26 Weeks

Week Twenty-Six
Your baby may weigh about two pounds now (average is 1.7 pound, 760gm) and is 14 inches (35.6cm) in length
To support the fetus's growing body, the spine is getting stronger and more supple. Though no longer than the span of the average adult hand, it is now made up of 150 joints, 33 rings, and some 1,000 ligaments.
Air sacs in the lungs form now.
Lungs begin to secrete a greasy substance called surfactant. Without surfactant the fetal lungs would stick together and couldn't expand after the baby is born.
Although they've been sealed shut for the last few months, your baby's eyes are opening and beginning to blink this week. Depending on ethnicity, some babies will be born with blue or gray-blue eyes (which may change color in the first 6 months of life) and some will be born with brown or dark eyes.
Retinas begin to form.
Brain wave activity for hearing and sight begins to be detectable.
Fetal brain scans show response to touch. If you shine a light on your abdomen, your baby will turn his head, which according to researchers, means his optic nerve is working.

Easter Egg Hunts

I wanted to share some pictures of the Easter Egg Hunts at the kids' school. Both of the boys have been looking forward to this for weeks. The egg hunts took place on two different days. The first day was very cloudy but warm and the next day(due to a cold front beginning with rain the night before) was cold but very sunny with a crisp blue sky. Owen's egg hunt was over in a matter of minutes. Gavin's took a wee-bit longer since they were only allowed to pick up eggs marked with their name. I was really impressed that Gavin could *read* his friends names as well.

25 Weeks

The aches and pains have begun. I keep feeling like one of my legs is moving out of its socket at my hip. The bed is not as comfortable as it once was. Hopefully once, Owen begins sleeping in his own bed I will sleep better as well. Eddie and I are both not as skinny as we once were and adding a 30 lb toddler doesn't help. ;p (Honey, I love you with more meat on your bones! Maybe we should get a King-sized bed! LOL)

Week Twenty-Five
The structures of the spine begin to form -- joints, ligaments and rings. These will protect the all important spinal cord which serves as the information transmitter for your child's body.
Blood vessels of the lungs develop.
Your baby's nostrils begin to open. There is a study out of Belfast that suggests babies at this stage have the capability of scent preferences!
The nerves around the mouth and lip area are showing more sensitivity now. When baby is rooting for food later on, these will be valuable!
His swallowing reflexes are developing.
Dexterity is improving. Your baby can make a fist and would clasp objects placed in palm.
Your child has now obtained an approximate length of 13.6 inches (34.6cm) and weighs 1.46 pound (660gm).

For Tricia, Nate, and Gwyneth

For a while I having been following this blog. It is written by a young minister about his wife who has cystic fibrosis and his new baby girl, who was born 15+ weeks early. This family is just full of Faith and it is such a blessing to me to be able to read their story. God is so Great! I ask that you check them out and join me in praying for them.
Another blogger came up with the idea of creating a list of things that you can't wait for them to experience with Gwyneth as new parents. Here is my list: (These are special things that I love about having my boys)

• Yelling at the sky, "I love you God! Thank you for making EVERYTHING!" just so God will be sure to hear His praises.
• Slobbery kisses that are so wet your face drips, but you wouldn't dream of wiping them off.
• Drinking half your bottle of water and realizing he has backwashed in it.
• Head-banging to Christian Rock.
• When he squeezes in between you and your spouse as you are hugging/kissing/cuddling because he wants it, too.
• The first art, he creates "just for you".
• The BEST thing about being a mommy/daddy, is hearing your child say "I love you".

Science Spearmints

Gavin loves science. It is a good thing I was a science teacher in a former life. LOL I am definately not a scientist, but with a book, I can make a mean experiment. After much reminding from Gavin, I finally got all the ingredients for several experiments from his pop-bottle science kit.

Tonight we did the volcano and the lava lamp.

For the volcano, we started out with an empty water bottle, a piece of cardboard, tinfoil, and playdough. The kids had a lot of fun mashing the playdough around the bottle to make volcanic rock. Then we added dishsoap, red food coloring, and vinegar to the bottle. Then Gavin put the baking soda in and we waited for it to blow. It was a cool site. The best thing about doing these is that Gavin remembers what the chemical reactions were. This is a great foundation for physical science. Yay!

We did the lava lamp next. All you do is take oil, add food coloring, then add water, close the cap and slosh it around. Easy! It was a great way to explain density to Gavin. I don't know if he will remember that term, but he does know that the water is heavier and is always on the bottom and that the oil is lighter and is always on the top. Neat stuff!

Okay, so my boys can turn just about anything into a gun.

We did this experiment yesterday. By mixing vinegar and baking soda to create carbon dioxide, you can use those gases trapped in a pop-bottle to blow up a balloon. I caught this snapshot as the balloon was deflating, so it was much larger than this.

All Boy!

What is the most fun thing to do outside?

Pee on a tree. LOL They would definately rather do this than to go inside and use the potty.
They also LOVE playing with sticks. They play Karate with them, strike them against trees, and load them into their Power Wheels truck and haul them to different places in the yard. I think little Emma Kate may grow up as a tomboy. ;p

24 Weeks

Week Twenty-Four
Bring on the bulk! Baby gains about 6 ounces this week. The weight is in muscle, bone mass and organs.
His body begins to fill out with his appearance increasingly becoming more like a newborn.
Taste buds begin to form. If mom drinks something strange or bitter, baby may be observed showing his distaste.
Little creases have appeared on his palms. The muscular coordination of his hands has improved as he sucks his thumb.
Over the next seven days the sweat glands will be forming in the skin.
His lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" and cells that produce surfactant, a substance that helps the air sacs inflate easily.
This week your baby is officially considered viable.
Baby weighs 1.3 pound (600gm) and is 11.8 inches (30cm) long -- almost the length of a ruler!