Fetal development in pregnancy week 32

In the latest womb reports, your amazing baby has now developed sensitivity to temperature! This means you’ll probably get a swift kick if you put a hot pad on your ginormous belly. For the Elton John lovers out there-- yes, baby’s got blue eyes. At this point, all babies do, although depending on their chromosomal disposition, this could easily change after birth (or even between now and labor), but for the time being, blue it is. Thanks to their recently matured lungs and a remarkably strong immune system, over 90% of babies born in their 32nd week, survive premature births. So it’s pretty much a done deal. Even if your little monkey’s planning on heading out early, their survival odds are in everyone’s favor. Time to celebrate (no, no, wait until after the birth to crack open the champagne!) We’re talking baby-showers and alcohol-free punch!

The baby bump gets bigger!

And bigger, and bigger, I feel like I've swallowed a watermelon! I can't believe there's only a little over 2 months to go and Pearl will be here. I'm starting to waddle, have trouble getting up out of chairs and especially bed. I make grunty noises when hauling myself up, Clay loves that. He's such a gentleman, offering me his hand to help me up. Hell, sometimes I don't think I'd be able to get up if it weren't for him helping me!

It was good walking around Amsterdam, all that exercise is putting the spark in me to continue it when we get home. It's so good for me and the baby, I just hate the weather and it's hard to push myself outside when it's 90 even at night. But, it's worth it.

After Pearl is born I'd like to lose weight and finally reach my goal of 145-150 pounds. I want to be a healthy mother, able to keep up with my little girl. Let's face it, I want to be around as long as possible to watch her grow up. I need to focus on myself and my health as part of that.

Fetal development in pregnancy week 31

Your not-so-little-one is just a bit closer to their birth weight and height at around 4 pounds and 17 inches. With each added layer of baby fat, your baby's skin starts to look more and more like it will when they finally get to see the light of day. The heavy news: you can expect your miracle-gro muffin to gain about a half a pound of weight per week from now until about two weeks before birth. Great. That's just what you needed. Even more weight to carry around!

Your baby's still-developing immune system has gained substantial strength over the past few weeks getting them in full gear to face our disease-ridden world o’ wonders. Obviously, a large majority of your child’s immune strength will be derived from exposure to breast milk as well as the outside elements. Their cute little noggin’ (which could already be covered with luscious locks or just purty peach fuzz), is still soft because the skull bones have not yet fused together. As much as that sounds a little too vulnerable, their “skull softness” allows for a much smoother passage through the birth canal during labor—something both you and your little swimmer will appreciate when it’s finally time to “go!” Also, some babies will have that “soft spot” on their head for up to one year after birth.

Got Our Rings Today

We went to Hanky Panky today and got our wedding bands tattooed by Johnny. Kim was good and actually got mine on video, I was an idiot and didn't press the record button, oops! Anyway, I think it turned out to be an alright video regardless. What's more important than having them both on video is simply having them on our fingers. I love you Mrs. Bowman!!!

Ok, may be it's a little sappy, but that's our song!!!

Oh Yeah, It's Official!!!

Kim and I are officially/legally/spiritually a family now, we exchanged vows on July 14, 2007 at Blissfest around 5:30 in the evening. It was a beautiful cerimony and most of the people that we wanted to be there were there. The people that couldn't make it were there in our hearts. The people who chose not to be there really did miss out on a great and loving time. I hope that they don't continue to miss out on things. We have, who I think will be an amazing little girl, a new addition to the family due to arrive in 9 short weeks. It would be nice for my little girl to experience positive role models in an assortment of lifestyles and life choices. The people that know us best will know of whom I am referring. It might be a little hard to be a positive person in my daughter's life, especially at an age where she will be like a little sponge, with ill feeling towards one of her parents. I know that some people will view that as being "pompous", but it's how I feel, and from the heart. I have said it before, if I am an "asshole" for sharing my feelings then so be it...



It took me 32 years to find the right woman to marry and have a child with, and that woman is Kimberly Allison Bowman, she is my light and I love her with all my heart. I have also realized in my 32 years that I am a very good man, I am respectful and kind and deserve to be respected in return. I have done nothing but support, love, encourage, and respect Kimberly, and will continue to do so for as long as she is in my life (which will be until we are gone from this life and may be 2 or 3 more lives, hehehe). Maybe I am an "asshole" because I have encouraged Kim to be open with her feelings, and she has let them out too (hmmmmm, I shall ponder this). I was sad at first for Kim that only her Mother was at our wedding (of the people that could actually make it to the wedding). But then, I realized that my family loved her just as much as I did, simply because I love her. So Kim ended up having as many people at our wedding there to support her as I did.



