Lil Mac: 20 Weeks

So I decided to have Brandon take a belly picture because we haven't taken one in a couple of weeks and WHOA! I cannot believe how big I am and how much I've grown. Honestly I haven't had time to obsess over my growing belly like I did with Brody and since it's summer right now I kinda just roll outta bed, get dressed half asleep and head to summer school. Apparently I shouldn't feel too bad considering Jaxson is the size of a cantaloupe right now. He's a growing boy! He's also a lot calmer in utero than Brody was. Brody literally beat me up from 18 weeks on.

Here's the belly shot at 20 weeks:


Mommy update: I've been doing really well. So far this pregnancy has been a lot easier than Brody's but I knock on wood anytime I think that or someone else says it. It wasn't until 27 weeks that I started the constant, non-stop contractions that put me on bedrest for 10 weeks. I'm teaching summer school right now and this will definitely be my last time doing it. I don't know what I was thinking! It's torture but luckily it's only for 2 1/2 weeks.

Brody definitely knows that something is going on in mommy's belly. He now says Bubba and knows where he is. We are turning his playroom into the nursery so he also goes in there quite a bit forgetting that he has a new playroom and will say Bubba as he realizes that is his room now. The only thing that concerns me is I'm not sure he realizes that Bubba is a baby that will be here soon. We have been seeing a lot of babies lately and Brody is very interested in them and is also very sweet and gentle towards them. So I'm pretty sure he will transition beautifully and love his baby brother.




Jaxson's Development at 20 Weeks:
Congratulations! This week marks the half way point of your pregnancy. It has been 18weeks since the date of conception and your baby's crown-to-rump length is 5.6 to 6.4inches. The fetus weighs about 9 ounces (Jaxson weighed 8 oz 3 weeks ago so I'm sure he's passed this up) and your belly definitely has an obvious bulge. Your waistline has expanded and is no longer visible. Your uterus has now moved up enough that it is pushing your abdomen outwards. The top of your uterus is even with or just below your navel. She's swallowing more these days, which is good practice for her digestive system. She's also producing meconium, a black, sticky by-product of digestion. This gooey substance will accumulate in her bowels, and you'll see it in his first soiled diaper (some babies pass meconium in the womb or during delivery). For the remainder of your pregnancy, the growing uterus puts pressure on your lungs, stomach and kidneys. This will make you feel short of breath, the need to urinate more frequently and can cause indigestion. The added pressure on your abdomen can also cause your bellybutton to protrude and cause an `outy` instead of an `inny`. Many pregnant women begin to notice stretch marks around this time as well. Your abdominal muscles are being stretched and pushed apart as your baby grows inside of you. Your baby's skin begins to thicken this week and will develop four layers. Your baby's sebaceous glands secrete a waxy substance called vernix caseosa. Your baby will be born with this wax and it will look like paste. The vernix caseosa is crucial because it protects the fetus' fragile skin from the continuous immersion in amniotic fluid. Lanugo hairs secure the vernix caseosa in place and it is thick around the eyebrows. Scalp hair and toenails are beginning to form at this point. Hair can also be seen on the upper lip and eyebrows.


BRODY:
Is a trip! He's getting SO BIG. I look at him and ask myself how can you grow that fast! He has several new faces that he makes, loves to make himself and us laugh and is crazy about baseballs, golf balls, bouncy balls, bats and golf clubs. We have to avoid the area at Walmart where they are located because he will try to jump out of the cart if he sees one. He is also a climber! Anything that he can climb he will. We introduced the playground down the street to him and he loves the big boy slide. He will try and go down it by himself if we aren't fast enough.




We are working on cutting out his bottle completely, I know I know this should have been done a while ago. He doesn't have it anymore during the day but really wants that ba-ba at bedtime so hopefully over the next few weeks we can cut that out as well. Any suggestions on the best way to do that would greatly be appreciated and I'm not the type of mom that does the whole cry it out.

We go back to the doctor next week on the 17th to check on Jaxson's growth, although I don't think we will do an ultrasound.

Til then,
LeAnn