A Doctor's Appointment and 24 weeks

Well...this has been an eventful week. 24 weeks is a big one...VIABILITY!!! Yeah!!! That's always good news to hear. If the baby should decide to come early, the chances of survival increases greatly after this week and continue to climb steadily as the pregnancy continues. The baby has gained about 4 ounces in one week and is about 12 inches long...the length of an ear of corn. He is still very skinny and his skin is translucent, but that will all be changing over the next several weeks as he begins to put on the weight and fill in with all that baby fat. He face is fully developed and looks like it will at birth. His eyes are still tightly closed, but they will open soon.

As for the doctor visit, it was very quick and simple...just a measure and a heart rate. My belly is measuring right on track...23 cm and the heart rate has dropped significantly. He was down to 140 beats per minute this week...which is typical for a baby boy. This was the first appointment the girls got to go to. They really enjoyed hearing the heartbeat. And because Kelsey is having a baby girl when we have our baby boy, she asked if she could hear her baby's heart beat. So, the doctor willingly obliged. Kelsey layed on the table and pulled up her shirt. The doctor put some of that cold cream on her belly and put the doppler on her tummy. So cute...but not something we want to see again for a LONG TIME!!! Kelsey got to hear her baby's heartbeat (her own, really) and she was all smiles.

As for me, I am still nursing a sore back. I tweaked it last Wednesday while I was out running errands with all the kids. I'm sure it's just from being tired, carrying extra weight (which I have not gained a lot of!!) and doing some extra lifting to help get Jackie's house ready for her baby. I thought it would be gone by now as it usually only takes a day or 2 to work itself out. But, with no meds to help relax the muscles and the baby laying on my back all the time, I guess it takes a little longer. I just hope it goes away soon. I don't like waking up in the morning and not being able to move how I want, as quickly as I'd like. After an hour or so, it's still there, but it's loose enough to move, so I ignore it and go on. If nothing else...it will go away once this baby arrives...only 112 days left!!