The Season of the Tummy

Well we are due for an update, I have been a bit lazy on the blog side,
I would like to blame work, house chores, husbands, baby to be born etc but the simple truth is i slumped in front of some tv shows or another...

So this week is pregnancy week number 24 or we entered the 25th week, if you prefer.
Feeling great and not being sick constantly has made the time go so fast it is almost scary...weren't we just 12 weeks pregnant a few days ago? What happened to the time????

 Looking at the chart I can see that we entered the second half of the pregnancy, we are almost there there are only 14/15 more weeks to go and then baby is here... are we ready? Of course not, if we really think about it we soil our pants.... if we pretend to think about it we just can't wait and we think it is going to be fun (Yeah Right)



I think the important thing to remember here is that officially we have opened the season of the TUMMY....
I knew it will come, I rejected it, i even refused to acknowledge its existence, but the Tummy always wins; She waited quiet and relaxed until it was time to strike and this week ...BHAM it took control.

The time has come when i won't be able to be as fast, as efficient, as anything as I was before...
I had to acknowledge defeat last Monday when i had to leave work 15 minutes before time as i really, really could not do it anymore.
The tummy had spoken and needed me to rest and lie down; I had to obey.
During the night, just in case i still held on to the feeble idea that i was in control the Tummy woke me up at 2am - 4am - 6am
And i, minion of the Tummy, obeyed.

(Richard says it is just baby getting me ready for the night feeds.... i do not dare to believe in such kindness, i am a slave of the Tummy)

The Tummy will reign sovereign for the next 15 weeks and I, little minion of the tummy, can't do anything but obey;
Eat when she asks you to, sleep when she lets you, rest when she demands it and pee,
... well pee pretty much every 15 minutes to be honest with you guys.

On more mundane news on week 24 our lovely baby should look like this:

"Your baby now weighs more than 600g. She is starting to fill the space in your uterus (womb). From crown to heel she could measure 30cm. Though your baby still has little body fat and her skin is thin and fragile, she's well-proportioned. Her brain is growing rapidly, taste buds have fully developed, and her footprints and fingerprints are continuing to form. Inside her body, her lungs are developing branches of the respiratory tree as well as cells that produce surfactant. This substance will help her air sacs inflate once she reaches the outside world."

 On the mother side i am advised that:

"You may be noticing stretch marks on your belly, hips and breasts". (not a chance yet)
"They are very common at this stage of the pregnancy – about 90 per cent of women get them"
(shall i believe i am in the lucky 10% ... MMM.... i do not think so they will arrive later i think).

"Also, your eyes may be light-sensitive and may feel gritty and dry" (again no, not really)

and Dulcis in fundus  ...
stats say i should have gained between 6 and 8 ks....
well i used to weight 52 kgs and now i am 57 kgs ...
It is clear by now that i am not conforming very well to the stats, but the visit to the ostrich
( ostrich explanation)
this morning has made it even more clear that baby is alive an well
(i had the feeling considering the ballets it does in my tummy)
so i am not going to worry anymore...

And to finish on a happy note, for all of you, horror's lovers a lovely picture of me and the queen
 (the Tummy):

So remember
this is the season of the Tummy
and so as someone very wise has said on facebook:

LONG LIVE THE TUMMY

info about pregnancy are taken form the ever so helpful website
baby centre
thank you for all of the great info

22 weeks scan

.. so the day has come and gone, today was the s-day, the scan day
I was a bit apprehensive, and a bit scared, but here is how it went...
We got there quite early (our appointment was at 9... i forced Richard to be there at 8.15am.... the department was still closed... ) and after a wait of about 1 hour and 15 minutes we got in...
the midwife was really really nice and she made me feel immediately at ease
(the blood exam went without an itch and i did not even have to break any bones in richard's hand this time)
as usual i was an emotional wreck, and i was preparing for the worst news possible (i am sorry madam, but you are carrying a dragon baby ... well no wait, that would have been quite cool)
but despite my best effort the baby is healthy
it's got everything,
a heart (amazing to see the cross section of it with the atrii and ventricles), a stomach, a liver, 2 kidneys, and a nice big brain
( it has a big front, its occipital diameter is in the norm but a big bigger than the medium.... Richard was pleased as he related to the old beliefs that this will make it more intelligent)
2 arms and hands ( with all of the PHALANGES :distal,intermediate, proximal);
2 legs and feet; but, alas, it has got greek feet ... you could count on me to give him an prehistorical trait....

for those who do not know what a greek foot is quoting from our friend Wikipedia:

" Morton called it Metatarsus atavicus, considering it an atavism recalling pre human grasping toes. In statuary and shoe fitting it has been called the Greek foot (as opposed to the Egyptian foot, where the great toe is longer). A longer second toe has often been associated with royalty, particularly during the rule of the Ptolemaic dynasty when Egypt was under Greek ruler ship. It was an idealised form in Greek sculpture, and this persisted as an aesthetic standard through Roman and Renaissance periods and later (the Statue of Liberty has toes of this proportion). There are also associations found within Celtic groups. The French call it commonly pied grec (just as the Italians call it piede greco), but sometimes pied ancestral or pied de Néanderthal^[2]."

It also weights about 417 grams, which is slightly below the expected weight for 5 months (435 grams) but hey better thin than fat... also we suppose it has a sex, but we did not find out... we do not really care as long as it is healthy so at least we will avoid the Disney princess/good soldier syndrome for a bit longer...

It seemed a cool baby, and sarcastic as well as it has learnt already to face palm... (it was quite funny to see it doing it several times during the scan)
so just another 4 months and then we get to grow up, or to play family if you will, for a moment there, while looking at it, we almost thought we could do it...
and now without further ado here is the new member of our family:

and no, the umbilical cord is not its penis :P:P:P:P:P
ciao baby, see you in May for the next check up...
we kinda like you already.

Ok guys here is a serious update:

This week, you officially begin your fifth month of pregnancy.
(GOSH 5 months to go, and we are so not ready....)
Your baby may have reached about 12cm from crown to rump by now, and he can both feel and hear. Admittedly at the moment, all he can hear is your heartbeat and the flow of your digestive system (farting?) but soon he'll be able to detect noise outside the womb and identify your voice.
OMG does this mean we cant swear anymore????
Your baby is about 12cm long from crown to rump and she weighs about 190g. Her chest moves up and down to mimic breathing. Her blood vessels are visible through her thin skin, and her ears are now in their final position, although they're still standing out from her head a bit. (considering the parents they will still be standing out at the exit...)

it's alive