23 Weeks

This is not going to be a long blog this time around. I don't have much to report this week.

I FINALLY got around to looking at the classes UCSD has to offer and the tour schedule for the birthing facilities yesterday. At my last OB appointment my doctor asked if I has scheduled a tour yet and that I should do it very soon as they tend to fill up months in advance.

Now the tour is not exactly essential to the birthing process but I figure it would go smoother if Chris and I actually knew where we were going and what needed to be done. Also gives me a chance to see what is available to me and to ask any questions I might have. I figured I could also get a copy of the registration papers so I can fill those out in advance so Chris and I don't have to do it while I am in labor.

Needless to say when I called they weren't exactly booked up months in advance. Chris and I take the tour on June 25th.

I also ended up registering and signing Chris and myself up for a couple of classes while I was at it. I signed us up for an infant CPR class. It has been a while since I took any classes and thought a refresher might do me some good. I don't think Chris has had any sort of infant health classes so it's good for both of us to know and be prepared if, God forbid, something happens. That class isn't until August 21st so they were slightly more booked up than the tour.

The other class I signed up for was a one-time birth class. I was at the birth of Juliet's (my best friend) baby and was there to experience the whole thing with her. So I know basically what to expect for labor and delivery. Chris, however, does not know what to expect really. He told me the other day he thinks his job is to stand on the side and stay out of the way of the professionals and cut the cord when the time comes . . .

I told him I am going to need him to do a little more than that if I am going to try to do this birth drug free. I think he will be a wonderful support coach for me though. But I still think the class will be good for both of us. It's just the basics but neither one of us have done this before so it couldn't hurt. That class isn't until August as well but I feel better knowing I have that out of the way and can be more prepared when the time comes.

An Update on Kaylee -

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She is officially over the one pound mark!! Weighing in at a whopping 1.10 lbs (501g) and 11.38 inches long. About the size of a loaf of bread.

Her skin pigment is now forming and is very pink in color. She is now proportioned like a newborn except it is a thinner version of a newborn baby since her baby fat has not developed much yet. Her face and body now look more like a full-term baby. And pretty much looks close to how she will look at birth!

She may alternate between having very active and very calm periods. Her movements are becoming more restricted now as she fills up the uterus more. Cartwheels and somersaults inside the amniotic sac are no longer possible, but she can still hold the umbilical cord and touch and feel what is around her. Though she is already living in tight quarters, she will soon have even less room to move around.

Good news though!! Her lungs are in major growth mode this week, with blood vessels expanding and preparing to help her breathe after she's born. But here's why this lung development is so fabulous: If she were to arrive early her odds of surviving are significantly better now that her lungs are up and running. Of course, these and other important organs still have a long way to go to become fully developed, but most experts count weeks 23 and 24 as important, reassuring milestones when it comes to long-term healthy outcomes from pre-term labor. If born now, she would have a 20% chance of survival, with the odds going up with each passing day.