Taylor's 2 week birthday

Taylor is 2 weeks old today! I can hardly believe it. These first two weeks have gone really well for all four of us. He is a wonderful baby and we're enjoying him so much! The adjustment to life as a mother of 2 has been intense but I'm getting it figured out and I know it'll get easier as we figure out a routine.

Just a few fun facts about Taylor:

• He looks like me! I took a look at my baby pictures and he really does look a lot like me.
• He flaps his arms when he's getting frustrated. I wish I could explain that better but it's the cutest thing. I know he's about to have a fit when his arms start to flap.
• He is a pooper! I'm glad his plumbing is working so I won't complain.
• He has "showered" me during numerous diaper changes already! The washing machine runs often!
• He is a grunter! He grunts whether he's happy or sad, sleeping, pooping, needing to burp, etc, etc!
• He's still wearing newborn clothes but I don't think they'll fit him much longer. He's getting longer and we'll find out how much he weighs at his 2 week check-up in the morning.
• His dark hair seems to be lightening up already. I'm so curious what his hair will do.
• He's pretty content. What a blessing! No signs of colic - praise the Lord!!!
• He's getting his nights and days figured out. He's awake most of the morning - around 8 to Noon - give or take a cat nap or two. And then he sleeps the day away! At night he's up every couple hours to eat. He's done a couple 3-hour stretches. Most of the time he goes back to sleep pretty quickly but he seems to choose one feeding to be awake for about an hour or so. I can live with that.

My grandma Elaine was here to meet Taylor on Wednesday, July 23rd. I wish I'd been able to get her reaction to him on video. She just gasped and stared at him for at least a minute. It was a precious moment!

Lily sharing jewelry with her baby brother. It's hard to see in the picture but she put some bracelets and earrings on his lap. :) She is an awesome big sister! She gives him lots of kisses and she's been really gentle with him so far.

Beautiful eyes

2 weeks old!

My children

A mother of two

Introducing...

Taylor Andrew Becker

8 pounds 14 ounces

21 inches

July 15, 2008

12:42 pm

Lily and her baby brother

Me and my children

Our first family photo!

Last day as a mother of one...

A radiant, glowing mama from the front

Another angle of the baby belly

And another angle of the belly. Notice my stretch marks - I wear them proudly! A small sacrifice for such a huge reward! Can't wait to hold my bundle of joy!

Wow - I can't believe this is it! This is my last day as a mother of one. Ever. It boggles my mind. Life with Lily Elaine has been so good and I have really enjoyed having her all to myself for three years. What precious, priceless memories I have with my firstborn. Her little brother is going to join us tomorrow and I can't even begin to fathom the adventures I'll experience as a mother of two!

We're going to the hospital at 6:30 tomorrow morning. I'm going to be induced but since I'm already dilated 3 cm I'd like to ask them to try breaking my water before starting me on pitocin. I think pit is the pits! I didn't like it with Lily and I'd be thrilled if I could avoid it this time around. Either way, please be praying for a fast, smooth delivery and a healthy baby boy! And we'd love your prayers for big sister Lily - that she will bond with her little brother right away and love him from the start. Pray for all of us to adjust to our new life as a family of four!

I can't wait to announce Baby's birth! We'll keep you posted. Check back for updates...

Week 40

The average birth weight for babies born at 40 weeks is about seven pounds, eight ounces and the average length is about 21 inches.
There are a number of surprising physical characteristics you may notice upon Baby’s arrival. You may not have realized the extent to which your hormones can affect your baby at this stage. Because of the presence of your hormones in your baby's system, your baby's genitals (scrotum in boys and labia in girls) may appear enlarged. Your baby boy or girl may secrete milk from the tiny nipples. This is another hormone-related occurrence that should disappear in a few days and is completely normal. Finally, hormones may cause some "infant acne" pimples on your baby's face. These, too, will disappear within a month or so of birth.
* Although many moms think of a baby's skin as "perfect," it can be very sensitive. When your baby is born, it's normal for her to have skin discoloration; blotchy, dry skin; or even rashes.
* Baby's trip through the constricting birth canal will temporarily mold her tiny head into a cone shape; this will round out within a few days of life.
* Babies are capable of crying at birth, but they are born with an underdeveloped tear duct system. You may notice that tears don't appear until one to three months of age.
* The umbilical cord between the placenta and fetus may be up to two feet long at birth. After the cord is cut, a remnant will remain attached to the baby's abdomen. It will drop off within the first month (verybestbaby.com)

I can't believe we're at this point. This pregnancy has seemed to drag on and on but now that it's almost over I can hardly believe it. Just 7 days to my due date! I'd love for him to come any day. I'm at the point where I feel huge and I'm ready to walk normally again and be able to sleep on my back! :) And I'm just ready to finally meet my baby boy! I'll keep you posted!

