Your pregnancy: 24 weeks

How your baby's growing:

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

How your life's changing:

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. [it feels like it is sitting really high, but last time my doctor measured, she said it was in the "right" spot...I'll take her word for it!]

Most women have a glucose screening test (also called a glucose challenge test or GCT) between now and 28 weeks. [I have this screening at my next appointment, which is on Tuesday. I have to drink a ton of "juice" which I'm sure it gross. Hopefully all is well. Will update after the appointment.] 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.

I've gained a little more weight than I'm supposed to (maybe 4 or 5 extra pounds), but I'm blaming that on Christmas (I was doing so well beforehand!). I ate WAY too much. Getting back on a normal schedule will probably help (and getting rid of all the yummy Christmas cookies and treats!).

We just found out our friends Steph and Steve are having a girl (Steph, hope you don't mind me sharing!). Think pink! It is funny because Jim and I were positive we were having a girl and they were positive they were having a boy! They are due two weeks after us, so if they only lived in MN or we lived in KS, our babies could be best friends. Boo, hoo.