April 19, 2009 - End of Week 21 & Beginning of Week 22

Today I turned 40 years old and thankfully I don't feel any older. As Mike so aptly wrote on my birthday cake...It is the 11th anniversary of my 29th birthday. He bought me a great maternity t-shirt and a fabulously soft and warm robe with my new initials monogrammed on it SLF. It will be perfect for when we go to the hospital to have the baby. Mike took a few new pictures of my growing belly last night as we were on our way out for my birthday dinner....here they are...

21 weeks Pregnant

Here is the update about Eli's Development:

Week 21:
By now your baby looks like a mini-version of what he'll look like when he's born. All his facial features are formed and hair is growing on his head. He's even acting like a baby and will occasionally suck his thumb or yawn. Aww ...

Baby's heartbeat is getting stronger and can be heard using a good old-fashioned stethoscope. Ask for a listen at your next prenatal visit! By 21 weeks, fetal bone marrow starts making blood cells—previously done by the liver and spleen. This may not sound that exciting, but it's good news.

The amniotic fluid that has been cushioning your little bean now serves another purpose: Your baby uses it to "practice" chowing down. Yes, it sounds gross (as many aspects of pregnancy do), but it's an important step for your baby toward being able to chow down in the real world. Your baby has been swallowing amniotic fluid for a while now, but now the intestines are finally developed enough that she's absorbing small amounts of sugars from it. And let's face it, being able to effectively digest sugar is important at every stage of life.

Your baby now weighs between 10 and 11 ounces and is approximately 7 inches long—the size of a delicious, cold, frothy bottle of root beer.

And...since Week 22 starts tomorrow:
Your Mini's hands have grown bigger and stronger and the nerve endings in his fingers have developed her sense of touch. He's in there testing out her newfound abilities by touching his face and grabbing the umbilical cord. Other cool developments:

You're already raising a little Einstein. Your baby's brain is developing at a clip this week and will continue to do so until he's five years old (so load up on the Omega 3)!

Baby's hair is now a short, bright white crop. No matter what color it will end up—red, blonde, black—all babies' hair lacks pigment at this point.

Your baby has started growing taste buds and may be able to detect strong flavors in the amniotic fluid. If you could see inside, you might catch him sticking out his tongue for a taste and then grimacing, a sign that perhaps you should chill on the chili powder.

Your baby now weighs almost a pound and measures almost 11 inches from his head to his heel, which is how the Stretch Armstrong in your uterus will be measured from here on out. Up 'til now your baby's legs were curled tight up against her torso, so he was measured from his head to his bottom (or crown to rump) and not head to toe. This week your mini is about as long as a package of Oreos and as heavy as a large bag of tortilla chips.