Erin and Stephen's Wedding

The weekend of Lily's birthday we took a trip to Illinois for my cousin Erin Crabtree's wedding. We took off on a beautiful Friday morning. About halfway there we got a phone call from my aunt and uncle who were also on their way to the wedding and were a couple hours ahead of us. The Interstate and lots of other roads had been closed due to flooding and they told us emphatically NOT to come the same way and to find an alternate route. Let's just say that phone call was the beginning of a frustrating trip across the state of Wisconsin, through Osh Kosh, Fon du Lac and Milwaukee, and then down to Illinois. What should have taken about 7 hours took 11 hours. We had also planned to stop in Walworth to see our friends Dave and April but because of all the road closures/detours we couldn't get there. Thankfully, we had just bought a DVD player for the car. It turned out to be such a life saver and kept Lily from getting as agitated as we were. When we finally got to our hotel that night she ran the halls many times and I was happy to let her do so after being cooped up in the car all day.

The wedding was beautiful and it was fun to see so many Crabtree relatives. They're spread all over the country so it takes an event like a wedding to bring them all together. There were only 3 cousins - Nate, Sarah and Krista - and one uncle - Tom - missing. We took a big family photo (see below).

The day of the wedding was Lily's 3rd birthday so the three of us had a mini celebration in our hotel room. And we ate at the Food Court in the mall with Grandma, Grandpa, Mandi and Bryan.

After the reception we drove to another hotel near Peru, Illinois. The next morning we got to see my grandma Adele and grandpa Curt. Lily met them for the first time which was really important to me. My grandma has dimentia and didn't know us but it was so good to see her and we took some pictures that I'll really treasure. She is still spunky and has her sense of humor. I have so many wonderful memories of my grandma - playing cards at their cabin, helping her make lunch, hearing her sing as she did things around the house, listening to her pray, laughing - lots of laughing because she's so funny, and lots more. It's difficult to see her in her deteriorating health but I'm so thankful that she's a believer and that one day she will be perfect!

From there we drove to Bettendorf, Iowa to see Andy's brother Dave and his family. Lily had an absolute blast with her cousins. They have a daycare in their home so it is toy heaven and Lily played non-stop when we got there. She didn't get a nap that day and was exhausted by bedtime. It was really nice to see them and we appreciated their hospitality!

We headed home the next morning and only had one road closure to deal with. The flooding in Iowa was pretty bad too. We saw lots of flooded fields and farms that looked like islands. It was a memorable trip! And being 8 months pregnant made it interesting too. We took a few more potty breaks than we probably would have otherwise. :)

Her new "toy camera". She had been asking for one. :)

Lunch at the Libertyville Mall

The Beckers

Stephen and Erin

The Crabtree Family

4 Generations

Lily got to meet my grandma Adele for the first time

14 days to go...

Isn't this fun? I saw one like it on another blog. It would have been cool to have found it at the beginning of this pregnancy but oh well. :)

Week 39

Even as late as the 39th week, there is one part of your Baby's body that hasn't quite finished developing: the two soft spots on your baby's head called the fontanels, where the skull bones haven't yet joined together. These areas allow the flexible skull bones to bend, without damaging the brain, as Baby travels down the birth canal. Because of the strength of the contractions during labor, many newborn heads look elongated or cone-shaped right after birth. The bones will return to their round shape within a few days after birth. During Baby's first year the skull will harden; by 18 months, the soft spots on Baby's head will have completely disappeared.
Other last-minute developments continue:
* Baby's skeleton continues to develop. Your baby now has 300 bones (about 100 more than an adult does, since some bones fuse together as the child grows). verybestbaby.com

14 days until my due date! My next dr. appt. is tomorrow morning so I'll find out if we're making any more progress. :) I really feel like we're about as ready as we can be. On Sunday we went to Andy's parents' house to pick up our car seat, swing, exersaucer and high chair. So now there's even more baby stuff around the house which is exciting. This little one is about to join our family!

