24 Weeks

This is a big week for baby! Lots of development has happened or is happening: 1) ears = done, 2) fingernails = done, 3) testicles have started to drop (or at least we hope...ha!), and 4) his lungs have started to secrete surfactant, which is a fat that helps the lungs inflate. On top of all of that, the baby now has a chance of survival (50%) if he is born. I'm praying to God that will not happen for another 16 weeks, but it's crazy to think that he's now big enough to stand a chance on his own if he had to.

Tonight I had my first dose of irrational mommy panic. Jared and I went to see "Warhorse", and I hadn't felt the baby move much all day, so I was excited to eat some sugar and feel him move around during the movie as he did earlier this week. He's most active after 9:00 every night, so I thought it was a guarantee I'd feel him during the movie. But I didn't. Not once!

As the movie progressed, I progressively felt more & more nervous. On the way home I pulled out my cell phone and started googling "what if my baby isn't moving", and read that it helps to drink a glass of juice and lay on your side. If you still don't feel movement after that, then it's time to call the doctor. As soon as we got home, I downed a glass of O.J., ran to the couch to lay down, and almost immediately I felt the little bugger give me some BIG KICKS for about 20 minutes straight. What a relief! As Jared gave me his "I told you so", I thought about how much my mom irrationally worries about me, and how I now too have another human being to worry about for the rest of my life.

Belly at 24 weeks, holding a ~1.3lb and 12in long baby: