Week 26

In what might be the strangest comparison ever, Caleb is about the size of an English hothouse cucumber this week. To be honest, I don't even know what that is. So to clarify, he should weigh almost 2 pounds by now and is about 14 inches long, head to heel. The nerves in his ears are well developed now, which explains his responsiveness to Justin's voice and other noises I encounter throughout the day. He's practicing his breathing and his lungs are getting ready to take their first breath outside the womb, and he's still busy packing on more baby fat in preparation for his birthday.

He's still just as active as ever, and I seem to be getting visibly bigger by the day. Justin came home from work one day this week and noted that I looked bigger than when he left that morning. I think he was right. Caleb's movements are getting more and more distinct, and I can finally make out little knees and elbows, which produce much sharper jabs than his usual punches.

A trip to the doctor this week provided us with an explanation for the ongoing sciatic nerve pain I've experienced. I mentioned to the doctor that I felt like this baby was particularly low in my abdomen and that I thought I was feeling him kick quite a few inches below my belly button, and she immediately wanted to check to see if he was in a breech position (with his feet down at the bottom of the uterus). The good news is that he is not breech; the bad news is that he is in fact head down already with his oversized baby skull pressed firmly against my spine. So unless he decides to move, I'm stuck with the stabbing pain in my back until he pops out. Hopefully he'll be real cute when he's born to make up for the inconvenience.

Please pray with us this week that he would move off of this nerve and provide me with some relief, and that he would continue to pack on baby fat and have all the nutrients he needs to continue his healthy development over these last three and a half months.