Avocado's In The House, Baby!!

 Rhonda is now in her 16th week of pregnancy and all is well. She is feeling great and looking great too, if I do say so myself! Like our friend Jamie said to me this morning, "She is looking really great and very happy...she is glowing!" I completely agree. Pregnancy looks good on her!

I remember when we first found out that Rhonda was pregnant. Baby was the size of a poppyseed. But this week, baby is about the size of an Avocado and is getting ready to have a real big growth spurt. Within the next 3 weeks, baby will double in weight and add inches to its length. From head to bum, baby is nearing 5 inches long, weighs about 3.5 oz which means baby now weighs more than its afterbirth. And although baby has a thin layer of protective skin, it is still very translucent. If we could look through and see baby, we could see all of the blood vessels and other internal parts.

In big news, baby has learned to breathe. This is apparent from the regular movements of babies chest, inhaling and exhaling small amounts of amniotic fluid. These actions help the lungs to develop and grow. More developed facial muscles may lead to various expressions, such as squinting and frowning.

In or out of the womb, babies are playful creatures. Our baby may have already discovered its first toy -- the umbilical cord -- which baby will enjoy pulling and grabbing. Sometimes baby may even clutch it so tight that less oxygen gets through, but don't worry -- baby doesn't hold onto it long enough to harm himself/herself.

Between 15 & 20 weeks is when mommy should start to feel the baby move inside. I can't even imagine what an amazing experience that is, but Rhonda will soon find out! In other developments, baby's ears have moved from the neck up to their final destination, the eyes have moved from the sides of the head to their final destination, the pattern of hair on the scalp has begun to develop, fingernails and toenails have begun to grow and baby has even begun sucking it's little thumb. Baby's heart is also pumping about 28 litres of blood each day and this amount will continue to increase.

We love learning about babies growth and feel that it's an important part of the experience. And we hope you do too!!