Happy Viability Week!

Today marks 24 weeks, the week that the baby is considered 'viable', or able to survive outside the womb (with significant medical aid of course). I read on Wikipedia that a fetus must have at least a 50% chance of survival to be considered viable. According to data between years 2003-2005, 20-35% of babies born at 23 weeks gestation survive, while 50-70% of babies born at 24-25 weeks gestation survive and more than 90% at 26-27 weeks survive. Now, this is by no means saying that I want him to come out any time soon. This baby needs to bake as long as possible! I'm just happy to be at a point where he does have a good chance of survival outside the womb - just because it makes him that much more real!

We had our most recent monthly checkup this past Monday. All is well! Baby boy has a great heartbeat of 140 bpm, and my belly measurement was right at 23 centimeters, or 23 weeks pregnant - so growing right on track. By measuring the height of the fundus (the distance from the pelvic bone to the top of the growing uterus), the doctor can determine if the fetus is developing normally. The doctor that discovered this back in the day is a genius! What a simple and inexpensive way to measure growth. I've gained 5 lbs. (!!!) since my last appointment 4 1/2 weeks ago for a total of +13 lbs., but I seem to be gaining in spurts - so I'm still right on track to meet my 30 lb. goal since I should expect to gain about a pound a week from here on out.

So, I should have known that as soon as I say I love being pregnant, something would happen to make me think otherwise! Tuesday night I wasn't feeling particularly hungry for dinner, but I knew I needed to eat something. So, I went ahead and polished off my serving of homemade veggie pasta salad and a burger we made and just felt awful afterwards. Because everything is getting so cramped in the belly, it felt like my food was just sitting in my lungs. It was painful. I went to bed early and proceeded to toss and turn all night with a terrible back ache, and my stomach felt as if it was being stretched paper thin. I barely slept a wink and woke up feeling as though I'd been hit by a freight train. I was most worried about the baby of course, and had no idea if the pain in my back could have been Braxton Hick's contractions (I mean - how am I supposed to know what contractions feel like??) so I assumed I better be safe and call the doctor. They got me in right away, and baby was fine - but turns out I appeared to be having some gastrointestinal irritation, which she said probably caused the constant backache. I was ordered to rest all day and take Tylenol PM for the pain and to help me sleep. I didn't have much hope that this would help, but lo and behold I was out by 9:00 and didn't wake up once all night. I felt so much better on Thursday, thank goodness. I guess this is another joy of pregnancy and I can probably expect to have a few rough days from here on out!



Baby is growing steadily, having gained about 4-6 ounces since last week. Mama's uterus is now the size of a soccer ball to accomodate the growing little one. Baby's skin is turning pinker because small blood vessels (capillaries) are forming under the skin and filling with blood. Later this week, blood vessels will also develop in his lungs, bringing them one step closer to full maturity. His nostrils, which have been plugged up until now, are starting to open this week. This actually allows him to begin taking practice breaths, even though he's really only 'breathing' amniotic fluid. I wonder if I'll start noticing any hiccups taking place with this new ability?! :)

We're off to the big Childcare and CPR class tomorrow. It should be interesting, for sure. We'll also try to work on the nursery a little bit (I must sound like a broken record each week!). The bedding has now arrived - yay! - and we're just waiting on the crib (after a small snafu with the unreliable Amazon third party vendor from who we first ordered - grrr). And Sunday, R and I are off on a much deserved date day/night. We've spent so much time preparing the house and ourselves for the baby that we haven't had much time for us, so we are headed to the Keg for a steak dinner - mine will be free thanks to my free steak birthday coupon - how's that for expecting parents on a budget? Ha! Then we'll probably see a movie. I'm really looking forward to it! Until next time, have a great weekend!