28 weeks, 1 day: No more boat rides

What happened to baby in week 27:

The baby measures about 9.6 inches from crown to rump and weighs a little more than 2 pounds. Hands are active and muscle coordination is such that he can get his thumb into his mouth. Thumb-sucking calms the baby and strengthens his cheek and jaw muscles. The baby can cry now.



What's happening to baby this week:

The baby measures about 10 inches from crown to rump, or a total length of about 15.75 inches from head to toe, and weighs about 2.4 pounds. Brain waves show rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, which means the baby may be dreaming. Eyelids are opening. Branches of lungs are developing so there's a good chance that the baby would survive if born prematurely now.



So I'm finally back to writing! I got a little burnt out, plus I've been busy focusing on other things. People are starting to call and email, worrying that something might be wrong. Nothing wrong at all...but I appreciate everyone caring so much!



Gosh, so I have a lot to write about! Cooper got the hiccups for the first time (at least that I could feel) last week. For the first 5 seconds I thought it was adorable. But I quickly realized that I was getting very motion sick!! So for 5 minutes I felt like I was spinning around in the teacup ride! It was awful. I really don't want Cooper to have hiccups again.



Saturday night I had a dream that we brought Cooper home and I got done feeding him. He was exhausted and so was I, so I wanted to lay him down. But we hadn't done any of his laundry or made his bed, and I refused to lay him down on anything that hadn't been washed yet. So I got really upset and had to hold him for 2 hours while the washer and dryer finished.



So guess what I did when I woke up? I cleaned my little butt off. I washed all of the stuff we got from the shower and all of his bedding. We had to go buy his dresser so I could put all of it away! So funny.



My nesting instinct is kicking into over-drive lately. All I want to do is go through closets and clean and organize. Cooper's room is almost done and everything has been moved into the new guest room. I don't think I'll do much decorating in there though...just not into it now that I have Cooper's room to do!



I've gone back to my social butterfly ways!! I love seeing all my girlfriends again! It's so much fun to re-connect with them! I didn't feel well last week, so I missed my book club meeting. But this week I'm going to the melting pot and then to a massage/appetizer meeting. Can't wait!



We also had a doctor's appointment on Friday. It was supposed to be on Thursday, but my doctor got called into surgery (someone had a baby!), so we rescheduled to Friday. We had to go to the Newport Beach office instead of the one a block from our house. It was next to the post-surgery recovery center, where most likely people go after they have plastic surgery. We opted to park on the street and walk a block because you had to pay for parking!! That's crazy--as if Americans don't spend enough for health care! So anyhow we ended up waiting for about an hour and half before we saw the doctor. In fact we were the last ones seen that day. Here's a summary:

-My immense back pain and hard stomach I had last week that made me miss my book club meeting are completely normal and will start happening more frequently from here on out. (Yuck.)



-It is perfectly okay to do pilates and swimming, both are great prenatal exercises. (Both are going great by the way!)



-My birth plan is to have a vaginal birth if possible, with an epidural if I need it. I won't be induced unless Cooper doesn't show up until 41 weeks gestation. Christopher will be the only one in the delivery room. I cannot stand up to give birth, but I am allowed to change positions. I will have an episiotomy only if absolutely necessary. I will need to have a Cooper monitored and I will have an IV. We are undecided about cord blood banking.



-We got another ultrasound--for free! It was a total surprise, but she wanted to take a peek. He was facing toward my back, so we didn't get to see his face. He also refused to show his boy parts. He was head down (but that can change from now until 36 weeks or so). All we got to see was that he has one healthy ear (that looked a little bit pointy like daddy's...at least from that angle), a long spine, and a pair of legs.



-No more boat rides for mama after 30-32 weeks! This means I cannot go out to the islands anymore after the middle of February. It can be a fall/trip hazard since I don't have my balance anymore. At least work is really flexible about it!




We are considering Christopher being a stay at home dad. We can do it financially, but it changes the dynamic in our relationship. I love the idea of one of us taking care of the household, and even more than that I love that one of us would be able to take care of Cooper instead of spending tons of money on daycare. We're testing it now before Cooper comes, and it's going really well!

Check out the new pictures. I must have not taken a 26 week belly pic, or I deleted it, so I posted the 28 week picture. I also posted our 2007 Christmas Picture in Pictures of us.