Weeks 21 and 22 (because I'm a slacker)

*Gasp* I am so behind! Life has been nuts with 3 Father’s day celebrations to squeeze in, my nephew’s 3rd birthday party, girl’s day out, and Josh’s birthday all over a 3 day period. I’m exhausted! But I assure, Ansley is not. My little ninja has been at it like crazy. She has started this new “exercise” where it feels like she stands up and shoves her feet straight down. It is such a strong sensation that I have to pause what I am doing and I usually push her right back to make my point:) Josh and I’s excitement level has definitely bumped up a notch since we found out what we were having- it is much more personal to plan for “Ansley” as opposed to planning for “the kid”. I have been looking at bedding and nursery supplies as well as sending out emails to mom’s I know asking for registry advice. (If you have any please let me know!) There is so much out there, I don’t want to miss something crucial but I don’t want to register or buy things that I’m not going to use. Since life has been so hectic below is a 2 week summary of what Ansley is doing since I will be 22 weeks on Wednesday and I can’t promise that life will slow down at all. I will try to post a belly pic later this week since that is DEFINITELY growing.

Ansley jumped from about 7 inches in length and almost 11 ounces in weight (approximately the size of a banana) at 21 weeks to finally breaking the 1 pound mark at 22 weeks and measuring at 8 inches. Her new list of skills includes swallowing at least several ounces of amniotic fluid each day — not only for hydration and nutrition, but also for practice. The taste of the amniotic fluid differs from day to day depending on what I've eaten (a lot of fruit, especially pineapple, and Zaxby’s). That smorgasbord of tastes won't be lost on Ansley because she has very developed taste buds already. In fact, researchers have noted that babies who were exposed to certain tastes in utero via the amniotic fluid were more eager to eat foods with that same taste after birth. (No pressure) She is also making more sense of the world as she develops the sense of touch. In fact, Ansley’s grip is quite developed by now — and since there's nothing else to grab in utero, she may sometimes hold on tight to that umbilical cord. The sense of sight is also getting more developed. She can now perceive light and dark much better than before (even with those fused eyelids). But unless you're shining a flashlight over my stomach (which you can do, by the way), it'll be mostly dark for her. Moving up from the eyes, the eyelashes and eyebrows are well formed now — and even more hair is sprouting atop that cute little head. You'd be quite surprised, though, if you could see her up close and in color. Hair at this stage of fetal development has no pigment, so it's bright white. But something tells me that hair may turn dark brown before she makes her appearance in October:)