Third trimester started this week!
A few people have asked about my "numbering" of the weeks. I blog at the end of each gestational week. But, technically, when a woman says she is 27 weeks along, it means she has already completed 27 weeks and is into her 28th week of pregnancy. Today (6/11), I am actually 27 weeks and 6 days pregnant. And it might be perplexing when people announce that they are pregnant and say, "I am four and half weeks pregnant and we just found out today!" It is not because they are so unaware of their bodies that they have neglected to notice the pregnancy for over four weeks, it's just a bizarre standard of calculating the pregnancy timeline whereby day 1 of pregnancy is the first day of a woman's last normal menstrual period (LMP or LNMP). Things are calculated this way because a woman can usually tell when her period starts, but she may not know when ovulation and conception occurs (although I am fortunate enough to be very regular and, from what I have learned through Toni Weschler's Taking Charge of Your Fertility, I was able to know with fair confidence when I ovulate...neato!). So, really, there is actually no baby for the first couple of weeks of gestation. And then ovulation & conception occur. And then it takes a couple of weeks for enough of those good ol' pregnancy hormones (particularly, hCG) to be produced for a home pregnancy test to detect that there's something going on.
Confused yet? :)
Technically, this is what's going on this week:
- MacNut is as hefty as a head of cauliflower, - ~ 14.41 inches and 1.93 pounds.
- Her head is over 2.5 inches in diameter.
- Her hearing continues to develop.
- Her eyes can blink, open and close.
- Weight: 146 lb (+20)
- Belly circumference: 38 in (+7.50)
- Fundal height: 26 in
- I continue to have some pelvic aches...but I don't think it's anything out of the ordinary. But, for all this pain and all the stretch marks I'm getting in my behind, my pelvic opening had better be humongous and MacNut should be able to just slip out with no problem. Sheesh!
- This week has been really tough. First, we heard the week before that my nephew Caleb was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Then we heard that it was most likely benign (from the absence of tumor markers in the CSF sample). Then we received the results of the tissue biopsy and it turns out it is most likely malignant. Caleb went through a long day of delays and then a lengthy surgery yesterday. The result was that the surgeons could not remove much of the tumor at all as it is so poorly differentiated (it looks just like brain tissue so they can't tell what's brain and what's tumor). Tonight, we learned that the tumor is a diffused form of glioma and the prognosis is very poor with a 10% survival rate. My heart is so heavy. I love this boy so much!!
- The positive part about this week is that we have been drawn into a position of prayer and submission - it is where we ought to be in the first place. I wish I could say that my time with God has been sweet. It hasn't. I barely know how to pray...
Caleb (L) with his twin brother, Joshua
A more recent photo of Caleb on the slopes
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