30th Week of My Development

It's a busy week for me. My bone marrow takes over production of red blood cells meaning I'll be better able to cope on my own when I'm born. I can also recognise mom's voice as distinct from other people's. Research has shown that the fetal heart rate slows down when the mother speaks, suggesting that babies not only hears and recognises their mothers' voice but is also calmed by it.

I am about 15.7 inches long now, and I weighs almost 3 pounds (like a head of cabbage). My growth in length will slow down, but I'll continue to gain weight and as that happens the volume of amniotic fluid that surrounds me, which is currently about 750ml, will gradually decrease. Also, the fine, downy hair (lanugo) that has covered my body is beginning to disappear as my fat stores increase and help to regulate my body temperature.

My eyesight continues to develop, though it's not very keen; even after I'm born, I'll keep my eyes closed for a good part of the day. When I do open them, I'll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision — which means I can only make out objects a few inches from my face. (Normal adult vision is 20/20.)

My first poo, known as meconium, is being formed in the intestines – it's made up of various waste products including lanugo, mucus, amniotic fluid and old skin cells. I'll pass in it the first 24 hours or so after birth, and it will be dark green and sticky!. That's all for now

Did you know that by 30 weeks I have the ability to produce tears?. Amazing!!!

Friends, see you soon!!!



Image from: http://www.babycenter.com/fetal-development-images-30-weeks

29th Week of My Development

I now weighs about 2 1/2 pounds (like a butternut squash) and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel. My muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and my head is growing bigger to make room for my developing brain. This trimester, about 250 milligrams of calcium are deposited in my hardening skeleton each day, so my mom need more calcium to meet the demand.

I am still in the midst of a period of intense activity and gaining around 25g in weight every day. The blood vessels in my lungs are maturing and they're gradually getting ready for my first breath. For now my mom's placenta is providing me with all the oxygen I need.

All five of my senses are developing well (sight is the last to develop and will continue maturing once I am born). I am increasingly sensitive to changes in light, sound, taste and smell and may indicate preferences for particular tastes or odors. Whatever mom is eating will flavour her amniotic fluid – it can smell strongly of curry, garlic, onion and cumin for example – and researchers have found that baby will drink it faster the sweeter it tastes (one study showed that a 33 – week premature baby will suck harder on a sweetened nipple than on a plain one).

Did you know that if you could see me, you'd be able to observe me making faces – frowning, grimacing and making what looks like a smile (although a true smile doesn't occur until I'm about six weeks old).

Friends, see you soon!!!

Image from: http://www.babycenter.com/fetal-development-images-29-weeks

28th Week of My Development

It's a big week for me since this is the beginning of the last stage of my development. My eyes, which have been fused shut until about now, open and I begins to blink. The irises don't have any pigment yet, they're a slate grey, but my pupils will react to different levels of light by contracting and dilating. I may respond to a bright light from outside by giving a little kick. I am already looks a lot like I will appear at birth. I'm still quite wrinkly though, because of being surrounded by the amniotic fluid.
My respiratory system is still very immature (were I to be born now I would still need very intensive care and lots of intervention and help with breathing), but it has developed to the point where gas exchange is possible.
By this week, I weighs two and a quarter pounds (like a Chinese cabbage) and measures 14.8 inches from the top of my head to my heels. I can blink my eyes, which now sport lashes. With my eyesight developing, I may be able to see the light that filters in through my mom's womb. I'm also developing billions of neurons in my brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world.

Friends, see you soon!!!

Image from: http://www.babycenter.com/fetal-development-images-28-weeks

My Name is Gabrielle

It's official, after waiting for 27 weeks my gender is determined. I am a girl....yahoo. Mom and dad was praying for a baby girl and God grant their prayer.

Dad was not able to recognized (or visualized) my genital shown on the ultrasound monitor. The sonologist said it looks like a hamburger (not the top view just what my dad was looking, ha ha ha). Anyway, they're both happy to know my gender and now it's time for you to make a suggestion (and buy your gift, LOL) on what should be my first name. It should be a one syllable name that begins with the letter "R", don't forget to research for its meaning.

"Reign" meaning rule, sovereign was the name they really want but a friend already used it so dad modify it and become "Raine" meaning abundant blessing from above. Nice name, Raine Gabrielle but it's not yet final. Help them up.

Friends see you soon!!!

