Week 24 Update

Hi all! Below is an update on our baby girl, per babycenter.com. I've also included the update it gives me each week on things Mommy might be going through. I don't usually post these descriptions since they are usually embarassing, but I thought some of you might find the description from this week interesting. I'm definitely showing more now - I literally saw a change DURING THE DAY on Sunday (and felt the change), so the description of the growing uterus makes sense. Our next doctor's visit is on the 28th, which is when I'll be tested for gestational diabetes. Let's hope we get good results there!


About the Baby in the 24th week:
Your baby's growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces since last week. That puts her at just over a pound. Since she's almost a foot long (picture an ear of corn), she cuts a pretty lean figure at this point, but her body is filling out proportionally and she'll soon start to plump up. Her brain is also growing quickly now, and her taste buds are continuing to develop. Her lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" as well as cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help her air sacs inflate once she hits the outside world. Her skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon.



About Mommy in the 24th week:
In the past few weeks, the top of your uterus has risen above your belly button and is now about the size of a soccer ball. Most women have a glucose screening test (also called a glucose challenge test or GCT) between now and 28 weeks. This test checks for gestational diabetes, a pregnancy-related high-blood-sugar condition. Untreated diabetes increases your risk of having a difficult vaginal delivery or needing a cesarean section because it causes your baby to grow too large, especially in his upper body. It also raises your baby's odds for other complications like low blood sugar right after birth. A positive result on your GCT doesn't mean you have gestational diabetes, but it does mean that you'll need to take the glucose tolerance test (GTT) to find out for sure.