if he is performing somersaults for a circus act!
• Her length is now approximately 15.2 inches (38.6cm) and weight is 2.54 pounds (1153gm)