27 Weeks

This week the baby graduates onto a new growth chart, and is now measured from head to toe (honestly, I already thought we had made it to that point, but oh well!). Likely the baby is a full 15 inches in length head-to-toe and weighs almost 2 pounds! Interestingly, our baby has more taste buds now than he will have at birth (and beyond). Which means that not only is he able to taste the difference in the amniotic fluid when I eat different foods, but he might even react to it. For instance, some babies respond to spicy food by hiccuping or kicking.

The baby's lungs and immune system are maturing this week as he prepares for his grand entrance. If he were born today he would have an 85 percent chance of surviving as his lungs are capable of breathing air (with medical assistance, of course). He has also done a lot of growing over the past few months. His length has more than doubled in the past 15 weeks! And that's not the only thing growing—his brain tissue and neurons are all developing at a rapid pace. His brain waves are now firing away just like those of a newborn baby.

It's hard to believe that next week I will be in the third and final trimester! I feel as though the second trimester has felt the longest, but I have no doubt that the third trimester will be just as interesting as the other two. Other than spending a few days on the couch this week feeling crummy everything has been going pretty smoothly. It is hard to be sick while pregnant because you can't take any of the good cold and sinus stuff. I've mostly tried to get through on my own because the two remedies I did try didn't make me feel a whole lot better so I figured I'd rather get through it on my own, and with the help of lots of kleenex. I do hate that I've missed two days of work but I am hoping to go back tomorrow and maybe pick up Thursday if I am feeling up to it.

This week Jake and I will be celebrating our fourth wedding anniversary! It is hard to believe that it has been four years of marriage and I don't think I would change a thing. This year is undoubtedly going to be challenging, but I bet it isn't anything we can't handle. We are hoping to do a little roadtrip this weekend, I want to hit Ikea and he wants to go to some of the distilleries on the bourbon trail. It will probably be a 48hour trip but we've been so busy this summer I think that is just about all we need. Now you may be thinking, why do the bourbon trail while you are pregnant? Well, I don't drink bourbon anyway, so I don't feel like I am missing out and if I have to spend a day walking around distilleries to get a day at Ikea, I would call that a fair trade :)