24 Weeks

This week the baby is about 1.5 pounds and about 8.5 inches long and is now the size of a standard letter. The baby is now gaining about 6 ounces a week, much of that coming from accumulating fat, as well as from growing organs, bones and muscle. By now, the baby's face is almost fully formed, complete with a full set of eyelashes and eyebrows and good sprinkling of hair on his head (hopefully!).

This whole summer has felt like a whirlwind, especially in the last couple of weeks! After a quick trip to the hot steamy south last weekend I looked down and noticed I was sporting some not so hot cankles! My swollen ankles didn't get much reprieve because after a long car ride they only got about 5 hours of rest before I started a 12 hour shift on my feet. It was freaking me out a little bit so I got some support hose to wear the next time I worked. I had a day off in between shifts and my ankles thankfully went back to their normal size but I didn't want to risk it so I wore them for my second day of work and my ankles looked great. Testing my luck, I didn't wear them the next at work and they still looked good. I am hoping it was just a fluke, but I've been keeping a close eye on them. Other than that I've been feeling great and there is not too much to report.

The baby's movements are much more pronounced now and usually I can feel movement in the same place for a few minutes. Even Logann and Stephanie got to feel the little guy this week! I did take a quick peek of him using the ultrasound machine at work on Sunday and he has grown to be so big that I had a difficult time distinguishing what I was looking at, a major change from being able to see him from head to toe all on one screen! From what I can gather he is still head up and pretty much laying all on the left side of my abdomen, which would explain why I rarely feel any movement to the right of my belly button!

I also finally squeezed in some time to actually go in store to work on my registry at babies'r'us, which is where I am registered for a good amount of our baby stuff. It was fun and overwhelming but good to see and play with things other than just picking it out online. I did register for some of my bigger things from buybuybaby because they had the color option I wanted for the carseat/stroller and pack'n'play (and the color is super important, right!). I probably need to actually get into pottery barn kids and add some things to that registry as well but hopefully I can get that done in the next couple of weeks. I haven't finished the painting in the baby's room, but buying the rest of the paint is on my short list of things to do today.

Again, next week will be another busy week for us. I am working three days in a row on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday so I can have time off to get ready for Megan's wedding, but I will try to get an update posted in a timely manner. We do have an appointment next Thursday morning and then we will be spending the weekend in Lafayette celebrating!

PS: new picture soon to come!