Week 29

Abby's grown to about 2 1/2 pounds this week and is over 15 inches long, head to heel. Her muscles and her lungs continue to mature and her head is growing bigger to make room for her developing brain. Sometime around this week, her brain will begin to develop its characteristic grooves--it's been smooth up to this point. As we've entered the third trimester, her bones are starting to harden, so calcium aplenty is a must for mom's diet.

Our little girl has gotten so much more active in just the last week! We've learned she likes her space--her strong kicks and punches let us know when she doesn't like people pressing in on Christina's belly or when a meal Christina's just eaten is expanding her stomach into Abby's territory. She's also doing things her way and on her timetable right now. She's consistently awake when Christina's resting and unresponsive when we're trying to show someone how active she (usually) is.

Christina has really begun to "pop" in the past few days, boasting an inch in gain since this time last week. As Abby grows, the available space in Christina's midsection is shrinking and she's finding it harder to eat large portions and is instead eating small portions much more often. We've found that Abby favors settling in on Christina's right side, making her pregnant belly a little lopsided. Trying to move her over usually only results in increasing the pressure on Christina's bladder, so we've decided to let our little girl hang out where she is.

After a restful week at the beach, we're ready to get back into the swing of things and countdown to the end of the summer and the arrival of our baby girl. Please pray that these last 11 weeks would go as smoothly as the first 29, that mother and baby would remain healthy and that we would continue to rely on God as we prepare our hearts and our homes for this little blessing.

In the home stretch,
Justin, Christina and Abby :)