Three Cheers for the Third Trimester!

Today marks the first day of my third trimester of pregnancy - meaning just 12 weeks to go to our due date. With the busy ski season kickoff and holiday season ahead of us, it already feels like this final trimester will go so fast. Our childbirth class comes to an end next Monday, and while we realize we don't really know what to expect when labor day comes we do feel better prepared and educated about our options (epidural, anyone?). The baby's movements are very regular now, with my bedtime being her favorite time to wake up and get moving. (As people say, she's preparing me for her inevitable nighttime feeding schedule.) Sometimes I feel her rolling around and maybe flipping over, while other times I feel some big punches & kicks! It's so reassuring to me to feel her moving in there, and Jan says he likes seeing me hold my stomach when she is moving around.

Thanksgiving in the Roaring Fork Valley looks like it's going to be a white one, with a winter storm warning, blizzard warning, an avalanche watch and high wind warnings for the Aspen area in effect for the next few days. We are grateful that we'll both be able to stay home on Thursday and enjoy a traditional turkey dinner at home with friends, and of course we're also thankful that I'm enjoying a mellow pregnancy and looking forward to the next chapter of our lives with our baby girl. What are you thankful for this Thanksgiving? Do you have any special plans with friends or family? Add a comment, as always we'd love to hear from all of you.

A quick recap of how the baby has developed in the second trimester:
Your baby is very, very busy in the second trimester. For one thing, she's sprouting hair, her ears and eyes are moving into their correct positions, and she's starting to suck and swallow. By week 18 of pregnancy, she weighs about as much as a chicken breast, she can yawn and hiccup (so cute!), and she's got fingerprints on those tiny digits. By week 21 of pregnancy you should be able to feel her newly coordinated arms and legs give you little jabs and kicks and in week 22 of pregnancy, her developing senses start to smell, taste, see, and hear. By six months, your baby takes a cue from you and starts to pack on the pounds; in fact, she'll likely double her weight in the next four weeks. Capillaries are forming to carry blood through her body and those little eyes are starting to open. By the end of your second trimester, you'll have a two-pound human in your belly!

And what's happening in week 28:
By this week, your baby weighs two and a quarter pounds (like a Chinese cabbage) and measures nearly 16 inches from the top of her head to her heels. She can blink her eyes, which now sport lashes. With her eyesight developing, she may be able to see the light that filters in through your womb. She's also developing billions of neurons in her brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world. She's busy adding new skills such as blinking to an already impressive repertoire of tricks like coughing, sucking, hiccuping, and taking practice breaths. Your baby's sleep now includes the REM (rapid eye movement) phase — and that means she could be dreaming already (what do you suppose she's dreaming about?). Click here if you'd like to see what an in utero baby looks like at 28 weeks.

Baby on Board

Husband and father to be here - Almost done with the second trimester which, if I remember my grade school math, means there is only one trimester to go. The baby is really moving around with good consistency and today Kelly and I were even able to see (not just feel) the kicks and movements. It's pretty amazing. We also received our first major baby gift, a stroller! (Thanks Mom & Dad!) As you can see from the picture the stroller is fun looking and should be great for the neighborhood and walking around town.

Knowing that I'll have a daughter I have been looking for female role models that I can teach her about - athletes, business women, etc... So, I'd like to ask who you all, our friends and relatives, who are your favorite female role models? Please post in the comments below.

Week 26: Childbirth Class!

Above are a couple of pictures from our trip to Indiana last week. My dad showed Jan how to drive the John Deere, then Jan took some of us girls out for a hay ride. Yeehaw!

We attended our first childbirth class last night, just another step on our way to parenthood! There is only one other couple in the class, so we were able to get very helpful information from the instructor and lots of attention. I don't want to name names or embarrass anyone JAN PIETER KOORN - but someone asked a lot of great questions according to the teacher! We have three more Monday night sessions, covering everything from natural childbirth to epidurals, breastfeeding to diaper changing and more. In case you are wondering, yes, we watched "the video" and we both survived.

One thing we learned last night is that Aspen Valley Hospital delivers on average less than one baby per day. We feel very fortunate that we'll give birth there, knowing we'll get lots of attention from the staff due to such a low patient/staff ratio. The maternity wing was remodeled within the last few years, and we know from visiting friends who have had babies since the remodel just how nice the rooms are and how special all that attention makes you feel.

Primo continues her gymnastics routine both day & night, and some days I feel like she & I are both doubling in size on a daily basis! She seems to wake up & get moving right around my bedtime, making sleep a little tough for me, but worth it in that I find all of her punches & kicks reassuring. I feel so lucky carrying this little girl around with me every day, and if losing some sleep is the worst part of pregnancy I can handle it!

And now your weekly baby update:
Your baby weighs about 1 1/2 pounds and has undergone a growth spurt in the past few weeks. From weeks twenty to twenty-eight, she almost doubles in height and now would be about a foot tall if she could stand. This week marks a major milestone in your baby's hearing and sight. Your baby's hearing system (cochlea and peripheral sensory end organs), which began fine development during week eighteen, is now completely formed, and over the next few weeks, she'll become increasingly sensitive to sound. In about a month, you'll feel her jump if she hears a sudden loud noise. Sound passes easily into your uterus, which helps her ears develop. Her eyes are almost fully formed and are now beginning to open. Did you know that all babies have blue eyes in the womb, no matter what their genetic inheritance is? A baby's eyes don't get their final color until a few months after they are born. The air sacs of the lungs, called alveoli, will be developed by the end of this week and will begin to secrete a substance called surfactant that keeps the lung tissue from sticking together.

Ultra Photos!

Here are a couple of new photos from our trip to the doctor today. Everything is still healthy with her. Weight is just above average and as you can see from the photos she's quite a looker (I'm a biased of course being the proud dad!) Enjoy!

Week 25: Colts Superfans!

Thanks Mom for all the Colts gear!

We had a great time catching up with everyone in Indiana, got to see the Colts win Monday night football, and I think my baby bump went through a major growth spurt in the last week! The baby is moving so much these days, she keeps me up at night but is on the move during the day as well. Jan likes feeling those kicks & punches as much as I do, and we both feel like time is flying by and she will be here so soon. Yay!

I have an ultrasound tomorrow morning so hopefully will get some new pictures up on the blog over the weekend - so please check back!

And now your week 25 baby update:
Head to heels, your baby now measures about 13 1/2 inches. Her weight — a pound and a half — isn't much more than an average rutabaga, but she's beginning to exchange her long, lean look for some baby fat. As she does, her wrinkled skin will begin to smooth out and she'll start to look more and more like a newborn. She's also growing more hair — and if you could see it, you'd now be able to discern its color and texture. Small blood vessels, called capillaries, are forming under the skin and filling with blood. Later this week, blood vessels will also develop in your baby's lungs, bringing them one step closer to full maturity — and one step closer to taking that first breath of fresh air. The lungs aren't the only system that's gearing up for air intake. Your baby's nostrils, which have been plugged up until now, are starting to open this week. This actually allows your little one to begin taking practice breaths.