Week 24

From my weekly email...

Hi all! Eli is in his 24th week! It has been such an exciting journey. I visit the doctor every other week...if not every week!! He is healthy and well, and my cervix is holding up perfectly!! I am so thankful!! This week I saw the Nurse Practitioner, since Dr. Morris was out of town. She did a new test to check for preterm labor called Fetal Fibronectin (more info at http://www.babycenter.com/0_preterm-labor-test-fetal-fibronectin_1511.bc). It was negative for any signs of preterm labor, which means we can rest easy for another couple of weeks knowing that labor is not expected!! I will go back in every two weeks for this test until I pass 34 weeks or so (I'm guessing). On Thursday, I went in for my biweekly cervix scan and everything looked great. The gal even did an additional scan of the baby...because she had a student with her. It was so encouraging to see him again!! :) Everything is looking great! I will continue keeping you all posted!!

Love, ash

How your baby's growing:
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 (picture an ear of corn), 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.