Week 29

This week, Baby E is approximately the size of a squash. She weighs about 2.5 pounds now, and is continuing to grow larger and more active every single day.

Starting around 28 weeks, doctors suggest you count the baby's kicks or movements daily to ensure everything is a-ok. Every time there is a kick or movement you count it, and theoretically you should get to ten movements in an hour. If not, they suggest you move around, eat something, anything to stimulate the baby and then try again.

Always the overachiever, MY baby is a stellar mover and shaker. I've been counting for two weeks now and have never had to count for more than three minutes before reaching ten. It is especially fun to do it before bed, because as soon as I get situated on my Snoogle, she starts her show. Its hard to describe what she does every night, but the way I imagine it is after I'm in position for sleep, she circles around and around in utero like a dog might circle the floor to find the perfect spot to cuddle up, punching, kicking and kneading as she goes until she finally settles.

But I can also feel her moving around when I wake up in the middle of the night or first thing in the morning, late morning and early afternoon. If this sleep pattern is any indication, Ben and I will be awake 24 hours a day for the first few months of Baby E's life. And I wouldn't trade it. The squirming and kicking is my favorite part of pregnancy (much more so than the swollen ankles or bags under my eyes).