Yesterday my friend Kara did a wonderful thing for me. She took care of Lily all day so that I could run errands and spend a day getting projects done. It was such a blessing! I ran errands and shopped, got the oil changed in the car and washed it, did a load of laundry, got some stuff ready to go to Goodwill, cleaned a toilet, put a coat of paint on a night stand for Lily, watched a little Wimbledon and checked my email, and took a shower. It was such a productive day and it was SO NICE to know that Lily was being so well taken care of and having a great time with her buddy Nathan. She even napped at their house and that went well too. I can't thank Kara enough for that gift! I was able to do so much more than I could have if I had been dragging Lily along, getting her in and out of her car seat and trying to keep her from getting bored. And I was able to save time by not having to make lunch for her or put her down for her nap. When I try to get things done around the house with her here a part of me feels like she's being ignored or neglected so it was so freeing to know that she was having such a good day. Thanks so much, Kara!!!

Another fun thing about yesterday is that our friends Lucas and Eir were in town. Eir had to be here for a board meeting today. They came to the softball games last night and then we went out to Applebee's afterward. It's always so nice to see them. We miss them a lot and really feel blessed that we've seen them as often as we have since they moved last summer.

I'll keep you posted about baby!

Dilated = Progress!!! :)

I had my 37 week check-up this morning and everything is going well. Dr. Boelter checked my cervix and said that it's dilated nearly to a 2 and is about 50% thinned out. I was pretty excited to hear about that because when I was in last week I wasn't dilated at all. It sounds like progress to me! :) I've had a few contractions this week - very sporadic and nothing major. But it's feeling more real and I know he'll be here before I know it! Andy's prediction from the beginning has been July 5th but my due date is the 15th. In the back of my mind I've been thinking the 18th. We'll see...

Week 38

This is the week in which Baby begins to outgrow the watery home where he's been developing these past nine months. Baby should weigh almost seven pounds this week, but at a length of about 21 inches, Baby hasn't grown much taller. The average full-term newborn weighs between six and nine pounds and is 18 to 21 inches long.
Here are a few other developments this week:
* Although Baby's growth is slowing, fat will continue to accumulate to help insulate Baby even more for his entry to the outside world.
* Meconium (Baby's feces) will continue to build up in his intestines.
* By now, the circumference of baby's head and abdomen are about the same. (verybestbaby.com)

Week 37

Now Baby weighs almost 6.5 pounds and his total length is about 21 inches long. But he hasn't stopped growing yet; he'll continue to develop about a half-ounce of fat a day. Still, overall growth does slow from here on out. That's fortunate, since there is very little available space left in the womb as it is.
Here are a few final developments taking place in week 37:
* Baby's immune system continues to strengthen. His immune system will continue to get stronger after birth, and will not be completely functional until early adulthood.
* Baby can now grasp with his fingers as dexterity improves.

Just 28 days to my due date! I have really mixed emotions lately. I'm SO excited to meet this baby and to start figuring out life as a family of four and what it's like to have a daughter and a son! And, I feel SO unprepared to be a mother of two. There are days when I feel a little panicky and wonder what I'm getting myself into?!?! And at the same time I know that I have a supportive husband who is a great daddy, supportive parents (they might be the best grandparents EVER) who are just an hour away, and an awesome God who will never leave me and hears me when I cry out to Him! So I know I'm not on my own. I just feel the weight of the responsibility of raising two kids and I feel so inadequate.

Practically speaking, I think we're pretty much ready for his arrival. I bought a package of newborn diapers and I'd forgotten how small they are!!! So cute! I had a phone conversation with the hospital to talk about my birth plan. I asked some questions about circumcision so I'm feeling a little more comfortable about what that process is going to be like for my poor baby boy. The gal I talked to asked a lot of questions about my labor and delivery with Lily and was very surprised to hear that she was born just 4 hours and 27 minutes after the doctor broke my water and started me on pitocin. She strongly encouraged me NOT to try to labor very long at home and to come to the hospital relatively quickly. :) I'd love to think that this labor could go even faster - I just hope I have time to get the epidural!!! :)

Our infant carrier and base are in storage at Andy's parents' house so we need to get over there and find that. And I'll probably start putting my hospital bag together over the next couple weeks. It's hard to believe we've got about a month to go!!!

We got home yesterday from our weekend excursion to Wisconsin, Illinois and Iowa. I'll tell you more about that and post some pictures from the trip soon. It was definitely an adventure!

