Somewhere around St. Patrick's Day 1998 - Something happened. We don't yet know
what or how. (Oh God - this Irish connection doesn't look good)
20th-26th April 1998 - During our move to CA, Lori gets "car
sick."
3rd May 1998 - We've been in CA now for a week but Lori is still
"car sick."
11th May 1998 - Lori says "There are TWO lines!!!" (Baby gets the
name "Black-eyed Pea," because that is the size the baby books said he/she
is.)
5th June 1998 - Our first
doctor's appointment (damn HMO's). Doc says, "Sure enough there's a critter in there,
and by the way here is a nice black and white picture to take with you." That was
nifty!
2nd July 1998 - Our second doctor's appointment. We got to hear the baby's
heart beat. Way cool!
3rd July 1998 - Lori feels the baby move and kick for the first time.
5th July 1998 - The baby is about 5 inches long (crown to rump) and around 6
ounces in weight. It is now about the size of an avocado. It's circulatory system
and urinary tract are up and operating, and it's lungs are inhaling and exhaling amniotic
fluid, and its beginning to fatten up a bit (like dear old dad ;-).
12th July 1998 - I T ' S W E E K 1 8 A N
D . . .
We're almost halfway there! The baby is now about 5 1/2 inches long and weighs in at
around 7 ounces. It's skeleton is mostly rubbery cartilage, which will harden
later.
15th July 1998 - Daddy can feel the baby kick for the first time. Nifty!
20th July 1998 - The latest odds from Vegas come in.
They are: Boy - 7 to 2 ... Girl- 4 to 1... Bagpiper - 2 to 1
23rd July 1998 - Second and final ultrasound today (if nothing goes
wrong). We got to see a healthy developing baby girl. Brain, heart, skeletal
and organ development is on track and looking good. We decide on the name for sweet
pea - Caitlin Elizabeth Russ. Take a look at the sonograms we have from the
ultrasound.
Little Caitlin's Profile
A nice shot of Sweet Pea's
face. (I think she is smiling ;-)
You know it's my kid. Here she
is flipping off the entire world. (I think she wanted us to get out until she got
dressed. I guess this is what I have to look forward to. ;-)
26th July 1998 - I T ' S W E E K 2 0 A N
D . . .
We're halfway to delivery day! The baby measures about 6 1/2 inches and weighs in at
around 9 ounces.
28th July 1998 - Mommy and Daddy SEE the baby move for the first
time. That is way cool.
31st July 1998 - I T ' S W E E K 2 1 A N
D . . .
The baby is starting to gain fat to stay warm, as well as a whitish coat of a slick, fatty
substance called vernix caseosa - this protects the baby's skin during its long submersion
in amniotic fluid and also helps ease delivery.
7th August 1998 - I T ' S W E E K 2 2 A N
D . . .
The baby now weighs about 3/4 of a pound and is 7 1/2 inches long. Her eyebrows and
eyelids are fully developed, and her fingernails cover the fingertips. From the uterus,
she can hear sounds of conversation. If you talk, read, or sing to her, it's reasonable to
expect she can hear you.
14th August 1998 - I T ' S W E E K 2 3 A
N D . . .
The baby now weighs about a pound, measures 8 inches and is proportioned like a newborn,
albeit a thin version of one. Starting now, Lori is supposed to gain weight more steadily,
averaging about 8 ounces per week. She is craving certain foods (Chocolate Donuts ;-).
21st August 1998 - I T ' S W E E K 2 4 A
N D . . .
Caitlin now weighs a little more than a pound. Her hearing is well established, and she
can make out a distorted version of our voices, the beating of Lori's heart, as well as
her stomach rumblings. Loud noises--such as the barking of a dog or the roar of a vacuum
cleaner--which are heard repeatedly in utero probably won't faze her when she later hears
them at home. Blood vessels in the lungs are developing to prepare for breathing. While
she now swallows, she shouldn't pass a stool until after birth.
28th August 1998 - I T ' S W E E K 2 5 A
N D . . .
Caitlin now weighs over 1 1/4 pounds and is almost 9 inches long. Though she still has
little body fat and her skin is thin and fragile, she is now well-proportioned. Her
brain is growing rapidly, and she is starting to fill the space in the uterus. Surfactant,
a substance that allows the air sacs in the lungs to inflate easily, is beginning to
develop. That's one reason babies born after the 24th week of pregnancy have a greater
than 50 percent chance of survival. However, if Lori went into labor at this time,
most healthcare providers would make every effort to halt the progress of pre-term labor
to enable Caitlin to continue maturing.
4th September 1998 - I T ' S W E E K 2
6 A N D . . .
Caitlin now weighs about 1 1/2 pounds and is 9 inches long. Though she makes
breathing movements, there's no air in the lungs yet.
11th September 1998 - I T ' S W E E K 2
7 A N D . . .
Caitlin now weighs a little more than 2 pounds and, with legs extended, is more than 11
inches long. She's able to make breathing movements, though there's no air in the lungs
yet. Because the retinas still haven't finished forming, an eye problem called retinopathy
of prematurely can occur in babies born at this time.
18th September 1998 - I T ' S W E E K 2
8 A N D . . .
Caitlin is between 12 and 15 inches long and weighs about 2 1/2 to 3 pounds--and she has
begun to fill the available space in the uterus. Her eyes open and close, she sleeps and
wakes at regular intervals, and she may suck a finger or thumb. Although still immature,
her lungs are capable of sustaining life in the event of a premature birth, with help from
a ventilator and other assistance.
