22 weeks

22 weeks and counting...

Here's what's happening at 22 weeks....

How your baby's growing:

At 11 inches (the length of a spaghetti squash) and almost 1 pound, your baby is starting to look like a miniature newborn. His lips, eyelids, and eyebrows are becoming more distinct, and he's even developing tiny tooth buds beneath his gums. His eyes have formed, but his irises (the colored part of the eye) still lack pigment.

If you could see inside your womb, you'd be able to spot the fine hair (lanugo) that covers his body and the deep wrinkles on his skin, which he'll sport until he adds a padding of fat to fill them in. Inside his belly, his pancreas — essential for the production of some important hormones — is developing steadily.

20 weeks

Here are some pics of the babies from 2 weeks ago...

Baby B 18 weeks 2 days

Baby A 18 weeks, 2 days

Here's the belly @ 20 weeks today...crazy how time flies!

Here's some info on what 20 weeks brings from babycenter.com:

How your baby's growing:

Your baby weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now. He's also around 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom and about 10 inches from head to heel — the length of a banana. (For the first 20 weeks, when a baby's legs are curled up against his torso and hard to measure, measurements are taken from the top of his head to his bottom — the "crown to rump" measurement. After 20 weeks, he's measured from head to toe.)

He's swallowing more these days, which is good practice for his digestive system. He's also producing meconium, a black, sticky by-product of digestion. This gooey substance will accumulate in his bowels, and you'll see it in his first soiled diaper (some babies pass meconium in the womb or during delivery).

19 weeks 3 days

Well, last week (Thursday, January 5th) we went for our ultrasound at Norwalk Hospital to check the gender of the babies and to get their measurements taken. Unfortunately, Baby A did not want to show us his/her gender so we have to wait to announce it to the world. Baby B is a...sorry you have to wait! We are going to reveal them both at the same time when we are sure. Everything else with them checked out well. Baby A weighed 9 oz and Baby B weighed 8 oz. I also have an AFP test to check for Spina Bifida...which thankfully came back normal. So far so good with double trouble. I go fora fetal echo cardiogram on February 8th to check the babies' hearts and make sure they do not have a heart murmur like myself. There they will do another ultrasound, so keep your fingers crossed that Baby A is cooperative!

I am now 19 weeks and 3 days, and time is flying. I can't believe I am just about half way there. Richie and I (mostly Richie) have emptied the guest room so that we can start getting it ready for the nursery. Richie pulled up the carpet, and we will be replacing it with hardwood flooring. My mom and sister painted the room over the weekend, and now we have to get the wanescoting on the walls, put down the floors, build a window seat, and get furniture. It's coming along. Here is an update from babycenter.com on what goes on at 19 weeks:

How your baby's growing:

Your baby's sensory development is exploding! Her brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch. Some research suggests that she may be able to hear your voice now, so don't be shy about reading aloud, talking to her, or singing a happy tune if the mood strikes you.

Your baby weighs about 8 1/2 ounces and measures 6 inches, head to bottom — about the size of a large heirloom tomato. Her arms and legs are in the right proportions to each other and the rest of her body now. Her kidneys continue to make urine and the hair on her scalp is sprouting. A waxy protective coating called the vernix caseosa is forming on her skin to prevent it from pickling in the amniotic fluid.