27 Weeks Have Really Gone By?

Apparently so!

Yesterday we hit 27 weeks. John has a little countdown calendar that he scheduled for 38 weeks. I think it had a number in the low 70s as of yesterday left. 11 weeks. So much going on in those 11 weeks, too....so they will really fly.

Although I have to say, and I predicted it, I am getting more and more nervous.

Yesterday I reminded Dr. Sweeney of something he told me about 3 weeks before Matthew was born---I was worried because he kept going further and further down in the growth percentiles and everyone said it was just because I was small. I felt bad because I was being so overly worried and I didn't want to be a pain. He told me that he was very, very familiar with a group of 1st-time moms who worried about things that were a little less than perfect with their babies, and we were NOT bothering him at all with our (or my!) anxiety. Oh how we loved Dr. Sweeney even then!

So I told him now I was in a different group---second time mommies who had their first perfectly healthy baby die after a full-term birth and are terrified of something happening again. And bless that man's heart, he reminded us that our doctors are just as antsy as we are.

I know. It's because we all know that though everything looked GREAT yesterday, it can all change, for NO REASON, at the drop of a hat. It's not the things that I KNOW about that worry me....it's that one, crazy, odds-of-happening-are-nearly non-existent thing that has rocked my world before.

He told me I can't cry wolf too much. There's nothing they won't consider doing for my mental health. We'll go again in two weeks and then from that point on, weekly until about 36 weeks. Then every other day/daily to monitor development. (We're not doing an amnio to check for lung maturity before delivery.) Dr. Shonekan said I can start non-stress tests here at 32 weeks if I want. I do. It's going to be a lot of appointments and a lot of check-ups, but they go a long way for my peace of mind.

Luke WAS doing great! He was moving all around and my stomach just jumped all over the place. He's VERY head down (don't I know that!) and 2 lbs., 3 oz. and measured again in the 51st%tile! No vessels or any surprises between his head and my cervix (which was still long and way closed for business) and my placenta and fluid looked great. Perfectly textbook would be a lovely way to describe it.

Almost.

I have added another inch so the waist is now 38 inches, but still not much in the weight department. I was 113.6 the other day at the doctor's, but was wearing jeans and a long sweater. My regular nightly weigh-in is pretty consistent between 111-113, so I'll stick with 112 and am fine with that. The only reason I even care about my weight is because I'm just waiting to see swelling develop. I'm starting to have a teeny, tiny bit, but that's more because I need to drink more water, I think...At 27 weeks with Matthew, I weighed almost 10 pounds more than I do now and a lot of that was fluid. So far, so good though with swelling and blood pressure.

Luke has no real 'patterns' for me to do kick counts, though he moves around so much that I feel pretty confident about getting kicks when I need them. I have discovered, however, that one pattern he IS seeming to develop is at 3:30 IN THE MORNING! For the last week and a half or so, I've woken up to him moving around (he's much stronger!) and looked at the clock. The times are always like 3:33, 3:36, 3:34, 3:39....it's funny how right in that 3:20-3:40 range he always seems to kick because that's JUST LIKE ME--I get into these patterns where I'll wake up in the middle of the night for a few days or so in a row and each time is within a minute of the night's before time. My mom told me that I did the same thing when she was pregnant with me. I'd wake her up PROMPTLY at 5:30 am and she'd have to eat oatmeal and a fried egg to keep me happy. Seems like my apple has not fallen far from the tree. Although, at least I was kinder to my mom with 5:30 and not 3:30!!!

I don't mind one bit though. (Even last night, which had 2:26, 3:39, 4:24 and 5:37 wake-up calls!)

Here are some of the latest pictures. There is one that John and I were looking at and compared to Matthew and we said that if you didn't KNOW better, it could very easily be one of those comparisons where those 3D places use the 3D ultrasound and then compare to the baby after birth to show just how how closely the 3D ultrasound matches what the baby actually looks like when born. Crazy.

Beautiful. Both of them. Just beautiful.

This is the U/S of Luke followed by a sweet picture of Matthew...same chin and mouth and even little noses...eyes/shape is a bit different, but we see so much similarity. Luke's a lucky boy...his brother was beautiful.

Love that little profile!!!

I see so much of my mom and her side of the family here and still so much of John too. Very weird. Of course, everyone always thought John was my mom's son and *I* was the daughter-in-law!

Here's what's going on with Lukey Luke this week...

Week Twenty Seven: Eyes can open
You are 27 weeks pregnant. (fetal age 25 weeks) The fetus weighs almost 2 pounds now and is about 14.5 inches long. Baby now weighs about 875 grams and is 36.5 cm in length. The head is over 2.5 inches (7cm) in diameter. Your baby's hearing continues to develop. The eyes can blink, open and close. Welcome to the third trimester. Congratulations! You have made it 2/3 of the way through. It may be hard to believe, but your baby now appears much like he or she will look like at birth. Baby now has eyebrows and eyelashes and hair is growing everyday. The muscle tone is improving and his or her body is getting plumper. Your little one's brain continues its rapid growth. Don't forget to share music, conversation, and even books with your baby. Baby may start to recognize your voice as well as your partner, so be sure to say lots of nice things. The retina at the back of your baby's eyes is beginning to develop. Those beautiful baby eyes can open now, and the baby will notice and may turn his or her head if you shine a flashlight against your belly. At 27 weeks, your baby's length will have tripled or quadrupled from the 14 week mark. If your baby is born this week, the chances of survival is now at least 80 percent. However, serious complications are still possible.
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