Victory. 24: Let the Countdown Begin!!!

Today, 3/17/09 marks my OFFICIAL 24 week day!!! Happy St. Patrick's Day to that. It's great to be able to breathe a bit knowing that if something were to happen at this point and Jackson decided to make his debut early, his chances of survival are much better and the doctor's will make attempts to actually keep him alive. YAY!!!

Last night was my first night that I went back to work since being sick. And, when I got home at 1:30 am I was ready for bed. BUT.. Jackson had other plans. This was the first night he actually kept me awake with his kicking (more because I enjoyed feeling it). Then, as soon as I woke up this morning, he started kicking some more. AND he's been going crazy in there all day! I think he's rested MAYBE 1 straight hour today. And this is all perfectly okay by me. It's really nice to be able to feel him move so I'm hoping this continues to be a daily thing.

Also today my brother and his wife brought home their new puppy, Bailey (well, maybe Bailey). They bought a little girl Puggle and she is the cutest little thing. She LOVES Justin already as she took a nap with him on the couch while we were visiting. It definitely made me want another puppy, mainly because Puggles are so darn cute, and it made Justin miss his old Pug, Spike Dietz. But no puppies for us anytime soon. They still haven't really named her yet. They're stuck between Scrappy, Lucy, and Bailey. I said they should definitely name her Bailey seeing as Bailey's is an Irish Cream and today IS St. Patrick's Day. Wenke and Justin agreed, so now we just wait for Wayne's consensus.

Other than that, it's been pretty low key today. I was planning on running some errands today, but this tail end of the flu made my stomach feel pretty crappy for a better part of the day, so I stayed on the couch watching Law & Order SVU and NCIS all day! Oh well!!!

To celebrate our 24 week victory, I took plenty of pictures. The first two were taken yesterday and the last three were taken this afternoon. Enjoy!

I figure also since it's a pretty big day, I'll update with what babycenter says about this week:

How your baby's growing:Your baby's growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces since last week. That puts him at just over a pound. Since he's almost a foot long (picture an ear of corn), he cuts a pretty lean figure at this point, but his body is filling out proportionally and he'll soon start to plump up. His brain is also growing quickly now, and his taste buds are continuing to develop. His lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" as well as cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help his air sacs inflate once he hits the outside world. His skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon.See what your baby looks like this week. (Or see what fraternal twins look like in the womb this week.)Note: Every baby develops a little differently — even in the womb. Our information is designed to give you a general idea of your baby's development.
How your life's changing:In the past few weeks, the top of your uterus has risen above your belly button and is now about the size of a soccer ball.Most women have a glucose screening test (also called a glucose challenge test or GCT) between now and 28 weeks. This test checks for gestational diabetes, a pregnancy-related high-blood-sugar condition. Untreated diabetes increases your risk of having a difficult vaginal delivery or needing a cesarean section because it causes your baby to grow too large, especially in his upper body. It also raises your baby's odds for other complications like low blood sugar right after birth. A positive result on your GCT doesn't mean you have gestational diabetes, but it does mean that you'll need to take the glucose tolerance test (GTT) to find out for sure.Finally, if you don't already know how to spot the signs of preterm labor, now's the time to learn. Contact your caregiver immediately if you notice any of the signs mentioned below.

And here's a picture of what babycenter says our little guy looks like this week:

That's all for this week! Hopefully soon I'll be able to update with a pool table sale and the delivery and set-up of our nursery furniture. Stay tuned.