27 Weeks- Development

Your Baby This Coming Week

Your baby weighs about 2.5 lbs (1.1kg) and is about 10 inches (25cm) from crown to rump and 15 inches (38 cm) long from head to toe.

At this time, the baby has tastebuds which allow it to distinguish between sweet, sour and bitter tastes.

Brain tissue and brain development increases at this time as your baby grows the folds and grooves needed for a developed brain.

Eyebrows and eyelashes are probably present and the hair on your baby's head is growing longer.

Your baby's body is filling out, getting a bit fatter as fat deposition continues, but it is still somewhat red and wrinkled.

Your baby is big enough for his presentation to be determined. That is, your caregiver can probably tell how your baby is oriented in your uterus. He may be breech (bottom down) or head first. If your baby is in a breech position now, there is no need to worry as there is still plenty of room and time for your baby to change positions.

Your baby can feel pain and respond to it in the same way as a full term baby.

Your Body This Coming Week

You are entering your third trimester now.

Most women have gained between 17 and 24 lbs (7.7 to 10.8 kg) by this time.

Your breasts may start to leak colostrum, the sticky, watery substance which comes before milk. This will be your baby's first food before your milk comes in a day or two after delivery.

You will probably visit your caregiver every two weeks from this point on. Your caregiver may perform a glucose tolerance test this week. If your early blood work revealed that you are Rh negative, your doctor may want to do an antibody test to determine if you have made antibodies to your baby's blood type to see if there is a risk of you having an immune reaction to your baby's blood. If this situation applies to you, ask your doctor for more information.

If you haven't already, you may begin to have vivid dreams about your baby. Braxton Hicks contractions will probably continue preparing your uterus for childbirth.

You may have red stretch marks on your belly and the veins on your breasts will likely have become more prominent.

27 Week Journal

How far along? 27 weeks. Final trimester, baby!
Total weight gain/loss: Up another 2 pounds.
Stretch Marks: Still nothing major.
Sleep: Usually manage to sleep through the night. And if I do have to get up, I usually fall right back to sleep.
Best moment this week: We got another look at the baby yesterday. Still showing some tricuspid regurgitation (the leakage in the heart) but no other problems, so the doctor isn't overly concerned.
Worst moment this week: Luckily I don't think there were any bad moments.
Movement: Yup. Plenty of movement. Starting to feel movement more throughout the day, but still usually when I'm sitting.
Belly Button in or out? I keep thinking this will be the week that it will pop out, but it's still partly an innie.
Wedding rings on or off? They're on. Actually, one of my other rings feels tighter than my wedding rings.
What I'm going to miss/What I can't wait for: Can't wait to be done sewing the quilt for the nursery!
Weekly Wisdom: Take it easy. Don't worry about things you can't control.
Milestones/Fun Moments: Had a dentist appointment on Monday and they gave me Baby's first toothbrush.
Went to Maine over the weekend for my aunt and uncle's 50th wedding anniversary. Got to show off my belly to a number of family members.
What we need to do: I'm eager to get the nursery finished up, even though I know there is still plenty of time. We got some paint swatches/ samples for the walls. Need to make a decision on that soon.

Yup. I played the pregnancy card.

Normally I'm not one to take advantage of being pregnant. When I'm at a store with special parking for expectant mothers, I don't use it. I can walk the extra distance. I'm fine carrying boxes, groceries, etc (within reason). However, this past weekend we went to Maine. Traffic was horrible! I needed to take a bathroom break, but it wasn't worth getting off the highway. Finally we came to a rest area/ welcome center. I think everyone else stopped there too.

I left Chris outside to get my mom out of the car and into her wheelchair while I ran in. The line for the ladies' room was out the door and wrapped halfway around the building. I went towards the front of the line and asked, "will anyone take pity on a pregnant woman and let me cut in line?"

The teenagers at that point in the line looked at me with two heads, but then there was a woman who pointed out the separate (single stall) handicaped bathroom to me and suggested I go there. At first I wasn't going to, but after seeing people leave it I decided to go ahead. Sweet relief! And then perfect timing- by the time I got outside Chris was bringing my mom in. A mom with small children had gone into the handicapped stall in the meantime, but we were soon able to get in.

I told my mom and Chris what I had done. Chris was a bit surprised that I did that, but my mom understood. I guess it's one of those things where you have to have been pregnant to understand.

26 Weeks

Your baby is as tall as an English hothouse cucumber and weighs about 1 2/3 pounds. (Length: 14 inches, head to heel.)

26 Weeks- Development

Your Baby This Coming Week

Your baby weighs more than 2 lbs (1000g), measures 9.6 inches from crown to rump (24cm) and its total length is about 15.3 inches (34cm). If your baby were born now, she would have about an 85% chance of surviving. Nonetheless, your baby still needs another 13 weeks of in utero development to be considered full term.

Your baby's eyes, no longer fused shut, are now open.

Your baby's skin still has a very wrinkled appearance, but it is protected and nourished by the covering of vernix, a waxy coating that keeps the skin supple.

Your baby looks almost like a full term baby, but is still much thinner and smaller than she will be at birth.

Your Body This Coming Week

The end of this week marks the end of your second trimester.

Regular weight gain will continue until about the 36th week of pregnancy. Your breasts may be sore and uncomfortably heavy since they have increased in size.

You can be susceptible to urinary tract infection from this stage onwards. Drinking plenty of water can help.

Your cholesterol levels may be elevated, though this is usually normal in late pregnancy as cholesterol helps build up the pregnancy hormones that are being produced by the placenta. Of those hormones, progesterone is particularly important right now as it aids breast development and the muscles of the uterus.

26 Week Journal

How far along? 26 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: Ugh. Up 3 pounds this week. Didn't think I was eating that much more.
Stretch Marks: Nothing new.
Sleep: Usually sleeping through the night. Had to get up a couple of nights to go to the bathroom, but luckily I'm able to fall right back asleep. Wondering if I'll continue to have that ability once Baby is here.
Best moment this week: Not baby related, but we finally got a new storage cabinet for all of our games. We've had so many that they were spread around in a couple of different places without enough space. Chris was going to build a cabinet, but on the way to the lumberyard we stopped at Ikea. We found some great deals in the "as is" area. And there's even an area reserved for kids games and toys, although I know it won't be nearly enough space.
Chris also pointed out that there are now fewer than 100 days until my due date.
And congrats to my cousin Beth who announced that's she's due in Jan with #3.
Movement: Baby has been kicking/ punching up a storm this week! In the past I would usually feel the most movement when lying in bed. Now it's in the car, sitting at my desk at work, sitting at my sewing machine... For the most part it's nice, but sometimes I have to tell the little one to calm down a bit. S/he doesn't listen.
Belly Button in or out? In. I keep thinking this won't last much longer, but I still have an innie.
Wedding rings on or off? On.
What I'm going to miss/What I can't wait for: I can't wait to be done sewing Baby's quilt! It's taking much longer than I would have anticipated.

25 Weeks

Your baby rivals the average rutabaga in weight -- about 1 1/2 pounds. (Length: 13 1/2 inches, head to heel.)