Week 24 and Symmetry

Ansley weighs more than a pound and a half right now and is about eight and a half inches crown-to-rump length (standard letter size). Her beautiful face (though still tiny) is almost fully formed and we could already see family resemblances with a 3-D ultrasound (which we plan on having sometime around 30 weeks when she’s packed on a few more pounds). Speaking of packing on pounds, babies at this stage of development are gaining about six ounces each week — with much of that gain coming from fat, in addition to growing organs, bones, and muscle. Until those fat deposits are made, that very tender skin is still very transparent, which means a close look would let you see clear through to all the organs, bones, and blood vessels. Fortunately, that see-through look won't last much longer. Ansley’s hearing is getting better. Right now she can hear air exhaling from my lungs, those gastric gurgles produced by my stomach and intestines, my voice and Josh’s (which she will be able to recognize at birth), and even very loud sounds such as honking horns, barking dogs, or my sometimes too loud car stereo:)

Ansley has already proven to be an opinionated child (shocking, right?). I noticed earlier this week that my stomach wasn’t symmetrical, which bothers my type A, OCD personality a little. So I started pushing and rubbing on the right side to see if she would move and sure enough, she moved over to the left side. But as soon as I stopped rubbing for a second she quickly rolled back over to my right. It was bizarre! I did this several times and every time you could watch my stomach roll as she moved back into her apparently very comfortable position. Speaking of comfortable positions, I have been fortunate in that I am still able to sleep on my stomach (the only way I can fall asleep). But these past few nights it has become increasingly more uncomfortable, and Ansley protests being squashed by kicking against the mattress. I guess I’ll be investing in a body pillow soon and learning to sleep on my side.

I have my doctor’s appointment this afternoon so I will update again tomorrow!