27 Weeks!

How your baby's growing:
This week, your baby weighs almost 2 pounds (like a head of cauliflower) and is about 14 1/2 inches long with her legs extended. He's sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing his eyes, and perhaps even sucking his fingers. With more brain tissue developing, your baby's brain is very active now. While his lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with a lot of medical help — if he were to be born now. Chalk up any tiny rhythmic movements you may be feeling to a case of baby hiccups, which may be common from now on. Each episode usually lasts only a few moments, and they don't bother him, so just relax and enjoy the tickle.

How your life's changing:
The second trimester is drawing to a close, but as your body gears up for the final lap, you may start noticing some new symptoms. Along with an aching back, for example, you may find that your leg muscles cramp up now and then. They're carrying extra weight, after all, and your expanding uterus is putting pressure on the veins that return blood from your legs to your heart as well as on the nerves leading from your trunk to your legs. Unfortunately, the cramps may get worse as your pregnancy progresses. Leg cramps are more common at night but can also happen during the day. When a cramp strikes, stretching the calf muscle should give you some relief. Straighten your leg and then gently flex your toes back toward your shin. Walking for a few minutes or massaging your calf sometimes helps, too.

Don't let Babycenter.com fool you, these aren't your average leg cramps. They are wake-you-up-in-the-middle-of-the-night-just-when-you-finally-get-comfortable-like-someone-is-stabbing-you-in-the-calf-cramps. So far, I've had the pleasure of these nightly visitors only three times, but, let me tell you, once is more than enough to know that they are absolutely no fun. As if getting comfortable isn't already difficult enough when you look like you're smuggling a watermelon! Add these guys, and you're sure to never get more than an hour's worth of sleep at a time. Everyone says it's preparing me for what's to come... more lack of sleep. Yippee.

But, I can't say I blame them - my poor legs, that is. They suffer through 8 hours of high heels every day, carrying a load heavier than ever before. And they haven't failed me yet, no slips, no falls, no spills. I think the least I can do is deal with them screaming at me once or twice every now and then.

All in all, I absolutely cannot believe we are coming to the end of our second trimester. I'm speechless. Where did the time go? Where will I find the time to do all the things I need to do before our little boy gets here? Eeeek, I guess I'd better get my fat butt in gear! :)