25th September 1998 - I T ' S W E E K 2
9 A N D . . .
The final trimester typically starts this week and lasts until week 40 and sometimes even
a couple of weeks beyond. Most women gain an average of 11 pounds during this trimester.
At about this time, Caitlin can open her eyes and turn her head in utero to find the
source of a continuous, bright light. Her fat layers continue to form and her fingernails
are budding. Lori and I are now visiting the doctor once every 2 weeks until the 8th
month, when we'll switch to weekly visits.
2nd October 1998 - I T ' S W E E K 3 0 A
N D . . .
Caitlin now weighs about 3 pounds and is about 17 inches long.
9th October 1998 - I T ' S W E E K 3 1 A
N D . . .
Caitlin can see in utero and can distinguish light from dark. She's also capable of
blinking and shutting her eyes. Until the she drops, at about 37 weeks, Lori may be
feeling breathless or like she can't get enough air. This is due to her uterus, which has
grown so large that it presses up against the digestive organs and the diaphragm--the flat
large muscle that aids in breathing.
16th October 1998 - IT'S WEEK 32 AND . . .
According to the books we should have noticed a change in the baby's movements. They are
supposed to seem less frequent and less forceful, but Lori is feeling her move more and
more. Caitlin has grown so large that it has become quite crowded inside the uterus. She
is squirming around just as much, she just doesn't have much room to move. Caitlin even
moves to the beat at pipe band practice. Lori and I think she is dancing.
23rd October 1998 - IT'S WEEK 33 AND . . .
Caitlin now weighs about 4 1/4 pounds and is about 19 inches long. She's exercising her
lungs by practicing breathing--inhaling amniotic fluid. Lori is supposed to be gaining a
pound a week now, and roughly half of that goes right to the baby. In fact, the baby gains
more than half of her birth weight during the next 7 weeks, fattening up for survival
outside the womb. Thanks to these fatty deposits, the skin grows plumper and pinker.
30th October 1998 - IT'S WEEK 34 AND . . .
Caitlin is growing like a weed (but we'd rather think of her as a flower...) these days.
By the end of this week she should weigh about 5 pounds and be approximately 19 1/2 inches
long. By now, she's probably head-down, ready to come out--most babies are at this
point--although she may continue to change positions. Her skull bones are still quite
pliable and aren't completely joined, to facilitate her exit from the birth canal. (Of
course, it's still like shoving a pear through the eye of a needle, but it will be worth
it!)
6th November 1998 - IT'S WEEK 35 AND . . .
This month, your baby should be about 5 1/2 pounds and have fully developed lungs. If
pre-term labor occurs, you'll be happy to know that babies born prematurely at this stage
in a pregnancy are usually fine and have an excellent chance of being healthy and strong.
Lori's ever-growing belly, however, is causing new and unexpected discomforts. Tingling
sensations and/or numbness in her pelvic region--it's just the pressure of the baby on the
nerves in her legs and pelvis. As well as shortness of breath and sudden coughs due to
pressure on her diaphragm.
13th November 1998 - IT'S WEEK 36 AND (Only 28 days and a wake up to go so
they say!) . . .
We are feeling ready to have the baby! She now weighs about 6 pounds and is over 20 inches
long. The doctor will start seeing us weekly until Lori delivers starting next week. The
books say Lori is supposed to have gained between 25 to
30 pounds, but she has only gained 20 so far, and her weight gain has hit its zenith. She
is supposed to gain little or no more weight from now until she is due. The books also say
"the womb has become so snug that many women notice the baby no longer seems to be
moving around very much," but Lori says she is moving around as much as ever if not
more.
20th November 1998 - IT'S WEEK 37
The baby is now considered to be full-term! She now weighs about 6 1/2 pounds and is close
to 21 inches long and can be born any day now. (Babies born before 38 weeks are considered
preterm and those born after 42 weeks are considered post-term.) The baby is gradually
dropping. This is called lightening or engagement and it is the baby preparing for birth.
At our weekly checkups, the doctor or midwife will check to see whether Lori has started
dilating (when the cervix opens) and effacing (when the cervix thins) and what station the
baby is in, which is a way of estimating how far the baby
has dropped into the pelvis. For us, the baby has turned and is now head down, ready to
take the plunge, but Lori has not started to dilate yet.
27th November 1998 - IT'S WEEK 38
This week Caitlin begins to shed most of her downy coating of lanugo and vernix caseosa --
the cheese like coating that covers a fetus in utero and protects developing skin. Some
may remain at birth. The next couple of weeks are a waiting game. Still no dilation or
effacing going on.
4th December 1998 - IT'S WEEK 39
The baby is ready to greet the world. At this point, the average full-term newborn -- who
is still building a layer of fat to help control body temperature after birth -- weighs 7
to 7 1/2 pounds. The doctor is estimating Caitlin will come in at 6 1/2 to 7 pounds.
At our appointment this week the Doctor said Lori was 1 cm. dilated. Next
week Lori begins to work from home.
11th December 1998 - IT'S WEEK 40
The big day is almost here! But don't panic if by the end of this week you're still
waiting--only 5 percent of babies are born on their expected due date. In fact, most
doctors and midwives will wait another two weeks before considering a pregnancy overdue
and inducing labor.