As week 21 draws to a close, our baby boy is graduating from ounces and is approaching 1 pound! He is also about 8 inches long (about the size of a small doll), and is starting to develop a lot of senses. Moreover, the arms and legs are finally in proportion, the neurons are now connected between the brain and muscles, and cartilage throughout the body is turning to bone. That means his movements are more coordinated now, rather than simple jerky twitches.
The baby is beginning to develop taste, since he is now swallowing amniotic fluid (for hydration, nutrition, and also to get practice swallowing and digesting), which varies each day depending on what I eat. (Although, since it's the holidays, it's been full of chocolate and other sweets... But hopefully all of the Greek salads will help to develop some healthier tastes too...haha) The baby is also developing touch, occasionally grabbing onto the umbilical cord, and practicing a strong grip which he will eventually use to grab onto our fingers or pull on our hair. Our little boy is developing rudimentary sight as well: even though it is pretty dark in my belly, even with fused eyelids, at this age he can perceive light and dark (and may even react to very bright light, turning away from it). Lastly, the baby is now about to hear sounds, including voices, my heart beating and blood circulating, gastric gurgles in my stomach and intestines, and loud music or TV. (With all of the Beatles Rock Band playing this Christmas, we haven't wasted much time developing his taste for the Fab Four!)
I'm still feeling pretty good, I guess. I've started to have a little trouble with my hips. I'll wake up a lot during the night to them hurting, usually the side opposite to what I'm sleeping on. Rearranging helps some. But, the biggest help has been the little belly wedge pillow Mark got me for Christmas, which probably helps keep the loosened ligaments that come along with pregnancy from pulling too much. Even though my hips ache in the middle of the night or in the morning when I first get up, about about an hour or so of moving around, they usually feel fine again.
Other than that, I usually try to keep track of the baby's movements through out the day. He seems to have days where he is very active, and others where he is less so (probably tuckered out from the active day before!), but I usually feel something going on in the morning and at night time. I can also usually get him to start moving by drinking a lot of water and lying down.
Guess that's all for now! We hope every had a Merry Christmas, and has a Happy and safe New Year!!
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