24 Weeks

It is so hard to believe that I am finishing up my 6th month of pregnancy! It has gone by pretty fast for the most part, and I'm sure it'll only speed up as the summer goes on. I'm still feeling good...cravings went away, no swelling, no back aches, no troubles breathing, no nausea, etc. Well I never really had a craving for a specific food all of the time. I've had a few 'gotta-have-it-now' moments - like cheesy potatoes, french fries, and a glazed donut (healthy huh?) But none of the cravings luckily ever stick with me. Here's what's happening this week:

This is another big week for your magical growing baby! Just take a look at the checklist for this week: 1) ears: done; 2) fingernails: done; 3) (if you have a boy) testicles: taking their 3-4 day trip from the abdominal wall to the scrotum; and 4) lungs walls: secreting “surfactant”. What’s that? Well, surfactant is sort of what it sounds like: a surface-activated fat whose main purpose is to assist the your baby's little lungs during inflation (as in, filling with air, not getting more expensive). Just in case you’re curious, your submerged baby is still breathing in amniotic fluid, preparing and rehearsing the lungs an oxygen-filled life outside the womb. By the end of this week, your child will be weighing around 2 lbs and 14 inches long. Your cutie-patootie may even be a little more plump, but isn't anywhere near their full baby-fatted cute-self. Most of the “filling out” is coming up in that long awaited (and slightly dreaded?) third trimester. Woo-hoo! Get ready!