This blog post will look a little different to the rest as the sizing from 22-27 weeks only changes twice!
Week 21 - Baby Willis is the size of a large popcorn
Party prep! We have been busy this week getting bits sorted for our party, I'm so so excited to find out the gender of our littlun, I've thought boy the entire pregnancy but this week I've changed my mind to girl, because I'm doubting myself! We have started moving things around the house now, I'm totally in the nesting phase (have been all my life) can't wait to get properly started on the nursery!
"Little Willis will look how he will look at birth now, only smaller. He might be busy sucking his thumb, yawning and kicking! He is also able to blink now and his intestines are absorbing small amounts of sugar from the ingested amniotic fluid."
Week 22 - 24 Baby Willis is the size of a Fruit Pie
22- Oh my life, our gender reveal party was just everything! I loved it so much and we are having a BOY!!! So we know his name, we've always had our children's names solidly in our minds and now we can make this entire process more real by calling him his name in private. You can find the gender reveal blog post here
"He weighs a pound now! Even though hair is growing all over his body, it is white as the pigment would've not developed yet. His skin is wrinkled and a pinkish colour now. His brain is going through a period of rapid growth and development"
23- Ikea for life! We have raided Ikea this week, thanks to our kind people giving us vouchers at our party, we've bought his cot, wardrobe and chest of draws, super excited to get the nursery furniture assembled! Back ache has began this week, but only really in the evenings? Maybe because I'm always extra large in the evenings who knows? The cramp has actually eased off, I'm sure that's down to diet change as I make sure I eat more potassium and drown myself in water every day, I have also used that muscle radox bubble bath in my baths every evening before bed, so hopefully that's why it's been easier, and I'm not luring myself into a false sense of security that the cramps have subsided!
"If he was born this week, he would have a 50% chance of survival! (Let's hope he just comes in December though!) Over the next 5 weeks weeks, he will undergo a major growth spurt"
24- Why can't I sleep? This week has been fueled by chocolate, like multiple bars a day, it's so bad and I feel so guilty, but I might actually kill someone should I not consume it. I'm just not a nice person this week, I'm not sure if it's normal as I haven't really had mood swings this entire pregnancy, which is shocking as I'm the most het up person I've ever met. Maybe it's the only getting 4 hours a night and being generally shattered from shift working and having busy weekends but hopefully next week brings a nicer Reyrey! Oh baby boy is viable this week! Meaning if he was born now (please don't be born now) he would have an amazing chance at survival.
"His hair is now darkening and becoming the colour it'll be at birth. Loud noises may startle him now causing sudden jolts in my uterus! His lungs are developing and preparing for his first breaths, they are also producing a substance called surfactant that helps in keeping the lings collapsing or sticking together during exhalation"
Week 25 - 28 Baby Willis is the size of a Chocolate Cake
25- Literally, he is trying to get out of my belly button this week! He is a maniac at night my entire belly jiggles! The nursery almost has all the basics in it and I'm feeling very happy with it! I went baby shopping at the weekend and bought him lots of lovely clothes - it felt so weird buying for a little person I don't yet know! We had a midwife appointment this week, she had a listen in to his heart and said he sounded very happy and content in there.
"Music and voices will be leaving impressions in his brain now. His spine has 1000 ligaments, 150 joints and 33 vertebrae. Loud noises may even prompt him to cover his ears (so probably only when Todd gets DJ rights in the car!)"
26- I'M SO ITCHY! My belly and my boobs, crikey! I'm one big itchy mess! Seriously worried it could be OC. Have felt very odd this week, dizzy and lightheaded and also massively tired again - My midwife said it sounded like pregnancy related anemia, so going in for bloods to get that checked and my liver function!
"His brain is experiencing a period of growth which 50 percent of his energy will be used for. His skin is still loose and wrinkly at this stage but beginning to fill with fat! His eyes are completely developed and brain is able to register various stimuli such as of sound and light"
27- Still a bit iffy this week, had had the results back from my bloods which just confirmed I had low levels of Iron & Bile acid. My blood pressure was also low and I had a water infection. Also, sleep is impossible, the insomnia is back! But no pains, back ache or cramping anymore! Had a scary 24 hours also, had to go to MAU as he hadn't moved in 24 hours, this was possibly down to how busy I've been but after being hooked up to the monitors we found actually, he was just a bit tired but had a perfect heartbeat - phew! These babes hey!
"The week marks the end of the second trimester. He has 80-95% survival rate should he be born now. He will become even more active now that his little home is becoming cramped! The amniotic fluid decreases now which means i'll feel much more movement."
We've got a mover in there!!
So that's the second trimester down! Onto the third and final trimester, when in 13 weeks (if he isn't late) we will meet our little boy
Love, Rey x
