24 Weeks

Your baby's growing steadily, gaining about a quarter of a pound since last week, when she was just over a pound. Since she's almost a foot long, that makes a pretty lean figure, but her body is filling out proportionally and she'll soon put on more baby fat. Your baby's skin is thin, translucent, and wrinkled, her brain is growing rapidly, and her taste buds are developing. Her lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" and cells that produce surfactant, a substance that helps the air sacs inflate easily.

Well, it'll be 24 weeks in 2 days. My next doctor's appointment is the first week of November. At that time, I think I'll do the gestational diabetes test. That stuff they make you drink tastes like Gatorade, only with three times the corn syrup and double the sugar. Riley will definitely have to stay with his grandparents that day! I wouldn't want to make him sit in the waiting room with me for an hour or so during the whole process.

La Bean woke me up this morning around 3:30. Apparently she didn't like the position I was sleeping in and wanted to make it known. She's still awake and I can see her jabs and kicks as my belly jumps. I need to find my iPod. I'm sure she would enjoy some Beethoven or Mozart right about now.... The Braxton Hicks contractions have already started. I didn't have any with Riley. What I thought were false contractions when I was pregnant with Riley actually turned out to be round ligament pain. I learned that about my body after I had my first real contraction, which, in my opinion is best described by Bill Cosby.

I got asked about putting a poll up for her name soon. First, though, Ryan and I need to narrow down our field of options. I've decided I like Calla a lot. Ryan's had a variety of reactions - from a nod, to "I like that", to giving me "the look" - whenever I've mentioned it. One time he even said he liked Caleigh better. Personally, I think that's too hard for a little one to spell.... Then I looked up the name Calla and it's Greek for beautiful - which I have no doubt our little girl will be. I think I'm going to try to warm him up to it some more. We've also gotten some very good suggestions. I would say in the next couple of weeks, we'll be able to put two or three names up for votes.

For now, though, she's still known as La Bean. Memaw calls her Pretty, Pretty Princess, but I have a feeling that for a while she'll be a tomboy. Ryan agrees. I overheard him tell Memaw that she was going to look so pretty in all her pink dresses... playing in the mud with her big brother.

Riley's nickname has really started to fit him. Ever since we decided on Riley William, Grandad has called him Rowdy from RWD. The other day, he was in the living room playing while I was cutting some berries for a snack. He got a little quiet - never a good sign - and I looked up from the kitchen only to see the screen door to the balcony ajar. Sure enough, Riley had figured out how to open the door and was on his way to the balcony to get some fresh air. Needless to say, the screen door is now locked whenever the sliding glass door is open.

If the rain holds off this afternoon, we're going to take him back to the zoo for the Halloween party again. This time, we're going to put his UK jersey on him with some black makeup under his eyes. Not very original, but it's supposed to be pretty warm and he DOES look very cute in it.

I've got about two and half hours now before everyone wakes up so it's back to bed from me. Baby Girl has calmed down now. Well, maybe.