2nd Trimester Milestone

Here's the summary of the 2nd trimester of my development:

Week 13: Flexes and Kicks
Week 14: Hormones gear up
Week 15: My skin begins to form
Week 16: Facial expressions are possible
Week 17: Fat accumulates
Week 18: I begin to hear
Week 19: Lanugo covers my skin
Week 20: The halfway point (my skin develops layer)
Week 21: Nourishment evolves
Week 22: My taste buds develops
Week 23: My lungs prepare for life outside the womb
Week 24: My sense of balance develops
Week 25: Exploration continues
Week 26: My eyes remain closed
Week 27: Second Trimester ends (my lungs, liver and immune system are continuing to mature)

3rd Trimester begins today, August 5, 2009

Friends, see you soon...

27th Week f My Development

Just 10 weeks to go until I reaches full term! From now until about week 30, I go through a very active phase – my muscles are increasingly developed and my nervous system is mature enough to control some of my bodily functions. So you can look forward to my kicking and moving around a lot.

The rest of the time I will be sleeping. I am settling into a sleep cycle that's similar to what I'll follow as a newborn: asleep during the day and awake at night! My brain is growing rapidly too and the grooves on the surface are developing.

I am practicing my sucking reflex a lot now. This is important as it will help me feed effectively once I'm born. Meanwhile my muscles, organs and limbs are all formed, and throughout this final trimester I'll be busily building up fat stores and muscle mass.

This week, I weighs almost 2 pounds (like a head of cauliflower) and is about 14 1/2 inches long with my legs extended. While my lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with a lot of medical help — if I were to be born now. (For Mom: Chalk up any tiny rhythmic movements you may be feeling to a case of hiccups, which may be common from now on. Each episode usually lasts only a few moments, and they don't bother me, so just relax and enjoy the tickle.)

Did you know that by now, I have all my bones (there are 300 of them!). Throughout the remainder of mom's pregnancy they will be getting stronger and harder, and they will continue to ossify throughout the first year of life after birth. Amazing!!!!

Friends, see you soon!!!

Image from: http://www.babycenter.com/fetal-development-images-27-weeks

26th Week of My Development

My nostrils are opening up, so I'll be able to practise breathing through my nose as well as my mouth. My eyes are developing the ability to focus, although I'll only be able to see objects 15-20cm away at birth. My lungs are maturing and I'd have an 80 per cent chance of survival if I was born now.

Lengthwise, My growth has slowed down now, but I am still gaining lots of fat. my movements are likely to be strong enough to be seen from the outside, and mom may be able to make out the rough shape of a protruding foot, elbow or bottom. The network of nerves to my ears are now fully developed, and I'll noticeably react to external noises. I am also likely to have a burst of activity just after mom have eaten.

I now weighs about a pound and two-thirds and measures 14 inches (an English hothouse cucumber) from head to heel. If I am a boy, his testicles are beginning to descend into my scrotum — a trip that will take about two to three days.

Did you know that I will be born with over 70 reflexes that develop in the womb. One of the strongest is sucking – some babies are even born with sucking blisters on their thumbs or fingers, because the urge to latch on is so strong. Amazing!!!!

Friends, see you soon!!!

Image from: http://www.babycenter.com/fetal-development-images-26-weeks

25th Weeks of My Development

The cortex (outer layer) of my brain is developing into layers, paving the way for sophisticated brain activity like thinking, feeling and planning in years to come. My eyes are fully functional, and I may blink as a reflex reaction to a loud or sudden noise. (Studies have also shown that an unborn baby will turn her head if a light is shone onto the mum's abdomen, proving that her optic nerve is now working.)

My lungs are maturing by the day and I am making breathing motions, although if I was born before 37 weeks, it's likely I need help to breathe. My sense of smell is developing, too – one study showed that babies whose mums ate lots of garlic responded more strongly to the smell after the birth. Tiny blood vessels called capillaries are now developing beneath the surface of my skin, which will give my skin its pink colour.

Head to heels, I am now measures about 13 1/2 inches. My weight — a pound and a half — I am beginning to exchange my long, lean look for some baby fat. As I does, my wrinkled skin will begin to smooth out and I'll start to look more and more like a newborn. I am also growing more hair — and if you could see it, you'd now be able to discern its color and texture.

Did you know that scans at this stage have shown that babies appear to smile and cry in the womb, although the jury's out on whether these are genuine expressions of emotion or just instinctive muscle movements. Amazing!!!

Friends, see you soon!!!

P.S.

Only 2 weeks left before the 3rd pace of my development begins.

What to expect: Mom and Dad will be attending "Parenting 101" this coming week, I'll be glad to share it with you.

