Week 30

It’s only 6 weeks now until full term.  Today was the last day of week 30, and it included an ultrasound.  What was different this time was that my wife’s mother was present during the ultrasound.

The baby’s doing great.  She’s back to the correct head down position, which is very important for the birth.  She’s now 1651 grams.  The doctor said that she’s slightly above average in weight, so she seems more like she’s at the end of 31 weeks.  Her head is slightly below average size due to me.  While her head isn’t actually small, the Caucasian head is longer and narrower than an Asian person’s head.  Her heart is strong and healthy and her spine is straight.  We got some great views of her face during the ultrasound, but the picture wasn’t taken at that time.  Her eyesight is developing, though not so great yet.  As always, she’s very active, and making it very uncomfortable for her mother.

As for the mom, she’s feeling bad sometimes.  She feels sick occasionally, and she often feels pain in the lower part of her abdomen.  The doctor says this is normal, and should feel better if she takes a rest.  Walking uphill is getting more and more difficult now.

So, here’s what you’ve been waiting for, the pictures!

On the left is the full face, while on the right is the chin, mouth and nose.

She likes to hide behind her arm, which is on the right. On the left is the umbilical cord.

The next visit to the clinic is in 2 weeks, but without ultrasound.

Week 23

On Thursday last week, we went to the clinic to have the regular checkup on the baby.  The focus was a bit different this time.  While we got to see the regular ultrasound, there was something extra this time.  The doctor showed us the blood flow through her heart.  He was doing this to check that her blood is flowing in the correct direction through her heart.  Everything is normal!  Also, he was checking her lips to make sure they’ve formed correctly.

Through the ultrasound, the doctor determined that our baby is slightly smaller than average and her legs are slightly longer than average, but well within normal.  4 weeks before, we were told she was average weight and her legs were slightly shorter than average.  Things sure can change quickly in only 4 weeks!  She is now 565 grams.  The blood vessels in her lungs are developing, getting ready to be able to breathe.  She can hear quite a bit now, as well.

In the ultrasound pictures, we got just head images, but one of them is amazing.  Take a look for yourself:

This is the 4D picture. You can see her eye, nose and mouth, and her left arm is covering the left side of her face. This isn't the best picture I thought they could have given us, though.

On the left is the full face picture. You can clearly see the eye, though the nose and mouth are a bit difficult to make out. Her left arm at the bottom is clear. The right-hand picture is the amazing one. You can very clearly see her chin, lips and nose, including her nostrils!

How’s mom doing?  She’s been doing a lot of exercising lately to keep in shape, both for her health and to prepare for the birth.  The baby is kicking and punching hard, which is sometimes painful.  To prevent dryness, she’s using lotion on her belly.  This won’t prevent stretch marks, though.

The next clinic visit is after only 3 weeks.  That’s the start of the third trimester.  After that, it’s every 2 weeks.

Week 16

This is the first of the weekly baby development updates.  This week, we don’t have a check-up with the hospital about the baby, so this information is what the baby should be like at the moment.  We are now at week 16!

At this moment, the baby is still quite small, possibly around 11cm long from head to bottom.  The head is developing quite nicely, more erect, the ears are in the correct position.  The scalp pattern is developing now, too.  No hair yet, though.  Toenails are starting to grow and the heart is pumping lots of blood through its body.

The womb is now half way between the pelvic bone and the bellybutton, so a baby bump starts to appear at this time.  From what I can tell, morning sickness is mostly gone, but still comes back sometimes.  Also, lots of itchiness due to hormones.

What can we expect soon?  Well, we should be able to feel the baby moving and kicking within the next couple of weeks.  Also, the baby is about to start a growth spurt, doubling in weight and growing in size a lot faster over the next few weeks.