The Third Half

A couple of weeks ago, on a particular Saturday spent in the car, it dawned on me that an NPR junkie like myself should have thought to call the twins Click and Clack, rather than Zeus and Oden. Their gestational names shall remain, but I'm now taking it upon myself to call the remainder of my pregnancy The Third Half, a la the Tappert Brothers.

So here we are - 27 weeks came and went last Thursday, and I'm officially in my third trimester. The countdown reads 89 days remaining today, which somehow is completely astonishing.

The Babies

On Thursday, I went in for another ultrasound, the purpose of which was to measure the growth of the babies, the level of amniotic fluid around each, their positions, and to see how my cervix is holding out.

I'm pleased to report that we've got a 2-pounder (Zeus) and a 2# 5oz whipper snapper (Oden) in there - right on target for the exact day of gestation. As the fates would have it, they are also both head-down, which is very, very promising. Fluid levels look good, and mama's door to the baby house is still firmly shut. Praise Jesus.

Week 27: Fetal Development: Sense of Taste and Sound

Beginning at this stage of fetal development, your baby's length will be measured from top of head to toe — which makes your baby nearly a full 15 inches now. And at just over two pounds, he or she has doubled in weight from four weeks ago.

Most babies this age, yours included, still like to snuggle in a slightly curled position inside the uterus (thus the term "fetal position"). Even so, beginning at this stage, your baby's length will be measured from top of head to toe — which makes your baby nearly a full 15 inches now. And at just over two pounds, he or she has doubled in weight from four weeks ago.

Your baby's auditory development (hearing) is progressing as the network of nerves to the ears matures. And even though the sounds your baby hears are muffled (thanks to the creamy coating of vernix covering those ears), he or she may recognize both yours and your partner's voices. So this might be a good time to read and even sing to your baby (or rather, your belly) — and a good chance to start boning up on those nursery rhymes and lullabies you'll need to be repeating (and repeating) pretty soon. And while you're at it, here's another way to have some family fun: If your partner presses his ear to your belly, he might be able to hear the baby's heartbeat.

Your baby's taste buds are very developed now too (with more taste buds than he or she will ever have outside the womb, actually). Need a taste test? If you eat some spicy food (you hot mama, you), your baby will be able to taste the difference in the amniotic fluid (but keep in mind that you'll have different mealtimes, with your baby's coming about two hours after yours). Some babies will even respond to that spicy kick by hiccupping. And although hiccups (which feel like belly spasms to you) may seem like they're disturbing to your baby, he or she isn't stressed at all. It's just one more sensation that babies need to get used to.

The Mama

After witnessing my feet and ankles swell up like sausages a few days in a row this week, I had Korin bring home her BP cuff to make sure everything was still ok. Fortunately, my blood pressure is still a stellar 116/70-something, which is very encouraging, given the fact that I've been on meds for 3 years and my BP has never been so consistently low. Unfortunately, it looks like I've got 11 more weeks (more or less) of grossly oversized ankles to deal with. Oh, well... it's common enough, and at least it held off until now!

This week has also brought some new discomforts, key among which is lack of sleep. I'm averaging about 4 hours a night, with all the surrounding time in bed spent in various states of ache and pain.

On the other hand, people in public have finally started to acknowledge my pregnancy, which is a very happy thing. I don't know why it's so important to me, but I've been waiting for months for a little attention, so now that people are chatting with me, smiling at me (or gawking at me), etc, I feel, I don't know, recognized? Anyway, it's pretty fun.

The Rest

I wanted to give a little shout out to Julie - thanks for your comment last week! So cool to know you're checking in online, and I can't wait to see you!

My mom has also scheduled a visit in August - very exciting. This will be her first trip to the Pacific Northwest, and she'll get to hang out with my sister and me. I think I'm even going to leave the arranging of the baby clothes for while she's here - I have a feeling she'll like getting to see all the little outfits and put them away in the drawers of the bureau she was so concerned that I have. It'll be so much fun to have her here. It looks like we're also going to have a small birth blessing while she's visiting... I'll post details later in case you want to send along a special wish or a bead.

Well, I've been delaying this post for days in the hopes that I might have a belly photo to post with it... Laurie's coming over this afternoon, so if we happen to take one, I'll add it later.