Then, things started to get more and more hectic.
Now, I think it may just be laziness.
Things have been going well around the Garner house lately. Madalyn is becoming quite a character. She kicks Jennifer whenever she laughs and will react sometimes when you mess with Jenn's belly. The other day, I was sitting by Jenn and kind of pushing on her stomach, moving Madalyn around and I actually felt her up against my hand. Not just a kick or a rumble (which is what it feels like most of the time) I felt her head or shoulder or something like that. It was really weird.
Jenn's fatigue has continued to be high. I think it's because Madalyn is in constant motion, but the doctor said that it's just part of the process. To this point, Jennifer has gain (officially) 10lbs. throughout the entire pregnancy. The doctor also told us that Mady is about a pound or maybe a little more and that she'll gain another pound over the next couple of weeks and then START GAINING HALF A POUND PER WEEK!!! I'm not sure where all of Jennifer's internal organs are going to be held during this time, but I'm saving milk jugs just in case we need to remove some and make a little room.
Speaking of room, Jennifer has decided that she didn't like the color of the nursery, so we have repainted. Now, the majority of the wall is tan with a brown stripe around the room at the top of the wall and a pink ceiling. This color scheme goes better with the colors we've picked out for the room. I think all of the new colors look great (those of you who know that I'm slightly color blind will get a kick out of that comment...) and Jenn's happy with it, so it's fine.
We have a guy coming to put in our wood floors in the nursery sometime soon. Then, all we'll need is to put in the furniture and wait for her to get here.
It's hard to believe, but we are at six months right now. We've made it through the first 2/3 of the pregnancy and it has just flown by. December will be here before we know it.
Work is going well for both of us. Jennifer has gotten a promotion and is now the assistant director of her department at the Red Cross. She came home and said that her job description was to oversee everything. That seems like quite a task.
I am now considered a project manager for Cornerstone Architecture. That means that after Shane, the principle architect, has started the project in a direction (like the floor plan laid out and the elevation worked out) he hands the project off to me (or the other project managers) to handle the rest of the drawings, dealing with the contractors, and generally handling the day to day aspects of each project. It's pretty exciting, but it's a lot of work.
Now for what Madalyn has been up to:
WEEK 20 - Your baby weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now. She's also around 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom and about 10 inches from head to heel — the length of a banana. (For the first 20 weeks, when a baby's legs are curled up against her torso and hard to measure, measurements are taken from the top of his head to her bottom — the "crown to rump" measurement. After 20 weeks, she's measured from head to toe.) She's swallowing more these days, which is good practice for her digestive system. She's also producing meconium, a black, sticky by-product of digestion. This gooey substance will accumulate in her bowels, and you'll see it in her first soiled diaper (some babies pass meconium in the womb or during delivery).
WEEK 21 -Your baby now weighs about three-quarters of a pound and is approximately 10 1/2 inches long —the length of a carrot. You may soon feel like she's practicing martial arts as her initial fluttering movements turn into full-fledged kicks and nudges. You may also discover a pattern to her activity as you get to know her better. In other developments, your baby's eyebrows and lids are present now, and if you're having a girl, her vagina has begun to form as well.
WEEK 22 -At 11 inches (the length of a spaghetti squash) and almost 1 pound, your baby is starting to look like a miniature newborn. Her lips, eyelids, and eyebrows are becoming more distinct, and she's even developing tiny tooth buds beneath her gums. Her eyes have formed, but her irises (the colored part of the eye) still lack pigment. If you could see inside your womb, you'd be able to spot the fine hair (lanugo) that covers her body and the deep wrinkles on her skin, which she'll sport until she adds a padding of fat to fill them in. Inside her belly, her pancreas — essential for the production of some important hormones — is developing steadily.
I feel like I say this every time, but I promise I'll try harder to be consistent on this blog. Keep checking in for more news!
