Can you believe we'll already be 5 months pregnant tomorrow!!!
Our baby girl has a name now! She will be known from here on out at Adelyn Anna Brand! The name Adelyn was inspired by Ben's Grandma who recently passed away, Edel. And Amy's Mom's middle name is Anna. :) We'll most likely be calling her "Addy" for short.
Adelyn's scalp hair pattern is now determined.
Slow eye movements have begun under closed lids. Her eyes now face forward.
She is adding to her list of reflex behaviors. Reflexes are the automatic, unlearned behaviors a baby is born with. Most reflexes have survival value for the infant: Blinking helps keep foreign objects out of their eyes and keeps their eyes moist; sucking and swallowing provide for the ingestion of nutrients. Right now, Adelyn is practicing all 3 of those reflexes. She is also working on incorporating some additional reflexes, so that by the time she is born, the average full-term baby will display more than 70 different reflex behaviors.
Over the next 2 days, the ears will move to their final positions.
Her head and neck are more straight as more bone has formed and the back muscles have become stronger. Her skeleton has been actively ossifying. Her chin no longer seems to rest on her chest.
She is now able to practice breathing, swallowing, and sucking movements in preparation for life outside the womb. Some amniotic fluid is swallowed and processed by Adelyn's maturing digestive tract, as she practices for the time when she will eat conventional food. By now, all the major elements of the lungs have formed except those involved with the oxygen-carbon dioxide exchange. Thus, breathing air is not yet possible.
With the help of the placenta and the umbilical cord, Adelyn's system is operating as it will after she's born. She has her own circulation, pumped by the heart, which at this developmental stage pumps about 25 qts of blood a day; that rate will increase to 300 qts of blood a day by the time she is born. The placenta helps with protection, digestion, respiration, waste removal, and hormone production.
Adelyn now displays more sophisticated hand and arm movements, such as making a fist, moving the thumbs, bending the wrists, and grasping. All the body movements that Adelyn engages in right now constitute practice. It takes some time for the nervous system and the muscles to make smooth, synchronous movements. So these motions test the hookups within the neuromuscular system. Adelyn is also exercising her tiny muscles by moving them.
At this point in development, Adelyn has a considerable range of foot and leg movements: She can kick, turn her feet outward and inward, curl her toes, and fan her toes. Her toenails have begun to grow from their nail beds. Her legs have lengthened and are now well developed. Adelyn now has pads on her fingertips and toes that will develop the characteristics swirls and creases of the finger and toe prints.
Sometime last week, Adelyn's kidneys reached their final mature position. This ascent took nearly 10 weeks to complete because the body had to straighten to bring the kidneys into the abdomen. Body straightening is only 1 part of the astounding growth.
Meconium (the early fecal waste material) has begun to accumulate in Adelyn's bowel. This material is the product of cell loss, digestive secretions, and swallowed amniotic fluid and is the result of the digestive system practicing digestion while still in the womb.
Adelyn weighs 3-3/4 oz and stands 4.5" long!
Amy still hasn't gained any weight, but that's most likely due to being nauseous and subsequent sicknesses, like passing a kidney stone. The Dr's don't seem too concerned at this point. Amy has also already started to notice some new stretch marks on her sides. She has, however, been feeling miss Adelyn's movements for a few weeks now!
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