22 Weeks

Today the baby has reached the one pound mark!  She is probably about 8 1/2 inches from head to rump and 11 1/2 inches from head to toe.  

Her lips, eyelids, and eyebrows are becoming more distinct, and even though her eyelids are still fused shut, she is making blinking movements.  She can also perceive light and dark more accurately through her eyelids, and her irises are fully developed (but they still lack pigment).  Her hearing is getting better and she can probably recognize my voice.  She can also now be aroused from sleep by loud noises outside the womb.  Her eyebrows are almost totally filled in, and she is growing more hair on her head every day -- but the hair looks white because it is devoid of all pigment.  It might look something like this:

During this week, the brain development begins a big burst that will only end when the baby reaches five years of age.  The baby's sense of touch is also developing, and as she develops her grip, she might even grab the umbilical cord to hold onto (since there is nothing else in there to grab).  She is even developing tooth buds beneath her gums and taste buds on her tongue!

I am feeling okay overall.  I have some feet swelling after long days at work, and I have lots of leg and hip cramps, but nothing big.  When I get into my "approved" sleeping positions, my arms fall asleep pretty quickly, and I have to wake up often to shake the circulation back into them, but I am getting better at staying on my side at night, so that is good.

The baby is moving a LOT lately.  She also seems to have similar sleep patterns to her dear old mother.  She doesn't like to wake up until mid-afternoon, and she starts really bouncing around at about 10 PM and stays up having her little dance parties well into the AM.  We'll have to see if that stays the same once she is "on the outside!" :)