Week 25

At nine inches and more than a pound and a half in weight, Ansley is taller than two juice boxes stacked one on top of the other, and almost as heavy as four of those little boxes. Her skin is turning pink because small blood vessels, capillaries, are forming under the skin and filling with blood. Later this week, blood vessels will also develop in her lungs, bringing them one step closer to full maturity — and one step closer to taking that first breath of fresh air. But at 25 weeks, those lungs are still very much works in progress. Though they are already beginning to develop surfactant, a substance that will help the lungs expand after she is born, the lungs are still too undeveloped to sufficiently send oxygen to the bloodstream and release carbon dioxide when she exhales. Ansley’s nostrils, which have been plugged up until now, are starting to open this week. This actually allows her to begin taking practice breaths. (Of course since there's no air in there, she is really only "breathing" amniotic fluid, but it's the practice that counts, right?)
I meant to take a picture to go with this post but it completely slipped my mind (not uncommon these days, I almost forgot that I needed to update at all). I promise to try later this week.

As my stomach continues to grow I have found certain things to be more difficult:

• Rolling over in bed- it takes a lot more energy and effort than it used to and I always seem to mess up the covers
• Pulling my knees into my chest- one of my favorite ways to sit, no longer possible
• Hugging Josh- I used to be able to snuggle into a hug and now I just don’t seem to get as close as used to
• Getting dressed- clothes don’t fit like they used to and I actually broke down and wore maternity capris this week * sigh *

I’m sure this list will grow the closer I get to October. I realized yesterday that I only have 15 weeks until she is supposed to be here- I’m not ready! The novelty of being pregnant hasn’t worn off yet so I think that has made it harder to remember that at some point she is actually going to have to come out and I am going to have to have somewhere to put her. Speaking of the novelties- Ansley is kicking hard enough for Josh to feel. He has felt very faint kicks before, but Tuesday she was in rare form (I had eaten a brownie blizzard a little earlier that evening) and it felt like she was throwing herself against the walls of my stomach. Josh’s face was priceless. I told him he should try having someone do that inside your stomach. He quickly declined:) She has kept this new level of activity up every day, twice a day, since then and I just love it. It’s startling for sure, but just so cool.