Week 20 - The Halfway Mark

Well, this week marks the half way point of Laura's pregnancy. Anna's crown-to-rump length is 5.6 to 6.4 inches and she weighs about 9 ounces.

Her skin is begining to thicken this week and will develop four layers. Her sebaceous glands secrete a waxy substance called vernix caseosa. She will be born with this wax and it will look like paste. The vernix caseosa is crucial because it protects her fragile skin from the continuous immersion in amniotic fluid. Lanugo hairs secure the vernix caseosa in place and it is thick around the eyebrows. Scalp hair and toenails are beginning to form at this point. Hair can also be seen on the upper lip and eyebrows.

I hope everyone is enjoying reading about Anna and Laura's progress. Let me know if you have any ideas or suggestions. Only 20 weeks left:)

Week 19

Welcome to WEEK 19 in Anna’s progress. Yes, I said Anna! For those who have been hiding under a rock, Laura and I found out yesterday that we are having a baby girl, and her name will be Anna Hope Smith. We are completely excited about having a baby girl. I didn’t really have a preference as long as the baby is healthy. But since finding out that the baby is a she, an amazing thing has happened. Anna already has me wrapped around her little finger.

Well, here is some info about Anna this week. Her crown-to-rump length is about 5.2 to 6 inches this week. Her approximate weight is 7 ounces and her weight will increase more than 15 times between now and her birth.

One of the most amazing aspects of her growth and development is that of the fetal brain. Her brain was one of the first organs to appear. Her oversized head shows the brains importance in her development. Because the nerves that connect the muscles to the brain have grown into place, Anna’s movements are consciously directed. Her ears stand out from the side of the head and the buds for her permanent teeth appear. Her arms and legs have reached their relative proportions and her feet are approximately one inch long.

Week 18

Well, this is week 18 in Laura’s pregnancy and I am happy to welcome a guest blogger. Here it is:

Hello everyone, this is baby Smith and I am proud to be guest blogging on my daddy’s blog. Well, this is the 18th week of my existence and I am growing pretty good. I am about 5 ½ inches long. I am continuing to develop fat layers and I weigh about 5.25 ounces. I will continue to grow and develop but my rapid growth will slow down for a while. I have become more sensitive to the outside world and I may start showing my presence through kicks and prods. The bones through which sound is passed to my inner ear have hardened and the parts of the brain that receives and processes nerve signals from the ears are developing. This means I can now hear my mommy and daddy now. I have heard mommy and she likes to sing, I really enjoy listening to her. And daddy likes to tell a lot of jokes. And some of them are funny  I am starting to get used to familiar sounds like my mommy’s heart beating and blood rushing through the umbilical cord. But be careful, I get startled if I hear loud sounds.

Well, that’s about it. I am really excited to meet everyone of you when I arrive into this world in October. I may be blogging again sometime before my arrival, but I will let daddy do it for a while.

Bye!!

Week 17

Welcome to Week 17 in the Baby Smith pregnancy blog. Laura is feeling much better now that she is into her 2nd trimester. The morning sickness has gone away, with the occasional sickness here and there. We think we might have felt the baby kick over the weekend but we are not sure. From a soon-to-be father's point of view, this is such an amazing time! I've had cousins and friends who have been pregnant, but it makes it more real when it is my child. Seeing Laura progressing each week, knowing that our child is growing inside of her is amazing!!!

Our baby's weight has doubled in two weeks and now weighs about 3.5 ounces! The crown-to-rump length of our growing baby is 4.4 to 4.8 inches. If you spread your hand out opened wide, you can see about how big our baby is right now.

Huge changes continue to take place within our developing baby. This week fat begins to form and will continue to do so until he/she is born. Fat is important to the body's heat production and metabolism. Right now, at 17 weeks, water makes up about 3 ounces and fat 0.018 ounces of the baby's body. In a baby at term, fat makes up about 5.25 pounds of the total average weight of 7.7 pounds. The placenta is continuing to grow at an amazing rate. The placenta will continue to develop in tandem with the fetus and it will weigh more than a pound at birth! By this week, the placenta is large and well established with a network of blood vessels that exchange nutrients and waste.

The eyes are facing more forward. The ears are now close to their final position.

Our baby is more flexible with ability to move head, mouth, lips, arms, wrists, hands, legs, feet, and toes. Fingerprints are also forming now.