What Came First - the Chicken or the Eggplant?

Weeks 25-28 (Month 6)



From TheBump.com:
Let your spouse put an ear to your belly -- he might be able to pick up baby's heartbeat (no stethoscope required). Inside the womb, the formation of tiny capillaries is giving baby a healthy pink glow. Baby's also soaking up your antibodies, getting the immune system ready for life outside the womb. Eyes are forming, and baby will soon perfect the blink -- perfect for batting those freshly grown lashes.

I want to go home and try out the hearing-the-baby's-heartbeat game. If the babies have my genes they'll be able to blink, but never wink.

I'd Gladly Papaya You Tuesday for a Hamburger Today

From TheBump.com:
Watch what you say -- baby is now able to hear outside noise from down in the womb. Studies show that baby finds gentle music and your own voice most soothing. Nipples are starting to sprout, and that little face is fully formed. And, baby's starting to settle into sleep cycles, snoozing about 12 to 14 hours a day. It shouldn't be hard to figure out when -- just pay attention to those kicks as they start and stop.

For those of you who don't like the fruit posts... Brendan, you'll be happy to know that there are only monthly updates from TheBump available here on out.

Is papaya the fruit that tastes terrible and smells like vomit or is that guava?

I definitely notice when my little kicker, Twin A (a.k.a. the boy) is asleep because it's the only time he's not kicking me constantly. Thankfully he sleeps when I sleep, and he likes to kick when I'm watching TV, usually reality television. Maybe he's trying to get me to change the channel for my own good?

Nuclear Test Ban-ana

Finally, I'm posting about a fruit in the correct week of pregnancy! (I was behind for awhile.)


From TheBump.com:
Baby gulps down several ounces of amniotic fluid every day, both for hydration and nutrition and to practice swallowing and digesting. And, these days, those taste buds actually work! Studies show that after birth, babies are most interested in tastes they've already experienced through amniotic fluid. Meaning, think about what you want your future child to eat as you prepare your own lunch.

I've actually contemplated this and much to the dismay of Mr. and Mrs. Kathy, I've been eating lots of the foods they hate (a.k.a. the opposite of American meat and potatoes meals) - tofu, chickpeas and hummus, Indian food, Thai food, Ethiopian food, etc. I want the twins to get a taste for the restaurants we like since that's where we'll want to eat.

Also, in banana news, Mark tore open the top of a banana for the first time about a month ago. He was unable to before that. Mark's banana rebuttal is that this is untrue and that he was only sometimes unable to tear off the tops.

White Men Cantaloupe Jump

From TheBump.com:
Baby's digestive system is busy creating meconium (a tarry black substance made of swallowed amniotic fluid, digestive secretion and dead cells), which will fill the first diaper after birth. And, speaking of the diaper situation... baby's genitals are now fully formed!

Holy crap! I have two cantaloupes inside me!
Actually it's misleading because it's all about the length of the fruit (not the motion of the ocean?)

I think Mark can have the honor of changing the special meconium-filled diaper.

No! You Can't-Have-A De Mango!

From TheBump.com:
Vernix caseosa, a greasy white substance made of lanugo, oil and dead skin cells (yum) now coats baby's skin, shielding it from the amniotic fluid. (Picture yourself after a nine-month bath, and the need for protection makes sense.) You might actually get to see the vernix at birth, especially if baby is premature.

Since the twins are probably going to arrive a month early I'll probably see the vernix.

I know I reported on week 18 two days ago, but this is my attempt to catch up on fruits since I actually started week 20 yesterday. In the past week though I happened to eat two whole mangos (they're a good source of Vitamin A and C).

They Yam What They Yam!

From TheBump.com:
Your fetus has become amazingly mobile (at least compared to you), passing the hours yawning, hiccuping, rolling, twisting, kicking, punching, sucking and swallowing. And, baby's finally big enough that you'll be able to feel those movements soon.

I should be able to feel kicking between 18 and 22 weeks. Any day now...

Bloomin' Onion

From TheBump.com:
Baby's skeleton is hardening, changing from rubbery cartilage to bone, and fat is finally accumulating around it. The umbilical cord is getting thicker and stronger, and those little fingers and toes are now topped by one-of-a-kind prints.

One-of-a-kind prints? The twins should have gone on their cat burglary spree before. Now it's too late!

Holy Guacamole!

From TheBump.com:
Watch what you say... tiny bones forming in baby's ears mean the little one can now pick up your voice. Eyebrows, lashes and hair are starting to fill in, and taste buds are forming. And, if you're interested, an ultrasound might be able to determine gender.

The ultrasound to determine genders is in a few more weeks... Poor twins though - able to hear my pathetic girly sneezes and my talking in "Kathy voice." (I often say goodbye to my friends with a high pitched voice not dissimilar to the one used by Tom Hanks and Peter Scolari on Bosom Buddies. Click on the Peter Scolari link to see the website my friends Lila and Brendan made me for my birthday a few years ago since I'm a big Peter Scolari fan. Um, who isn't?)

Orange You Glad I Didn't Say Banana?

From TheBump.com:
Continuing the march towards normal proportions, baby's legs now outmeasure the arms. And, finally, all four limbs have functional joints. Your fetus is squirming and wiggling like crazy down in the womb, though you probably still can't feel the movements.

We borrowed from Kelsi the National Geographic special, In the Womb: Multiples, and watched it last night. (Wouldn't Womb and the Multiples be an awesome name for a band?) I learned that twins in the womb like to kick each other in the face a lot. Or maybe that was the slo-mo video of CGI babies they showed over and over again.

When Life Gives You Lemons, Make Baby-ade

From TheBump.com:
Your adorable little fetuses (or is it fetii?) are busy with thumb sucking, toe wiggling, and (not so cute but equally amazing) making urine and breathing amniotic fluid as the liver, kidneys and spleen continue to develop. Lanugo (thin, downy hair) is growing all over their bodies for warmth.

"Thin downy hair?" Sounds like Mark's current attempt at a pregnancy beard. I'll try to post a picture of Mark's "lanugo" soon.

Movin' to the Country, Gonna Eat a Lot of Peaches

13 weeks: Peaches!

From TheBump.com:
Your fetus is forming teeth and vocal cords... savor this, their non-functional phase. Baby is approaching normal proportions, with a head now only one third the size of the body. Intestines are in the process of moving from the umbilical cord to baby's tummy. (Much more convenient.)


It's appropriate in this 13th week that each of the babies is the size of a peach. After all, I ate what seemed like a bazillion peaches this week. (Our friends Rachel and Matthew gave us a big box of donut peaches from their yard. They were really yummy, but i now feel like I'm part peach.)




By the way, what kind of peach is only 2.9 inches in diameter? Whoever decided this obviously doesn't get the James and the Giant Peach size round peaches available here.