24 Week Bumpdate

BABY IS AS LONG AS AN EAR OF CORN

DUE DATE: June 12th

TOTAL WEIGHT GAIN: 17 lbs

HOW I'M FEELING: Amazing! I have so much energy and I am really enjoying this trimester.

SLEEPING: I'm still sleeping without any problems. The baby kicks me awake in the morning sometimes, but other than that no complaints. 

MOVEMENT: I feel movement all the time, especially at night and in the mornings. Baby Q is a very active baby already. He likes to play a game with me where he refuses to kick when my hand is on my stomach, it's like he's hiding. I managed to capture a video of some of the harder kicks last night...

FOOD CRAVINGS: Fruit, Breakfast foods. I've been making myself elaborate breakfasts lately which is very unlike me. This week I made a bacon, egg & cheese on a pumpernickel bagel, french toast and strawberry & chocolate chip pancakes. So delicious!

BEST MOMENT OF THE WEEK: Making my first sale on my shop!

LOOKING FORWARD TO: Having my sister back home for her spring break.

WHAT I'M MISSING: Sushi. My heart breaks.

MESSAGE TO BABY Q: I am more excited to meet you every day! I can't believe I still have 16 weeks left. You are moving around a lot and sometimes it's such an unexpected, hard jab that my heart races. It makes me realize that even though you're in my stomach, you're a separate human being, and that both fascinates and scares me at the same time. Hope you're having fun in there and enjoying all the delicious foods I'm sending your way as much as I am. Does having the laptop on my stomach annoy you? You always seem to kick up a storm when it's there. Love, your mom.

According to my babycenter app on my iPhone:

HOW MY BABY IS GROWING

Your baby's growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces since last week. That puts him at about 1 1/3 pounds. Since he's almost a foot long (about the size of an ear of corn), he cuts a pretty lean figure at this point, but his body is filling out proportionally and he'll soon start to plump up. His brain is also growing quickly now, and his taste buds are continuing to develop. His lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" as well as cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help his air sacs inflate once he hits the outside world. His skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon.

HOW MY LIFE IS CHANGING

In the past few weeks, the top of your uterus has risen above your belly button and is now about the size of a soccer ball. Most women have a glucose screening test (also called a glucose challenge test or GCT) between now and 28 weeks. This test checks for gestational diabetes, a pregnancy-related high-blood-sugar condition.

Untreated diabetes increases your risk of having a difficult vaginal delivery or needing a cesarean section because it causes your baby to grow too large, especially in his upper body. It also raises your baby's odds for other complications like low blood sugar right after birth. A positive result on your GCT doesn't mean you have gestational diabetes, but it does mean that you'll need to take the glucose tolerance test (GTT) to find out for sure.

24 WEEK BELLY

- Sam