24 Weeks: Viability!

There are many milestones that a woman anxiously awaits during pregnancy.  Hearing the heartbeat, the safety of entering the 2nd trimester, feeling little flutters, finding out the sex, being half baked.  This week's milestone really means a lot to me.  I have reached viability!  Viability means that the baby has a greater chance of survival if they were to be born at this point.  However, the little lady still needs to stay put and bake for at least 13 more weeks.

Look at that bump!!  Drew keeps commenting that I definitely look pregnant now, and not just chubby.

I know that I haven't updated in a few weeks, so there is lots to catch up on.

While we were in Georgia, a friend of mine alerted me of a sale that diapers.com was having for 30% off Britax strollers and car seats.  Since that is the system that we have decided to go with, I hustled over to the website and quickly made my purchase.  We saved A TON of money!!  I placed the order on the Friday after Thanksgiving, and the stroller and car seat were delivered that Monday.  I could not believe how quickly that came!

I already mentioned that Drew and I ordered the chair for the nursery last week.  And I ordered the bedding.  That should be here any day now.  As soon as the bedding arrives, we'll be picking out paint colors.  Then, the real fun begins.  I just can't wait to get this little lady's room all set up for her.

Physically, I've been feeling pretty good.  I still have occasional moments where I don't feel very well, but they aren't often.  It's starting to get harder and harder to move around, and I know that that is only going to get worse.  I'm pretty sure that I'm starting to get my first stretch mark on my breast.  I really shouldn't be surprised that the first one is there given how out of control they've grown, but it still makes me a little sad.  I've also noticed that my belly button is getting shallower.

The little lady is definitely a mover and a shaker!  Feeling her move inside of me is absolutely incredible.  I could sit and watch her make my belly move for hours.  It's been fun to feel her movements in different parts of my belly.  At first, they were all down low, and now I can sometimes feel some above my belly button.

Drew and I interviewed a pediatrician this evening.  My OB has sort of been riding me to pick one and since I have an appointment with him next week, I figured I should at least meet with one so that I can say that I'm working on it.  We really liked Dr. B.  He's been in the practice for a LONG time and is very well known in this area.  We liked the answers that he gave us to our questions and he never rushed us at all.  I appreciated that.  I hate going to a doctor's office and feeling pressured to get my questions out as quick as possible so that they can move on to their next patient.  He seems very on top of his game and proactive in his care.  Plus, like I said, the fact that he's been doing this forever makes me feel very comfortable.  My only set back is that he has a very strong accent and so it's hard for me to understand him at times.  That really is my own issue, and I just need to listen really hard when he talks.  We may interview another pediatrician just to see what else is there.  This other pedi is another well known doctor in the area.

This week, the baby is just over a pound and almost a foot long, about the size of an ear of corn.  She doesn't have much fat on her, but she'll soon start plumping up.  Her brain is growing quickly and taste buds are continuing to develop.  The lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" and cells that produce surfactant, which is a substance that will help the air sacs in the lungs inflate once the baby is born.