Week 29- Acorn Squash

Mommy and Grandma Cindi were very busy this week working on a craft for your room! Grandpa Dan helped too! I bought wooden letters and Grandpa Dan painted them. Then Grandma Cindi and I hung the letters onto a decorative and hung it up in your room! I hope you will be able to keep it for a very long time.

Your Baby
Whether you are having one baby or two, they will each be approximately the same size, about three pounds. Your baby's brain is now in charge of body temperature, and also controls breathing. Your baby's irises can now respond to light by dilating and contracting. All the internal organs are maturing in preparation to function on their own at birth. You may even feel your baby cough. The skin on your baby is beginning to look less wrinkly, and more like it will at birth. The fat under the skin will help to regulate body temperature at birth as well. Your baby's head is much more proportionate with the rest of its body now. Your baby is bursting with energy at this point, and you’ll be feeling every bit of it. 

Week 28- Eggplant

Your daddy and I have been busy decorating your room this week! It is almost fully decorated. Mommy has a craft to work on to hang up still and then we will be all done and waiting for your arrival.

Your Baby
Your baby’s eyes are now partially opened, and those tiny eyelids are able to blink. Even though they may have some colour, the final pigmentation requires exposure to light. In some cases their final colour will not be a certainty until at least nine months after birth. Different levels of light are now recognisable, even inside your womb. Even though your baby still has a lot of growing to do, the little body is getting chubbier as fat deposits under the wrinkly skin. Muscles are developing some tone as well. Your baby has a 95 percent chance of survival if born now. The lungs are better prepared to breathe, but would still need medical assistance. If you’re carrying twins, each baby will have their own sleep cycles (which you’ll likely be very aware of).

A Prayer

Dear God, Before Rylan was created I prayed for her. I prayed that she would know Jesus and be a child of His. I prayed that she would do great things for the Lord. I continue to pray that she will accept you as her Saviour one day. God, I pray for her safety. Please keep her safe inside my womb. Let her continue to healthily grow and develop and please let her thrive. Lord, keep her there safe and sound and please let her make it to a point in which she would be able to be born healthy. Lord we already love her so much. I pray that she gets here safely and and that she feels Your love and comfort as well as ours and everyone praying for her. Please allow me to continue providing her with a healthy environment for her to thrive. Let her be getting all the nutrients she needs. Lord, I want to trust in your plan for us. Please help me give this to You and lay my trust in You. Help cast out all my fears and anxieties. Help me feel your presence and the power of prayer. Keep our little girl safe. Amen

Week 27- Rutabaga

We are in love with our Lil' Valentine Rylan!

Mommy stopped working (Teaching Kindergarten) this week based on our doctor's advice. Mommy has contractions that should not be happening this early. I will be doing a lot of resting at home to keep you & I healthy so that you do not decide to come meet us too early! Stay in there and keep growing baby Rylan.

Your Baby
This week marks the end of the second trimester. Babies who are born between 27 and 32 weeks' have a good chance of survival (between 80-95% depending on the week of gestation and the quality of medical care received). Your baby is beginning a very active stage in its cramped quarters. The amniotic fluid has decreased, which means you’ll feel every movement more than before. Your baby will be practising the sucking reflex in order to prepare for breastfeeding. Your baby's neurones and brain tissue are rapidly developing, and even brain waves are working just as a newborns’ brain would. Even though the skeleton is completely developed, your baby's joints are not connected yet. If your baby is a boy, the testes will have finished their descent at this point. Your baby's immune system, liver and lungs are still continuing to develop and preparing to function on their own. Your baby's tiny eyelids are beginning to open, and the retinas have begun to develop.

Week 26- Lettuce

This week I will say goodbye to the second trimester and soon welcome in the third! I am excited because this means I am closer to meeting you! I scheduled a maternity photo shoot for March 9th and I also scheduled a newborn photo shoot for you on May 20th! You have a cute little outfit to wear already. Now mommy needs to find one to wear!

Your Baby
While listening to music, you might notice that your your baby moves rhythmically in response to the sounds. Your baby is now about two pounds, and the brain is beginning a period of growth where over 50 percent of your baby's energy used will be for this purpose. The lungs are developing air sacks (alveoli), and the membrane that allows for carbon dioxide and oxygen exchange is now thin enough that your baby could take a breath by the end of the week. Even though your baby's skin is loose and wrinkly at this point, it will fill out with fat during the third trimester. Your baby's eyes are completely developed, and the brain is able to register stimuli such as sound and light.