Week 24

This week was a fun one :) We got to see Ryder again at the Arlington Perinatal Associates and my mom got to come with us this time! He was being a little shy and hid his face for most of the sonogram. We got one little frontal view and then he crossed his arms in front of his face and would only let us get a look at his mouth and nose. But we caught him holding onto his feet at one point and that was pretty darn cute :) He was totally healthy and his heartbeat was about 144. We don't have anymore sonograms scheduled at this point, but I think we are going to go get a 3D/4D sono sometime soon.

Here is the video from our most recent appointment:



Our little boy is growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces since last week. The doctor told us that he is right at a pound and a half, which is right where he should be at this stage in the game. Since he's almost a foot long (picture an ear of corn), he cuts a pretty lean figure at this point, but his body is filling out proportionally and he'll soon start to plump up. His brain is also growing quickly now, and his taste buds are continuing to develop. His lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" as well as cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help his air sacs inflate once he hits the outside world. His skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon.

Here are some pictures from our last sonogram:












And as for me, in the past few weeks, the top of my uterus has risen above my belly button and is now about the size of a soccer ball. That's kind of a lot to take in haha. It's weird seeing my belly button getting less deep too. Pretty soon it will be popping out! haha

Most women have a glucose screening test (also called a glucose challenge test or GCT) between now and 28 weeks. I actually have this scheduled for May 31. This test checks for gestational diabetes, a pregnancy-related high-blood-sugar condition. It's not going to be a fun appointment from what I hear (lots of time spent just sitting there for hours and drinking some yucky orange-soda-without-the-carbonation-like stuff and then getting poked with needles). Yay! Not.

Here is what Ryder might look like this week:



And here I am: