Welcome to the first week of the third trimester!

By this week, the baby looks similar to what she will look like at birth, except thinner and smaller. The lungs, liver, and immune system still need to fully mature, but if born now, she would have a very good chance of surviving.

As hearing continues to develop, the baby may start to recognize Meg’s voice (and maybe mine as well). Sounds may be muffled, though, because her ears are still covered with vernix, the thick waxy coating that protects the skin from becoming chapped by the amniotic fluid.

So I’m in a little bit of shock… when did the “Due Date Countdown” drop below 100 days? It seems like just yesterday that Meg was writing a post about how there were still 180 days left in the pregnancy, the same as in a school year.

100 days is not a lot of time.

This is a retroactive post, since week 26 passed us by in the midst of major technical difficulties on the blog. But we’re up and running now, so we move along…

Although the baby’s eyes have been sealed shut for the last few months, they will soon open and begin to blink. According to the site where I get the pictures and information for these weekly posts, the baby’s eye color will depend on her ethnicity. They seem to be missing the bigger picture that both eye color and ethnicity depend on… GENETICS! As such, it’s pretty much guaranteed that baby girl Lyman will have blue eyes, no matter what Meg says. In addition, eyelashes are growing in, as is more hair on the head.

The baby, weighing a little less than 2 pounds (907 grams), still looks wrinkly but will continue to gain weight steadily over the next 14 weeks until birth. Only 14 weeks? Yikes!

Right on schedule, Meg has begun to notice that the baby has resting and alert periods. She notices fetal activity more readily when she is more sedentary. Baby girl’s hearing has continued to develop, too — she may now be able to hear our voices!

On another note, I think that could not have chosen a more opportune time to move to Richmond (as far as the baby is concerned). We’re going to be using a brand new hospital that just opened its doors on September 2nd. They have birthing “suites,” for lack of a better word, where Meg will be admitted, go through labor, and recover all in the same room. The rooms are spacious, with a queen-size pullout sofa, jacuzzis, and showers with full-body showerheads. Not bad!

We have our first appointment at the hospital today, so we’ll have to tell you how it goes.

The appointment with my new health care provider was great. I think having a midwife will be a positive experience, especially since I’ll also have the security of being at a hospital. She was fun, candid, and helpful. She spent more time with me at the one appointment than my other doctor did in the previous 4! And no singing about not having a brain.

I’m also reading “The Girlfriend’s Guide to Pregnancy” which is a total hoot. Tasteful yet hilarious. She’s very upfront, but overall positive about eventually having a child and becoming a mother. It’s also neat to hear so much emphasis on the value of female relationships, especially with my own mother. It’s a must-read for anyone who is pregnant.

Look for pictures soon!

The baby is still receiving oxygen through the placenta. But once birth occurs, her lungs will start taking in oxygen on their own. In preparation for that, her lungs are developing the ability to produce surfactant. Surfactant is a substance that keeps the air sacs in our lungs from collapsing and sticking together when we exhale, allowing us to breathe properly.

Because the inner ear — which controls balance in the body — is now completely developed, baby girl Lyman may be able to tell when she is upside down or right side up while floating and making movements in the amniotic fluid.

Well, we’ve officially moved back home. After making the tough decision to step down from our position in Chi Alpha and leave the Philadelphia area, we’ve decided to move back in with Mom and Dad for a little while to sort out our plans for the future. And besides, what better place to have a baby than with Grandma & Grandpa?

We don’t know at this point how long we’ll be in the Richmond area, but probably not permanently. We’ll certainly stay here until the baby is a few months old, but after that… who knows!