25 Weeks Pregnant with Abigail

Abigail is approximately 1.5 pounds or closer to 2 pounds by now. She is about 13.7 inches long or a bit longer. All articles that you read and doctors tell you that from this point on your own baby's weight and length may vary somewhat. Due to the fact that Ray is a very tall guy and I have taller sisters and aunts than me it is not surprising that we will have another tall daughter. As of now we believe that Abigail will be on track to weigh in at around the same weight as Emma of 7 pounds 15 ounces. We do think that Abigail might be a bit longer than Emma was when she was born.

During this week in my pregnancy the structures of Abigail's spine are starting to form, including 33 vertebrae (rings of bone), 150 joints, and 1,000 ligaments. Her capillaries are also forming this week, capillaries are the tiny blood vessels that move blood from the heart to tissues in the body. By the end of week 25, air sacs and blood vessels in Abigail's lungs will develop as well as her nostrils opening up for breathing, getting her ready for her first breath. So I expect to start feeling her hiccups anytime now showing me that she is practicing her breathing for her big day!

Abigail seems to already be on her own sleep schedule with being awake and moving every 4 hours. I have been really watching and tracking her movements over the last couple of days. During this time in a pregnancy doctors start asking you to keep track of the baby's movements. Ray says that she is on his schedule already! With his work he does 12 hour shifts, but they can be broken into 4 hours slots. So for an example Abigail is awake at 3 a.m., 7 a.m., 11 a.m., 3 p.m., 7 p.m., and 11 p.m. It does not make sleeping easy, but I really do enjoy feeling her move. Abigail tends to get really moving at the sound of her Daddy's voice and when he touches the belly!

Abigail still does not approve of the Doppler that we or the doctors use to listen to her heartbeat. She tends to move and play hide-and-seek or she will push it or kick it to try and get it to go away.