Twenty Four Weeks...

We hit the milestone that Dr. Shonekan said she'd love to see. The next one she's psyched for is 30 weeks.

I know it's a very big deal--especially for so many who don't ever make it here (or who make it here and then something happens and that whole "The baby is viable!" statement doesn't really make you feel all that much better because it's still so, so dangerously early)...trust me, it's a big, big deal for a woman who spent about 8 years figuring she just wasn't meant to be pregnant and yet, in the last 79.5 weeks, has been pregnant for 64.8 of them.

Like I've said--according to my caregivers, I'm apparently pretty good at being pregnant. It's just the getting pregnant that is near impossible and the bringing a baby home that has thus far BEEN impossible for me.

I guess it's pretty obvious these days are hard. I feel it, I say it and I write it. They are hard. John and I went to the cemetery after church yesterday (our usual) and I told him these days are just getting harder and harder. He asked me why I thought that was.

I think it's because this is the time of year last year that I was so close to Matthew being here, I could taste him. Around this time last year, everyone was telling me that they just KNEW I was going to go early (ha ha!) and I started to REALLY swell and had to stay off my feet. I just felt so, so close to the end.

The end where I held him and kissed him and dressed him and would never ask for another thing in my entire life.

Not the end where I visited his grave every week. Where my biggest worry about a transfer (save something happening to John on a deployment, of course) is that my poor baby's grave will be dormant for who knows how long until we get back up here? An end that makes me mad every time John watches one of those dumb survival shows or "I Shouldn't Be Alive," shows.

Those people SHOULDN'T.

Matthew should.

I know, I know...there are no shoulds.

In any event, I am thankful, thankful, thankful we've made it to 24 weeks. I'll order Luke's nursery things this week and start taking Matthew's things out in the next few. I'm excited about what we plan to do with Luke's room and I think John is too.

I think that's the first time I've called it Luke's room.

No doctor appointment this week. I've seen a doctor 3 times in the last week and a half (still have white blood cells; no infection, though, so no medicine and no need for any more visits this week!) and we'll see Dr. Sweeney again (and Luke) on Monday. He's moving a lot still and I'm so thankful. I just hope that keeps up as MUCH as he wants!!! He has pretty definitive patterns--a few kicks in the morning as I stretch and wake up, almost every time I eat and A TON as I go to bed! Last night, I was reading and had my book on my stomach and he was bouncing it off! He also had hiccups yesterday--I think I've been able to feel them once or twice before, but yesterday was for sure the hiccups and adorable.

I'm growing. My scale is a filthy liar sometimes, though. One night this week, I went to bed and the scale said 111.2. The next morning, after I went to the bathroom, it said 111.4. LIAR! Who gains OVERNIGHT? Another night, it said 112.4. I took my clothes off (denim is HEAVY!) and it STILL said 112.4!!! I'm beginning to question its reliability!! (For the record, I'm going with 111, so that's a net of 11 pounds at 24 weeks. This is really where I started packing them on with Matthew, though, so....)

Regardless of what the scale says or doesn't, I AM growing--my stomach measures anywhere between 34 and 36 inches, depending on time of day and position of Luke (he's transverse as of the last ultrasound, but I wonder if he's moved?) and my belly button is still half-out, half-in but getting more and more out rather than in! He's so high--breathing and walking and talking are laborious. Heartburn is notorious. My back hurts off and on, but nothing like it did with Matthew--consistently and necessitating my back pillow wherever I went. With Luke, it's my sciatica on both sides. There are several times a day that I'll be sitting or laying and my hip bones/pelvis will just lock and I seriously can't move. It's really, really hard to believe how much that can hurt! I had a little of that with Matthew, but it gave way for my back. So, seeing as we still have 14 weeks left, we'll not rule out that happening still.

Sleep is just hit and miss. I'm basically taking it where I can get it and I'm ok with that. It's hard when John has early morning briefs and has to go to bed early the night before. Thankfully, he can sleep through just about anything. TV included. Even Sister Wives. Which is another story entirely...

Anyway, Luke's doing fabulously and it's really hard to believe there are only 14 weeks left. There's so much going on in the next few weeks, I really feel like they will fly. They seem like they already have.

Here's Luke's update:

Week Twenty Four: Practices breathing

You are 24 weeks pregnant. (fetal age 22 weeks) The child is now gaining around 3 ounces (90 grams) a week. Baby weighs about 1.3 pounds and is 12 inches long. Baby weighs about 600 grams and is 30cm (crown to heel) long. The eyelids can be seen very clearly. If born at this stage is officially considered viable, they may well be able to survive. The lungs are developing branches of the respiratory tree and cells that produce surfactant. This is a substance that helps the air sacs inflate easily and also keeps the small air sacs in our lungs from collapsing. The baby practices breathing by inhaling amniotic fluid into developing lungs. The unborn baby is covered with a fine, downy hair and the skin is protected by a waxy substance. Some of this substance may still be on the child's skin at birth at which time it will be quickly absorbed. Baby gains about 3 ounces this week. The weight is in muscle, bone mass and organs. The body begins to fill out with its appearance increasingly becoming more like that of a newborn. Taste buds begin to form. If mom drinks something strange or bitter, baby may be observed showing his or her distaste. Little creases have appeared on his palms. The muscular coordination of the hands has improved as they sucks their thumb. Over the next week or so, the sweat glands will be forming in the skin. Mother: Gentle exercise will keep you fit and help you cope with the delivery. Pregnancy yoga, pilates or go for a swim, aquanatal classes are a great way to make friends. Baby now weighs about 1.3 pound (600gm) and is around 12 inches (30cm) long. After this week your baby is officially considered viable. 36% of babies can survive premature birth at 24 weeks - However, serious complications are still possible.