Baby Update

• The structures of the spine begin to form -- joints, ligaments and rings. These will protect the all important spinal cord which serves as the information transmitter for your child's body.
• Blood vessels of the lungs develop.
• Your baby's nostrils begin to open. There is a study out of Belfast that suggests babies at this stage have the capability of scent preferences!
• The nerves around the mouth and lip area are showing more sensitivity now. When baby is rooting for food later on, these will be valuable!
• His swallowing reflexes are developing.
• Dexterity is improving. Your baby can make a fist and would clasp objects placed in palm.
• Your child has now obtained an approximate length of 13.6 inches (34.6cm) and weighs 1.46 pounds (660gm).

What none of this mentions is that he is a real live person now, who responds to the little he experiences of the outside world. He likes to crawl up on the left side of my belly, and I'm forever trying to push him back over to the middle so I'm not lopsided. If I clap my hands near my stomach, it startles him and he kicks. Sometimes if I poke him, he will poke me back in the same place. He gets the hiccups and it's funny to watch my belly rhythmically bouncing. He has turned into a night owl, and likes to do somersaults in the early morning hours when I'm trying to sleep. If he were born right now, he would have a decent chance of surviving.

I'm starting to get impatient. I want to meet this new human being. I feel like we're pen-pals, communicating through Morse code. The other day, I saw a clip of Grease on an article (10 famous movie moments where smoking is featured prominently) and suddenly had a thought: I am going to get to introduce this new person to all the great things in this world - cheesy movie musicals, Harry Potter, libraries, flowers, the Beatles, Star Trek, old movies, enchiladas, swimming in a lake, climbing a tree, and Christmas. I imagine it will be like discovering the world for the first time myself. I can't wait.