Anyway, sorry for the diatribe here, but I still don't feal right about certain things. It doesn't really sit well with me how I and ultimately Kim is being treated by (family member), and I am finding it hard to keep quiet about it. I thought may be getting it all written out and shared with you all that it would make it better somehow. I think it worked to an extent, I do feel a little better. It's good we have this blog where I can talk about this stuff.



Our Vows:

My Best Buy In 2007 So Far=JVC Video Camera

Mrs. Bowman and I were laying in bed here in our hotel in Amsterdam. We were watching something on TV that our little Pearl must have liked because it got her all moving around and what not. I picked up the handy video camera and shot this video of Pearl's fun, the most movment comes near the end of the video. Tell me what you think of it...

Fetal development in pregnancy week 30

The light is visible at the end of the tunnel! Your oversized self and amazing growing baby have finally reached the single digits (in terms of weeks till birth)! The fine lanugo hair that has been growing all over their little monkey-like body is going to start falling off this week in preparation for the big day. But don’t be shocked if they’re hairier than you’d anticipated, some babies keep their lanugo until after birth. Still, it’s not any cause to be concerned as it will fall off eventually. No surprises here: your little porker is getting even cuter with increasingly pudgy arms and legs this week thanks to the ever-growing layers of subcutaneous fat. In terms of numbers, your baby should be weighing in at around 3 pounds 12 ounces (or more!) and be nearly 16 inches long.

Fetal development in pregnancy week 29

If you’ve been feeling butterflies moving around in your belly, it’s not just your run-of-the-mill pre-birth performance anxiety. No, it’s your amazing baby with a case of the hiccups: a fairly common occurrence at this point resulting from practicing breathing for their big birthday. In addition, to getting a round of butterfly-like hiccups, your little swimmer has arduously managed to accumulate enough baby fat to account for nearly 3.5% of their overall body weight. Yeah, compared to we adults, it’s not a lot, but when they’re little like that—it’s certainly a healthy (and warming) accomplishment in its way. Another fantastic accomplishment: your baby's spleen is now in charge of hematopoiesis—the 10 dollar name for the process involved in building up certain important blood components. Another fantastic-accomplishment: your little monkey has been peeing into their amniotic sac for a little while now (this is why potty training takes a while) and if you didn’t know, actually swallows it along with the rest of the amniotic fluid. Although the concept is nasty, their urine is sterile and as part of the amniotic fluid base, is replaced several times throughout the day. So if you didn’t know before, now you can tell people, that yes, you drank your own urine—you were still in the womb, but nonetheless, you’ve been there.

Test results

I got the results back from my one hour glucose test...my blood sugar was at 161 when it should have been around 135 or lower. So I have to go on Monday morning and have a fun filled 3 hour glucose test. The nurse didn't seem too worried about it, but I'm a worrier, so I'll stress a bit until the test is done and I have the results. My Mom is diabetic from her pancreatitis, so I've used her meter to check my blood sugar a couple of times, and it's been normal. Running around to get shots, have tests, and be poked and prodded sucks, but it's all worth it for this munchkin in my belly.

Clay and I are counting down the days until we leave for Michigan. One week from today and we will be married!! My handsome husband to be just gives me the shivers, I know I've said it before, but I'm a lucky woman.

To the doctor and back again!

I started seeing my new OB doctor, Dr. Mowere. He's a very nice man, listens to me, and is very helpful. I will now start going for checkups every 2 weeks! They should have a frequent doctor's miles program, I'd rack up quite the total. They gave me a one hour glucose test to make sure I don't have gestational diabetes, I'll get those results today along with a shot of Rhogam since I'm RH-.

I spoke with the doctor about the traveling we'll be doing for our wedding and honeymoon, and he said it was just fine and gave me the all clear. I'm SO excited about the next few weeks, it's going to be a blast. I finally found my wedding outfit and some more maternity clothes for our trip. Now I can go relax and feel pretty. The website for the hotel in Amsterdam says there is a whirlpool tub in the room! I'm going to make a trip to LUSH and then float like a happy whale in the tub of my dreams.

It's so wild to think that in three months or less Pearl will be here, in our arms, making us fall in love with her even more. I love this little lump already, but I know it will just multiply by huge amounts when she makes her grand entrance.

Fetal development in pregnancy week 28

You know how you’ve been feeling a bit like a barn with legs some days? Well, that feeling won’t subside before… well, you know, when you finally give birth. For the time being, you’ve got yourself a baby in the business of collecting fat and lots of it! In spite of the dubious joys of being a barn, this baby fat business is very serious and you’ve got to put up with it, because it’s going to keep your little porker warm and healthy after birth. Other good stuff from inside: their eyes are doing lots of blinking this week because they’re now able to respond to light and dark. Also, their industrious little bone marrow is now a major construction site for developing red blood cells, while their super-cute adrenal glands are actually producing androgen and estrogen—which will stimulate your hormones to begin milk production. Can you say, “Moo?”