Week 36

Your baby is working hard to accumulate all the fat he can, in preparation for delivery. His body is growing rounder every day, since about 15 percent of his total weight is now made up of fat. Once he is born, this fat layer will help him maintain his body temperature and give him a reliable energy source.
* Baby now weighs around six pounds and is 20.7 inches long.
* Major organ development is already complete, such as the kidneys and liver.
* Some fine-tuning, such as the final development of the lungs, is still taking place inside the womb.
* Baby's head is round, but by the time he makes it through the birth canal it may be temporarily a bit misshapen as the soft bones of the skull are compressed by powerful contractions. His head shape will return to normal within a few days. (verybestbaby.com)

Celebrating Lily's 3rd Birthday!

Saturday, June 7, 2008

Building a castle with daddy before her guests arrive. I found this Carter's dress on clearance at Kohl's for about $5! I love a bargain. :) She was so cute for her party.

Lily and Friends! (l to r) Lily, Benjamin, Jenna, Nathan, Brianna and Andrew


5 kids in a tent! When one would scream they would all scream. It was craziness!


A family photo outside on a GORGEOUS Saturday evening! Mommy is 8 months pregnant!!!

Make a wish, Lily!

Opening her presents. This is a Dora ball and bat from Nathan.

We tried to get them all on the couch for a group picture. Lily wasn't very happy about it and Andrew didn't stay put for long. :)

Sunday, June 8, 2008

Lily and 3 men who adore her! Uncle Mark, Daddy and Grandpa Ed

(l to r) Lily, Grandpa Sam, Grandma Vicki, Grandma Kathy and Great Grandma Irene

The Birthday Girl!

She ate a ton of marshmallows at both parties. We served chocolate fondue, but Lily was just interested in plain 'ole marshmallows. :)

Daddy and Lily

Lily and Mommy

The Becker Family

Bedtime Bear from Uncle Mark!!!

Feeding her baby from Grandma and Grandpa Becker

Sarah Lynn and her Camping Adventure from Grandma and Grandpa Crabtree

Enjoying chocolate "pupcakes" with Grandpa

3 of my favorite people on the planet!

Lily and her grandparents

4 Generations

Lily Becker, Andy Becker, Irene Becker and Ed Becker :)

One worn-out birthday girl

It was a delightful weekend of celebrating Lily's 3rd birthday. Her birthday isn't until the 14th but we're going to be in Illinois for my cousin Erin's wedding so we decided to have her parties the weekend before. She and I made Care Bears cupcakes on Friday night. She LOVES to help in the kitchen and doesn't let me forget to let her lick the beaters after mixing the cake batter. :) I made several trips to the grocery store. My pregnant brain didn't allow me to remember everything in one trip. Andy helped me clean the house and set up the table and extra chairs. Saturday morning Lily and I ran some errands (including picking up Care Bears balloons) and then had lunch with Andy at the store because he had to work. When we got home she took a nap (despite being SO excited for everyone to come!!!) while I cut fruit, made sure the camera battery and video cam were charged up, took care of a few last minute details and took a shower. Her friends started arriving right around 4 o'clock and it was so much fun. We borrowed an idea from our friends Dean and Lana and picked up Little Caesars pizzas for supper. It was the best thing ever! No meal to prepare and very little clean up!!! I highly recommend that. I decided that if there was ever a year when I had an excuse this was it! Also, I had picked up a very large container of Cheese Balls at Sam's Club and they were a HUGE hit with the kids! :) Rain had been forecasted all week but it turned out to be a beautiful day so we all spent some time outside which was wonderful. We came back inside for Lily's Care Bears cupcakes and ice cream and then she opened gifts and passed out goodie bags. I'd say it was a success!

Sunday afternoon we celebrated with our families. My parents, Andy's parents, his brother Mark and his grandma Irene were here. My grandma Elaine was in Colorado visiting my Aunt Shari so she had to miss the party. And of course Mandi and Bryan were at home in Stevens Point. We missed them and wish they could have been here!!! We pretty much served identical food for the sake of convenience and once again the marshmallows were a hit with Lily. It was a really special evening to be with family. I feel so fortunate that Lily has both sets of grandparents and two great-grandmas nearby and that they're such a special part of her life. We are blessed! She got to open MORE presents and loved it all. She's played with every single thing since the party and is really enjoying having some new toys around. She got a book from my parents called Big Thought for Little Thinkers: The Gospel and has asked me to read it to her *many* times. It's way over her head but she loves it! It's literally a gospel presentation that talks about the fact that she's a sinner and needs to trust Jesus for salvation and that Jesus took her punishment on the cross and that she can spend eternity in Heaven with Him. It's so over her head but she's been carrying it around and absolutely loves it. The character in the book is a little girl named Gracie and so she calls it her "Gracie book". It's so funny how you never know what she will latch onto. She got all this STUFF for her birthday and a little book about the Gospel is probably her favorite thing! :)

