3rd Trimester! Here we are. We've made it this far. Week 26. My god. Week 26!

(The cucumber pic is the only picture I could find that shows the relative size right now. Weird, I know.)

The little guy is still taking little breaths, even though it's amniotic fluid, it's still great practice for him. So he's a superhero to me now. I mean, did you ever try to breath liquid?

His little eyes are starting to open. HIS EYES ARE STARTING TO OPEN! He is in a growth spurt from here on out and his brain is developing at an intense rate - so nutrition is important right now. More grains and veggies! So much for the Ga Lei Bau and coconut bun (and caramel macchiato) I had for lunch. Hey, even mom has got to treat herself once in a while.

He might start jumping around more when he hears loud, unexpected noises because the nerve endings in his ears are still developing - so he responds to sound more consistently. And will from here on out. No pun intended (funnier when you say it outloud.) (or really not funny at all) (let me repost:) "....so he responds to sound more consistently. And will from here on out."

It's not even funny to me actually.

The placenta is equal in size to the little guy. Question - my placenta is in the front... if something happens that I have to have a c-section, will this be an issue?

And my belly button is now 1/2 and innie and 1/2 an outie. I'm having an identity crisis. My body is not my own. Weird things are happening. Werid spots showing up on my chest (that I thought was just sun damage - but it's getting worse and I'm covered up and not baking on the beach). No stretch marks though - still oiling up daily with the Escents aromatherapy stuff.

Rolling over at night is uncomfortable hilarious a production all on it's own. By the time I manage to get comfortable, I'm pretty much wide awake and have pissed off the cats and then Chicken starts to knaw on my foot and thinks it's Game On and "Oh yay, mummy's awake!" and Ling Ling just looks at me, turns her nose up and leaves the room.

At least I then have the bed to myself.

Until my husband rolls in around 3am, then it's a whole other production as I've got to get rid of my massive body pillow so he can have room too. ARGH.

***

The breastfeeding issue is no longer. Donald and I are on the same page and he's looking forward to all the other ways of bonding with the little guy. Circumsicion, on the other hand, is an ongoing issue - and I'm starting to rethink my decision based on what a few fathers have said, both circumsized and non-circumsized and who have circumsized their boys and some who haven't. It's been eye-opening, but it's not over yet! I still can't stand the thought of my child being cut. Of inducing trauma, knowingly. More research required...

And cloth diapers. Someone mentioned the other day that there is actually LESS diaper rash with disposables than with cloth because of the layering - that the pee is soaked into the diaper and away from baby's bum. Again, more research required. (It's not just about diaper rash, it's also about the environment but there you go.)

And another big one: vaccines. This is going to be difficult. Or perhaps not. I'm going to grab the Dr. Sears book and have a gander.

Also, your comments really help us to see through our fear of doing the wrong thing and our preconceptions, etc, so please continue to comment! Weigh in on the subjects - I love hearing from all of you. Makes me feel less alone in this journey. There's been a few lately that I have yet to respond to, but am going to in a few minutes, so feel free to browse through them for my replies.

Phew, this was a long one today.

S.

Was going to write a delightful post tonight but it's now 1:15 am and I just finished installing a new FTP program since Filezilla keeps mucking up on me. So, I'm exhausted and am pretty much asleep already....

zzzzzzzzzz..............

s.

25 weeks today!

He's beginning to make some breathing movements - but no air in his lungs yet. His senses are developing like mad: he will respond to touch and to light. Apparently, if I shine a light on my belly, he'll turn his head in that direction. So I guess it's not a bad thing, if he's looking in the direction of the light, instead of away from the light. Good times.

He's 1.5 lbs and is about 13.5 inches long (crown to heel). He's growing! That's why, I guess, I can feel him down by my pelvis and then in the next moment, he's up past my belly button (WHAT BELLYBUTTON?). Arms and legs moving like mad in there. He's a busy little boy, doing all that growing. The structures that form the spine start to form this week, and the blood vessels in the lungs continue to develop. His nostrils are shaping up, and may even open at the end of this week.

Time is flying. It just hit me. I've got alot to do in a very short time period. Only 15 more weeks. What's freaking me out, actually, is that every time I read something about where I'm at during this point in the pregnancy, it now says, "If your baby is delivered at this time, it would have a good chance of surviving." See? It brings up the what-ifs. What IF it decides to come this early? We're not ready! So I'm freaking out a bit. Anyhoo, Don is going to paint the nursery in November when he's taking a few weeks off. We're going to hit the States to buy the nursery furniture (depends how the dollar looks), and I've got to register for my shower - I'm simply assuming that someone is going to have one for me. I hope someone is, they're always fun... except I won't be drinking. And I don't want any of those lame-ass games. I'd just like to spend an afternoon with my best gal pals, is what it boils down to.

So, onto the mom. What's happening with me this week?

I'm getting cramps, which hasn't happened since early in my 2nd trimester. And I guess it's the ligaments that are stretching on either side of my belly as well.... when I back up my car or turn too sharply, they pull. It feels like two bungy cords in there. Or springs or something. Anyhow, I'm sure it's normal.

It's difficult to sleep through the night. I get quite conjested. I also have a hard time getting comfortable, and rolling over is a whole production on it's own. I really would like the whole bed to myself so I can be comfy, but I don't think Donald would take that very well. Although if he says one more time that the best part of my turkey soup was the bun, he can sleep at his mother's for the rest of the pregnancy.

My uterus is the size of a volleyball. That's pretty friggin' big. My yoga teacher is bringing in some pictures of where everything is inside as I can't find anything online. If you can believe that - nothing online anywhere. I just am wanting to know where everything, other organs and such, go when the uterus expands so much. Things are moved around in there and pushed up, etc, and I can't find pictures of that anywhere.

I'm heading off this week for the blood work to check for diabetes. Nothing exciting there, just updating you.

I just read that this is when some pregnant women start to pee themselves.

Maybe that's how I can get the whole bed to myself.

Later.

s.