26 weeks

Well....its getting harder and harder to take a somewhat flattering picture. Andy took a hundred and most were met with: Oh dear God! Do I really look like that?! At least I'm laughing. This last week was a weird one. I had my very own psychotic pregnancy breakdown. I started laughing and it turned into weeping...back to laughing. Poor Andy. He didn't know whether to laugh or to comfort me. Whew.

This week we have been going over to the lake near our house. Andy's mom and stepdad let us in on a little secret sweet spot. Its 15 minutes from our house and it's free. We've been going over there several times a week to get some exercise and some relief from the 100 degree weather we've been having.

I hesitate to share this because its a less than flattering story, but its too funny to skip over. Last Sunday when we were at the lake, it was wavy like the ocean. I've been having terrible heartburn for the last month or so. TERRIBLE. They say there is some correlation between the amount of heartburn you have and the amount of hair the baby has. Alls I'm saying is that that little turd better come out with a full mane.

Anyways, back to my less-than-flattering story. We were bobbing up and down in the waves, not helping my heartburn in the least. I dont' know if you guys have ever had heartburn, but it feels like you are drinking acid. So, I start swimming away from the group because I feel like I'm about to hurl. Andy says: Where are you going?! Me: Get away from me, I'm gonna puke. And so I did. And right when I did, a wave came. And you could guess the end of the story. The throw-up went right back into my face, and into my eyes. I felt very elegant to say the least.

In other news, Andy has started his new job at the Y. He has only been there for a week but he has gotten the chance to meet some really cool people and it looks like he will be getting the opportunity to advance his skills in different aspects of training that he has yet to experience. We see loads of possibility there and only anticipate what will come.

Other than that, nothing too crazy has been happening. Besides the heartburn and feeling like a barn, I hardly notice being pregnant.

This week inside the womb:

Look who's looking. Your baby's eyes — which have been closed for the past few months (so that the retina, the part of the eye that allows images to come into focus, could develop) — are beginning to open at 26 weeks pregnant. What this means is that your baby is able to see what's going on now (unfortunately the view in your uterus isn't all that exciting). But do try this at home for kicks (baby's that is): Shine a flashlight at your stomach. Your baby might kick in response (as in: "Get that light out of my eyes!").

The iris, the colored part of the eye, still doesn't have much pigmentation (that'll fill in over the next month or two), so it's too early to start guessing your baby's eye color. Even the color your baby will be born with might not be the permanent shade; so you may be kept guessing until your baby is close to six months old.


Look what else is going on this week: Your baby's brain-wave activity is kicking in at this stage in fetal development, which means your little one can not only hear noises but can now also respond to them. Not in so many words, of course, but with an increase in pulse rate or activity.

And talking about activity, at your baby's current height and weight (about nine inches tall and two pounds), and at the rate he or she is growing, your baby will soon be feeling a little cramped in your uterus. Not to worry, there's still plenty of room for your baby to grow. It just means your gymnast will have less room for those somersaults, cartwheels, and other Olympic feats.