Well, this is one very long post. So I should bring it to a close. I'll just say that it's so hard to believe that my baby Lily is turning 3. Where have these three years gone? She is such a gift and I can't imagine my life without her. I pray hard to be a good mommy to her and that she will turn out despite all my flaws and failures. I do pray that she'll one day soon recognize her need for a Savior and that she will love Jesus and become a godly woman. And in the more immediate future I pray that she will be a good big sister and that she will bond with her baby brother and love him. I'm so grateful for the privilege of being her mother. Lily is a blessing!!!

Week 35

In week 35, the average baby weighs around five to six pounds and measures about 16 to 19 inches in length. Your baby will begin to gain weight more rapidly than ever before…adding about one half to three-quarters of a pound each week from this point forward. And healthy fat is being deposited all over your baby's body, especially around the shoulders.
Because of her size, your baby may move around less as her surroundings become more cramped. Her head may be resting on your pubic bone in preparation for labor and delivery.
Other developments are also taking place this week:
* The central nervous system will continue to mature.
* The lungs will most likely be fully developed by Week 35.
* Baby is beginning to develop daily activity cycles. You may notice that Baby is often more active at night when you're trying to rest!
* Even thought they won't be considered “full-term” until the end of the 40th week, Baby's respiratory and digestive systems are nearly mature.
* Baby's immune system is starting to develop.
* The umbilical cord is now about 20 inches long and one to two centimeters in diameter; at birth, it will be about two feet long and a half-inch thick.

A HUGE Surprise and a Baby Shower

Friday night we went to a bbq at our friends Chad and Megan's home. I was standing in their kitchen with my back to the front door when I heard April's voice say, "Is this where the party's at?" In that instant I thought, "No way." I turned around and April was standing about two feet away from me and my jaw dropped. I said, "What are you doing here?!" And she said they came for the shower. Do you believe that??? I had been holding baby Dylan so I passed him to his mom, hugged April and started crying. I couldn't believe it. And as I looked at all the other people there I realized that nobody else was surprised. They were all in on it! Andy had known for four days and he kept the secret so well. I had no idea. The only thing I thought was weird was that Chad and Megan were having all of us over the night before we would all be hanging out again at our baby shower. But it never even crossed my mind that Dave and April would come for the shower. I'm so glad they did!!! It was so fun to see them after all these months and to meet their precious little Hailey. I'm so glad I got to meet her while she's still so little. She's such a good baby! And Emma is so grown up and such a dolly.



Saturday night our friends Dean and Lana hosted a baby shower for us at their house and it was wonderful! They thought of everything! They went to so much work and it was just delightful. I couldn't believe how many people were there and how many clothes we came home with for our baby boy! He's going to be a well dressed, stylish little guy. :) I feel overwhelmed. We're so grateful for such an awesome circle of Christian friends.

It was an awesome weekend and it still seems a little surreal that Cousens were here. It was so sweet of them to come and it meant a lot to me.

So below are a few photo highlights of the weekend. Enjoy!

Emma and Lily at the BBQ

Hailey Faith! Beautiful baby!

Sleeping peacefully during all the chaos!

Reunited! Andrew, Emma, Brianna, Lily and Lauren

Showers of blessings

The Beckers and the super cute cake

The yellow lettering says Congratulations Andy, Dawn and Lily

The bear design matched the invitations, napkins, plates, balloons, etc.

My beloved, precious friend April!!!

Our kiddos

Aren't they cute?

