The home stretch

28 weeks this week, so no matter what source you use, we're definitely into the third trimester now. Whew.

We had our optional ultrasound last week - and boy am I glad we chose to do it. Seeing the baby at this size/gestation was very cool! Everything was much more obvious than it is when you have the standard 20-week ultrasound. Even looking at his femur was fascinating - you could see every part of that standard-looking bone. The technician got some good pictures; we've included a couple of the profile ones here, since the straight-on face ones still look too much like the skeletons you see in creepy pirate movies. But the most amazing part of looking at his face? We got to see him blinking!!! Apparently this is a reflex he's just developed, and I was stunned I could tell his eyes were opening and closing on an ultrasound.

Once again, our little guy had both his hands and his feet up by his head; that sure doesn't sound comfortable but I guess real estate is pretty limited in there. We got to see him opening and closing his mouth, and sucking his thumb/with his fingers in his mouth again (see 2nd picture - the hand is labeled).

From what we know at this point, this ultrasound also showed that our peanut's legs measure at an earlier gestation (26 wks) than his head and belly (30 wks). The technician, of course, can't tell us much at the ultrasound itself, so when I meet with my doctor next week we'll learn what the radiologist and my doctor think. We still have no reason to believe there's any concern, and are not worried. With the power this guy has behind his kicks, his legs are just fine!

So with less than 12 weeks to go, I'm feeling pretty good (other than a non-pregnancy related stomach bug). The gestational diabetes diet is going well, although I have to set a timer in order to remember to test my blood sugar after most meals! We're starting to think about the nursery, now that Zach's room is mostly done... time to get moving on that now! :)

PS... If you want to see some recent video of Zach - having fun wrestling with Kasey and playing a guitar - check out the birthday post on Rose family blog under the list of links on the left.