WEEK 22!!!

New News! At 11 inches (the length of a spaghetti squash) and almost 1 pound, your baby is starting to look like a miniture newborn. His lips, eyelids, and eyebrows are becoming more distinct, and he's even developing tiny tooth buds beneath his gums. His eyes have formed, but his irises (the colored part of the eye) still lack pigment. If you could see inside of your womb, you'd be able to spot the fine hair (lanugo) that covers his body and the deep wrinkles on his skin, which he'll sport until he adds a padding of fat to fill them in. Inside his belly, his pancreas — essential for the production of some important hormones — is developing steadily.

Watch what you say -- baby is now able to hear outside noise from down in the womb. Studies show that baby finds gentle music and your own voice most soothing. Nipples are starting to sprout, and that little face is fully formed. And, baby's starting to settle into sleep cycles, snoozing about 12 to 14 hours a day. It shouldn't be hard to figure out when -- just pay attention to those kicks as they start and stop. He is entering his fifth month of existence. His fingernails are almost fully grown, and his organ systems are becoming more functional and specialized. He has a distinct pair of lips, and his first canines and molars are developing below his gum line. He looks like a miniature newborn. Blood is traveling through the umbilical cord at four miles an hour, fueling his growth with oxygen and nutrients.

This week nerve endings become functional enough so that your baby can feel! He may experiment with this new sense of touch by stroking his face or feeling other body parts to see how they move. You may feel your baby stretching his muscles by pushing against the muscular wall of your uterus with his feet or head.

In addition, your baby's liver is busy breaking down bilirubin, a substance formed by the breakdown of hemoglobin in blood cells. Because a baby's liver can only break down a limited amount of bilirubin, the excess is passed on to you through the placenta to filter from your liver.

So, a lot is going on this week with the little man! I can definitely feel him moving around a lot more now. He's getting stronger, but still not taking (kicking or punching) the breath out of me quite yet! This morning I was waking up- and so was he- and I could feel him very stretched out. One part of him was directly underneath my right rib and another part of him was directly on my left upper pelvic bone. So, he's getting much longer and stretching himself out as much as he can-before it gets to cramped in there! I'm guessing he's a pound or a little more by now! He's starting to really take off and grow! Which means, I get to eat more :) Not much more for me to report- I think the articles above took care of about everything else that's going on! The belly pic this week isn't great, but that's because I had to take it myself. Stay tuned next week for week 23 and what's to come!!!

One last thing- GOOD LUCK TO THE CHI-O BIKE TEAM! They race on Friday April 23!!!