melted smoosh

bump watch: curious to see how my belly will measure at my appointment tomorrow, since i was already measuring 30 weeks at my 28 week visit! my belly is still growing, but i haven't noticed the same major growth spurt that i had between weeks 26-28. baby is dancing and jiving, which makes for some entertaining undulations. little peanut:  weighs 3.1 pounds and is 17 inches long, the size of a butternut squash.  baby girl's brain is developing folds and wrinkles this week, to maximize surface area and make all those synapses possible! she's also developing fingernails. and this week, she's finally reached newborn proportions (instead of her head being huge compared to the rest of her body). image credit from  W hat to Expect When You're Expecting best moment:  i had a serendipitous moment at my favourite kids' consignment store yesterday. i stopped in to see if they had the Joovy double stroller i want, which they didn't, but t...

bump watch: baby girl has had a growth spurt over the last few weeks! and it's not just my imagination -- she measured 2 weeks ahead at my appointment this morning. i'm already starting to stretch the limits of some of my maternity shirts, and we have a loooong way to go! little peanut:  is the size of a cabbage -- 2.5 pounds and 16 inches long. the most amazing brain development this week is that baby can now dream! i wonder what goes through her little head when she sleeps. she's also practicing blinking. image credit from  W hat to Expect When You're Expecting best moment:  so many great things this week! Greta went to her Sibling Class at the hospital this weekend and loved taking a tour of the delivery unit and seeing a real baby in the nursery. afterwards she told me her favourite part of the class was "the movie" (they showed a DVD of kids interacting with their new baby siblings) and the snacks ("banilla pudding"). the b...

   bump watch:  i'm starting to bump into things, if that's any indication of how things are growing. (no pun intended.) and it's getting a little tougher to haul myself up out of bed, especially since that entails crawling over my beloved pregnancy pillow!  little peanut:  is as long as a cucumber at 15 inches from head to foot, and weighs 2 lbs 2 ounces. baby's tastebuds are developing so that she can taste the difference when i eat a salad (last night) versus a quarter pounder with cheese (today). just this week she's started to push her back up against one side of my belly, which feels exactly like a Braxton Hicks contraction except that it only involves one side! so bizarre, but awesome that she is getting so strong!  image credit from  What to Expect When You're Expecting best moment:  passing my 1 hour glucose tolerance test! with Greta, i failed the 1 hour test by a few points and then passed the 3 hour. this ...

bump watch: i cannot believe how much my belly has grown over the past 2 weeks! the even crazier thing is that my weight has stayed stable (up 20 pounds at 24 weeks and holding steady -- in the second trimester i've tended to gain a few pounds one week and then plateau for the next few weeks). i'm able to distinguish baby's head, butt, and back now, which is fun! she's still flipping all over the place and doesn't seem to prefer one side of my belly over the other (as opposed to her sister, who was always hanging out on the right!).  little peanut: baby girl has grown from the size of a rutabaga (1 1/2 pounds) at 25 weeks to the size of an eggplant (two full pounds) at 26 weeks. this week's big accomplishment is opening those eyes! baby's brain is also developed enough to respond to sounds or bright lights with increased activity and pulse. and she's more coordinated, able to play with her toes or grasp the umbilical cord.  image credit...

bump watch:  we're getting to the can't-see-my-toes phase, so that's fun!  little peanut: weighs one and a half pounds and is eight and a half inches long, the size of an ear of corn! baby's face is fully formed at this point, although those cheeks still have a lot of chubbing up to do. this week marks a milestone in brain development, too -- baby girl can now start to remember sounds or sensations she encounters. pretty crazy.  image credit from  What to Expect When You're Expecting best moment:  getting closer to choosing a name for this little one! we finally agreed on a name that we both like! we'll continue to discuss and see how we feel about it over the next few weeks. symptoms:  more heartburn. and my blood pressure has been a little up (130/80 range). no real cause for concern now, and i'll continue to monitor it at the office once a week in addition to my prenatal checks.  cravings:  i discovered that Ta...

bump watch: see above! i think it's pretty obvious, but several of Greta's daycare teachers at least acted surprised when i told them we're expecting another one (Greta wore her big sister shirt to daycare yesterday, so they were asking where the other sibling was!).  little peanut:  is the size of a papaya, eight inches long and 1.2 pounds. baby's skin is still translucent and wrinkly, but she's starting to develop more keratin which will help her skin develop its final texture. and i got ridiculously excited upon reading that pneumocytes are developing in baby's lungs!  image credit from  What to Expect When You're Expecting best moment:  seeing baby girl's kicks from the outside for the first time this week! she was having a dance party one night, and i could see kicks and punches all over my belly. of course, as soon as i pulled out my phone to start recording, she decided to play shy.  symptoms:  feeling that relaxin...

      bump watch:  it is out of control! i feel like baby girl has definitely had a growth spurt over the past few weeks and i'm looking more like i did at 24-25 weeks with Greta. i'm starting to bump into things with my belly because i'm not quite used to it yet.  little peanut: is the size of a spaghetti squash. eight inches long and weighing a full pound! baby's sense of touch is developing this week, so she can grasp the umbilical cord or touch her face. and eyebrows, eyelashes, and hair are starting to grow too, although none of it has pigment yet. image credit from  What to Expect When You're Expecting best moment:  finally deciding on a double stroller! i was looking for a sit'n'stand style stroller since there will be a three-year gap between Greta and Peanut, but most of the popular and affordable models are not fully compatible with our Chicco Keyfit car seat. after lots of research, i think we're going to go with...