26 Week Pictures

What a cute family!

Beautiful Mama :)

Baby Bolin: 26 weeks

Baby Jeffrey now weighs a little under 2 pounds and measures about 14 inches, from head to heel.

The nerve pathways in his ears are developing, which means his response to sounds is growing more consistent. His lungs are developing now, too, as he continues to take small breaths of amniotic fluid — good practice for when he's born and takes that first breath of air.

If you're having a boy, his testicles are beginning to descend into his scrotum — a trip that will take about two to three days.

This week also marks the end of your second trimester. Next week, when you are 27 weeks pregnant, you will officially be in your third (and final) trimester.

How mom's life is changing:
Around this time, your blood pressure may be increasing slightly as it returns to its normal pre-pregnancy range. (It was at a low from 22 to 24 weeks.) Though preeclampsia most often occurs in the last trimester, this is a good time to be aware of the warning signs of this dangerous condition that occurs in about 3 to 7 percent of all pregnancies. Signs you should be alert for include swelling of the hands and face, sudden weight gain (due to water retention), blurry vision, seeing spots before your eyes, sudden severe or persistent headaches, or upper abdominal pain. By checking for high blood pressure and protein in your urine, your caregiver will monitor you for preeclampsia at your routine prenatal visits, but call her immediately if you have any of these symptoms before your next appointment. Early identification of preeclampsia is essential for the health of you and your baby.

If your back seems a little achy lately, you can thank pregnancy hormones (which are loosening up your joints and ligaments) and your shifting center of gravity. Walking, standing, or sitting for long periods, bending and lifting can all put a strain on your back. A warm bath — or cool compress — might bring relief. Or you may want to schedule a prenatal massage by a trained therapist. Use a pregnancy wedge when sleeping, to support your back and abdomen. Try to maintain good posture, which will help reduce the strain on your back, and always take care when bending and lifting. If you experience severe pain or numbness in any area of your body, call your practitioner.

Catch the Baby Game

Baby Bolin: 25 weeks

Head to heels, Baby Jeffrey now measures about 13 1/2 inches.

His weight — a pound and a half — doesn't sound like much, but he's beginning to exchange his long, lean look for some baby fat. As he does, his wrinkled skin will begin to smooth out and he'll start to look more and more like a newborn. His hair is probably recognizable now (in color and texture), although both may change after he's born.

How mom's life is changing:
Your baby's not the only one with more hair — your locks may look more full and lustrous than ever. It's not that you're growing more hair, but the hair you'd normally shed is sticking around longer than usual.

You probably can't move around as gracefully as before. It's fine to continue to exercise, but use your common sense: Don't work out when you're feeling overly tired, and stop if you feel any pain or when you begin to feel at all fatigued, dizzy, or short of breath. Don't lie on your back too long or do any exercise where you're apt to lose your balance. Be sure to drink plenty of water, and make time for both warm-up and cool-down periods.

Baby Bolin: 24 weeks

Baby Jeffrey growing steadily, gaining about a quarter of a pound since last week, when he was just over a pound.

Since he's almost a foot long, that makes a pretty lean figure, but his body is filling out proportionally and he'll soon put on more baby fat.

His skin is thin, translucent, and wrinkled, his brain is growing rapidly, and his taste buds are developing. His lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" and cells that produce surfactant, a substance that helps the air sacs inflate easily.

How mom's life is changing:
The top of your uterus is now an inch or so above your belly button, which means it's about the size of a soccer ball. With your skin stretching, you may feel a little itchy now and then. If your skin is dry, keeping it well moisturized may help. Also, your eyes may be sensitive to light and feel gritty and dry. This is a perfectly normal pregnancy symptom known as dry-eye. To ease your discomfort, use an artificial tears solution to add moisture.

Most women will have a glucose screening test (also called a glucose challenge test or GCT) between 24 and 28 weeks. This test checks for gestational diabetes, a high-blood-sugar condition during pregnancy. Untreated, high blood sugar increases your risk for having a difficult vaginal delivery or needing a cesarean section because it causes your baby to grow overly fat, especially in his upper body. It also increases your baby's risk for complications like low blood sugar at birth. A positive result on your GCT test doesn't mean you have gestational diabetes, but it does mean that you should have the more involved glucose tolerance test (GTT) to find out.

Who's really pregnant?

Jamie

or

David

Jeffrey's Room

Mommy & Daddy have been working hard to get Jeffrey's room all ready for him. We hope he likes it...

4 more months!

Baby Bolin: 23 weeks

Baby Jeffrey is more than 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound. His skin is red and wrinkled. Blood vessels in his lungs are developing to prepare him for breathing. He can swallow, but he normally won't pass his first stool (called meconium) until after birth. Loud noises heard often in utero — such as your dog barking or the roar of a vacuum cleaner — probably won't faze your baby when he hears them outside the womb.

How mom's life is changing: If you dealt with headaches in your first trimester, they might be subsiding now. (Many women have headaches in early pregnancy, thanks to pregnancy hormones, changes in circulation, and/or sinus congestion.)

You may notice some mild swelling sometime during your pregnancy, especially in your ankles and feet. It's called edema, and it happens because changes in your blood chemistry cause fluid to shift into your tissue and because your enlarging uterus puts pressure on the veins returning blood from the lower half of your body, slowing circulation in your legs. Edema is often worse at the end of the day and in the summer. Your body will eliminate the extra fluid after you have your baby (which is why you may urinate often and sweat a lot for a few days after delivery). In the meantime, put your feet up when you can, stretch out your legs when you sit, avoid sitting still for long periods, exercise regularly to increase circulation, and wear support stockings (put them on first thing in the morning). You may be tempted to skimp on liquids, but you need to drink plenty of water, because keeping hydrated actually helps prevent swelling. If you notice severe or sudden swelling in your hands and face, be sure to call your midwife or doctor because it may be a sign of a serious condition called preeclampsia.