Week 34

As of this week, your baby has grown so large she takes up most of the available space inside the uterus, and can no longer float around your womb. Baby is now about 4.7 pounds and about 16.8 inches long.
Meanwhile, other exciting things are still going on inside the womb this week:
* Your baby's adrenal glands are growing and producing corticoid hormones that, together with prolactin from the pituitary, will stimulate lactation.
* The vernix coating on the baby's skin is getting thicker to better protect Baby's skin.
* Baby's skull bones are still quite pliable and not completely fused together at the top of her head, which will make it easy for Baby to slip down the relatively narrow birth canal.
* Baby's skin is gradually becoming less red and wrinkled as the fat beneath it fills out and stretches the skin. (verybestbaby.com)

Baby's due date is just 49 days away!!! He'll be here before we know it. Today I dug out some reading material that I had saved from my pregnancy with Lily - stuff about breastfeeding, labor and newborn care! :) And I "made" Andy watch an infant care DVD with me - something we had gotten for free from the Very Best Baby Resource Center (you can sign up online). It's so exciting. I just can't wait to meet him.

We're working on potty training with Lily but I'd say we're not really getting anywhere. She doesn't mind wearing big girl underwear but doesn't ever say when she needs to go potty. I honestly think she's a little bit afraid to actually "go" on the potty. So I really don't want to push her. It'll happen when she's ready.

The long weekend was nice. It's always a treat to have Andy home with us on weekdays! :) But it throws me off - today definitely didn't feel like a Monday. I'm not looking forward to him heading back to work tomorrow. I'd like to go to the gym. And I need to get to the grocery store. I'm having some other mommy friends and their kiddos over for lunch on Wednesday and I need a couple things for that. Andy has a softball game tomorrow night but it isn't until 9:20!!! Needless to say, Lily and I will be staying home. It's really a bummer because she loves to go to his softball games.

Better get to bed. G'night!

Ground Breaking Ceremony

On Sunday we had a ground breaking ceremony on the land right next to our church. As a congregation we stood on the chalk outline of the new sanctuary and prayed for our church. Then we turned and faced the community and prayed for the St. Cloud Area. To see plans for the new addition go to Calvary's website.

Week 33

In these last few weeks before delivery, billions of your baby's brain cells are helping her to learn about her environment. These cells help her to listen, feel, and even see. In fact, this is another important week for visual development. By now, your baby may now be able to experience her surroundings visually, since the pupils of her eye can now detect some light. Her pupils are constricting and dilating to allow her baby to see dim shapes.
Your baby now weighs about 4.4 pounds! (Babies gain a good deal of their weight in the final few weeks before birth.) She is about 16.4 inches long from head to toe.
Other developments this week include:
* Baby's head size will increase about 3/8 of an inch in circumference this week.
* Baby is now sleeping much of the time.
* Baby's lungs are continuing to mature.
* Fat will continue to be added on to Baby's body for protection and warmth.
* The testicles of most boys have by now moved into the scrotum. (verybestbaby.com)

Week 32

Baby's appearance is changing rapidly during this week. Most of the wrinkles are disappearing from your baby's face, and there may be a lot of hair on her head. In fact, as the lanugo hair on her body begins to fall off, the hair on her head is growing even faster. By week 32, some babies already have a thick head of hair, while others have only a few strands.
Baby is now about four pounds and about 15.5 inches long, an incredible increase of almost two pounds from last month.
In other developmental news this week, Baby:
* Will have completely formed fingernails and toenails.
* Will be able to turn her head from side to side.
* Has organs that continue to mature.
* Has sucking muscles that have matured, and will enable her to latch on and breastfeed once she arrives. (A good sucking pattern is also a sign of good brain and muscle development.)
* Will begin dreaming during sleep toward the end of the eighth month, according to brain scans. Due to her impressive brain development, her sleep will now include both REM and non-REM sleep stages. (REM stands for "rapid eye movement," the dreaming stage of sleep.) verybestbaby.com

Week 31

This week marks some major changes for your baby's eyes. Most notably, the iris in your baby's eyes will become pigmented. However, no matter what color eyes your baby is born with (most are born with dark blue-brown or blue-gray eyes) the color almost always changes after birth. In fact, your baby's true eye color won't appear for six to nine months after delivery, because the final eye pigmentation occurs in response to the strong light of the outside world.
By the end of this week, Baby will weigh about 3.5 pounds and will be about 14.5 inches long. From now on, your baby's weight gain will exceed her growth in length.
Each day brings new developments inside the womb:
* Baby's eyes are now usually open during waking, and are closed at naptimes.
* Baby's lungs and digestive tract are continuing to develop.
* As you near the end of the second trimester, your baby will begin to settle head-down into your pelvis. However, some babies don't make this journey until late in the last trimester, and about four percent of babies don’t make the switch, remaining in a breech position at delivery.

Just 10 weeks - 70 days - until my due date!