Your pregnancy: 22 weeks

How your baby's growing: Your baby now looks like a miniature newborn, checking in at 10.9 inches (the length of a spaghetti squash) and almost 1 pound. Her skin will continue to appear wrinkled until she gains enough weight to fill it out, and the fine hair (lanugo) that covers her head and body is now visible. Her lips are becoming more distinct, and the first signs of teeth are appearing as buds beneath her gum line. Her eyes are developed, though the iris (the colored part of the eye) still lacks pigment. Eyelids and eyebrows are in place, and her pancreas, essential for hormone production, is developing steadily.

And how's mom doing? Take a moment to think about this: your uterus has now stretched to such unholy proportions that it extends beyond your navel! The not-so-exciting part of this remarkable fact is that growth like this tends to leave stretch marks and can itch like nobody’s business. If it makes you feel any better, Don’t get suckered into buying really expensive creams that supposedly make stretch marks ‘magically disappear.'Stretch marks are scars on your skin and won’t disappear with a topical cream stretch marks on the belly are extremely common. Don’t get suckered into buying really expensive creams that supposedly make stretch marks ‘magically disappear.'Stretch marks are scars on your skin and won’t disappear with a topical cream . But feel free to apply all the aloe-vera (and other anti-itch lotions) to alleviate the itching. In terms of preventing their appearance, cocoa butter-based creams and creams full of Vitamin E have a reputation for helping-- but there's still no guarantee that those pesky stretch marks won't show up despite your best creaming-up efforts.
Also, your doctor may offer you a glucose screening test sometime in the upcoming weeks. The test checks for a high blood sugar condition that some women are susceptible to during pregnancy. At most, 5 percent of women actually test positive for this problem, but if you do, you will probably have a few more follow up tests to be sure. If you end up with a positive test, make a plan with your physician or nutritionist for treatment. Untreated, the high sugar content in your blood enables the overproduction of baby fat for your little one, and often results in overly high birth weight which can induce premature birth and/or the necessity to deliver via cesarean.


I have a few interesting points to add to this week's update. As of last Monday, Baby James is already measuring well over a pound! And is making his presence known more and more. Especially during church. I guess he appreciates a good preaching. Also, I have already discussed the possibilities of having a large baby with my doctor. And not because of poor diet or high blood sugar. It's already a family joke that I'll be giving birth to a toddler. For those of you who don't know, here's a little birth history. I weighed 10 lbs. 3.5 oz. My darling husband weighed almost 12 pounds! ENOUGH SAID!!