week 24

average size: 10.5-11.8 inches, 12.7-20.8 oz.
what's going on with baby: "Baby’s progress isn’t just about internal stuff, it’s about her looks too. With pinker, more opaque skin, she’s looking more and more, well, like a baby. You might be experiencing some of the discomforts of the later months of pregnancy like leg cramps, backaches and swollen feet."


luckily i have only gotten a leg cramp once or twice so far (which is easy to get rid of, you just stand/put all your weight on whichever leg is in pain. it's just hard to get out of bed quickly to stand on it haha), my lower back hasn't been hurting me too bad (only on really long walks), and i think my feet are still the same as before! :)

and in some interesting news...we have hit v-day! viability day! week 24 is usually considered the point of viability, meaning that if she were to be born right now, she would have a chance for survival. she would, however, be in intensive care for many months, so hopefully she still plans on cooking in the oven for quite some time! but, it's nice to reach this point in pregnancy :) her odds get better each week from here on out. for example:



at 24 weeks: 40-70% survival rate
at 25 weeks: 50-80% survival rate
at 26 weeks: 80-90% survival rate
at 27 weeks: greater than 90% survival rate

she really seems to kick a lot more now after dinner. i guess either she loves or hates the food we choose to make haha...we keep trying to see if erik can feel her from the outside yet, and he said on saturday that he thinks he might have felt something. it's really hard because he can feel my pulse on my stomach, and his own pulse on his hand, so he has to wait for something that doesn't feel rhythmical. twice i felt harder than usual kicks, so i asked him if he felt those and that's when he said, "i think maybe" hahaha...so we're getting closer!

also! we were at the grocery store on friday, and a lady came up to me and asked when i was due! it surprised me!!! she was really sweet and asked us if it was our first, etc. i have heard stories from other women saying that sometimes strangers will come up to them in public places and touch their baby bumps! glad she didnt do that to me! i'm 100% okay with friends and family touching my bump if they want, but a stranger??? SO weird. how could they think that would be okay, normal, or wanted? no, thank you!

we have another monthy appointment this week (thursday)! just one of the quick little 15 minute check-ups to make sure everything is going alright and to see if i have any questions. i still love these appointments though because we always get to hear her heartbeat on the dopplar :) i dont have any questions though this month, so it will basically just be: pee in a cup, listen to heartbeat, and i think this week is when they will start measuring my fundal height (how big my uterus is) with a measuring tape on my belly like this:

the red line shows about how big it should be about now:

we'll see! i know it's getting harder and harder to fit into my pre-pregnancy jeans though! i've just been keeping them unbuttoned and unzipped with a bellaband holding them up like this:

it's been wonderful and working, but now i'm noticing on long walks, my jeans are starting to slide down haha...not good. i was hoping to maybe never have to buy maternity jeans and to just rely on the bellaband, but now i'm thinking the jeans/bellaband combo's time might be up very soon. if i were closer to july and it was like this, i might be able to stick it out, but i'm just now only at the 6 month mark haha...ah well!

speaking of my big belly, here's an updated bump photo!

growing more and more each day! :) i now have to sit down to put socks on hahaha....