27 weeks

After many requests, I've uploaded a current photo. It's not a great one and there is a shadow, but you get the idea. We're coming up on 27 weeks and I actually feel pretty good. I haven't been as tired as I had been (even though I still wake up several times a night). My only real complaints have to do with bad nighttime heartburn and occasionally swollen fingers that feel sore- like I have arthritis. Every once in a while it feels a little hard to breathe when I lie down, but it's not too bad. I'm just about a week away from the third trimester so if those are my only complaints... I'll take it!

David and I have been busy getting our house ready to put on the market (which will happen in a couple of weeks). I've been doing a little at a time each weekend and I can definitely tell that it's getting harder and harder to move around. Luckily, were just about ready- the only thing we really have left to do is to clean out the garage and then do some yard work once the weather gets nice. Those projects might be more David's job since bending over, lifting things, etc is getting to be a little too difficult.

The baby is still very active. Our best guess is that he is over 15 inches by now and somewhere around 2 1/2 pounds. Every once in a while he can pack a big punch. We had a doctor's appointment last week but they did not estimate how big he is. The doctor said everything looked good. Not only could we hear the baby's heart beat with the doppler, but we could also hear him moving around. Overall another clean bill of health!

This week, the baby should be working on the following:

• The network of nerves to the ear is completed
• The baby takes some breaths, and although breathing in water, not air, it is good practice for the lungs
• Eyelids begin to open, and the retinas begin to form
• baby may be able to recognize mother and father's voices

David's trial schedule for the spring is going to be busy and he'll be traveling a lot. We're currently trying to figure out how we can make sure he's here when this guy decides to make an appearance. It's not as easy as you might think to make sure he'll be in town. We may wait to see what his schedule looks like and if it looks like there will be a problem we'll talk to the doctor about whether we can induce a little early while David's around. We're trying not to worry about it quite yet and we'll just see how his schedule shapes up.

I'm still planning on working as long as I can, although as it gets closer I'll probably do more work at home rather than staying in the office all day. Hard to believe but the big day should be here in less than 13 weeks!