Image from: http://www.babycenter.com/fetal-development-images-25-weeks

Prenatal Check-up @ 22 Weeks & 4 Days

This ultrasound video was taken two weeks ago. It shows that my hand, fingers and other part of my body is almost complete. Three months to go and I am ready to see the outside world (LOL).

"I thank you for the wonders you have done, and my heart praises you for the marvelous deeds. Even my bones were known to you when I was being formed in secret, fashioned in the depths of the earth."- Psalms 139:14-15

© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Unauthorized use, edit, copy, reproduction, publication, duplication, download and distribution of this video may result in severe legal and criminal penalties under the law. The above video were taken/edited by RickyPascual and remain the properties of the videographer. Please do not use elsewhere without the owner’s permission.

Breast Crawl

Last Saturday, my mom and dad attended a free "Breast Feeding" seminar held at Medical City in Pasig City. It gives tips on feeding, positioning, pumping and storing milk, weaning, and basically any other problem mom could possibly come across.

One of the video shown is the "Breast Crawl"., were in the new born (naturally) baby is laid on her mother's chest and wait for the baby to find her mother's breast and literally crawl and latch on without assistance. This only shows that God designed women to feed their child like this. Every newborn, when placed on the mother's abdomen, soon after birth, has the ability to find its mother's breast all on its own and to decide when to take the first breastfeed.

UNICEF, WHO and WABA along with the scientific community strongly recommend initiating breast feeding within an hour of birth. Evidence shows that early initiation can prevent 22% of all deaths among babies below one month in developing countries.

Watch this Video:

Download

So excited to do this one of course.

For more information about breast crawl, log on to http://breastcrawl.org/science.htm

Friends, see you soon!!!

24th Week of My Development

An important milestone this week – I am now viable. In other words, I have a good (around 40 per cent) chance of survival, with medical help, if I was born right now. Nevertheless, with every day that passes, my lungs mature a little more and my chances of survival get better.

I am growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces since last week. That puts me at just over a pound. Since I am almost a foot long (picture an ear of corn), I cuts a pretty lean figure at this point, but my body is filling out proportionally and I'll soon start to plump up. My brain is also growing quickly now, and my taste buds are continuing to develop. My lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" as well as cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help my air sacs inflate once I hits the outside world.

My skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon. It will thicken and become padded with fat until it's opaque.

I am very active because I still has plenty of room to move around inside my mom. with her blood vessels, bones and organs visible through it, but over the coming weeks

Did you know that my eyelids will open properly around now, and I'll begin to experience rapid eye movement (REM) sleep – the state associated with dreaming. Amazing!!!

Friends, see you soon!!!

P.S. I'll be sharing with you in the next couple of days my latest video inside my mom's womb (Dad is still editing it)

Image from: http://www.babycenter.com/fetal-development-images-24-weeks

23rd Week of My Development

At 23 weeks, my hearing is well established and I can make out a distorted version of mom's voice, the beating of her heart and her stomach rumblings. Loud noises often heard in utero (meaning in the uterus), such as the barking of a dog next door or the roar of a vacuum cleaner, probably won't bother me when I hears them outside the womb. Some studies seem to indicate that the unborn like me prefer classical music.

I am positively huge during pregnancy at 23 weeks, a whopping 1 pound (or almost at least!). That is quite an accomplishment for someone that used to weigh less than one ounce. I am now 11 1/2 inches (29 cm) in length. That's pretty impressive considering I could fit in the palm of hand just a few short weeks ago.

I am still making remarkable changes at pregnancy 23 weeks. Fat is still being deposited at a rapid rate but my skin is still quite red and heavily wrinkled because the skin is losing its transparency and pigment is beginning to form. The bones located in your baby's middle ear are starting to form by pregnancy week 23. because the skin is losing its transparency and pigment is beginning to form.

The pancreas is developing and it will responsible for insulin production, to help break down sugars. Oily fish in my mom's diet could help boost my health. (Women who eat oily fish while pregnant have children with better visual development, a major study at Bristol University suggests.) As I continues to grow, it has less space to move around in the uterus. Bones, muscles and organs are growing steadily.

Did you know that you may be able to see my squirm underneath my mom's clothes?. Amazing!!!

Friends, see you soon!!!

P.S.

Here's the latest ultrasound that shows my genitals: Am I a girl or a boy?, make your guess

Image from: http://www.babycenter.com/fetal-development-images-23-weeks