Growing up (and out!)

Baby is getting bigger (and so is Mom!)! Little Foot is now almost 1 whole pound and is almost a foot long (11 or so inches). At 22 and a half weeks, Little Foot is going through a gigantic growth spurt that will pretty much last for the rest of the pregnancy. This is becoming exceedingly more obvious as Little Foot's movements are surprisingly strong and visible (both from the inside and the outside perspectives). At this point in development, Baby has fully developed eyelids and eyebrows, fingernails that go all the way to the end of the fingertips, and the brain is entering a period of rapid growth. If Little Foot is a boy, his testes are beginning to descend into the scrotum, primitive sperm are beginning to form, and his body is producing testosterone. Baby's liver is starting to break down bilirubin, a waste product from red blood cells. This is an important function for Baby in order to avoid jaundice (yellowing of the skin due to a buildup of bilirubin). Little Foot can also hear a lot better now; his/her ears are quite developed. They say that in studies where babies were read the same book throughout pregnancy, as newborns they sucked more vigorously when they were read that book again (a sign of recognition in babyworld, since they can't voice their thoughts). So maybe we'll have to start a nightly reading program for Little Foot. Any suggestions on what we should read?

Mom: This is an active baby! He/She moves so much; yesterday I felt like there was never more than a half hour between awake times. I love feeling him/her move and remind me that there is a little baby in there! It's hard for me to believe sometimes that I'm growing another human life inside of me--what a miracle it is! I am in awe that God has given us the gift of bringing another life into the world. I know that I am definitely not capable of raising this child the way it should be, but with God's help I hope that Matt and I will be able to bring up Little Foot to be who God wants him/her to be. Parenting seems like a daunting task. Any major suggestions from those of you who are already parents?

Dad: I've been feeling Baby moving and grooving in its little womb-fortress for about 6 weeks now and try not to let a day go past without interacting with the little one. I like to push while Baby pushes back. I'm still stronger for now, but Baby's getting bigger fast! Often we are sitting in class and I hear Kristi give a little startle and a smile comes across her face. Baby likes class alot. So we are almost done scheduling our clinical rotations for 3rd and 4th year. We will be living in Duluth at our current place until November and then we move to Buffalo, Minnesota for 9 months for RPAP (rural rotations). Then on to the big city (Minneapolis) for a year. Any ideas for childcare in Duluth for one month in Sept/Oct? Or in Minneapolis for July2008-May2009?

Please make a guess on our "Baby Pool," where you can guess the baby's gender, birthdate, birth time, weight, and length. This friendly little game was set up for us by our friend Jose Sturgeon (a good friend from Matt's hometown Delano, MN). All you have to do is go to www.expectnet.com and enter the game name littlefoot2007 on the lefthand side of the webpage. Then you enter your best prediction for all those categories. A suggested entry fee of $5 should be mailed to: Jose Sturgeon 915 Haywood Drive Howard Lake, MN 55349 (unless you live in Duluth and you would like to hand-deliver the money to us). The total money pot will be divided between the winner of the predictions and us (lucky us!). The winner will be the person with the least number of points (like golf). You will be given penalty points for each wrong guess (400 points for the wrong gender, 5 points per hour off on the birthdate and time, etc). This "Baby Pool" is going to be open until June 20. May the best guesser win!