Lennon Update #20 (from 1/19/12)

Lennon is becoming more and more intelligent!  Up until recently his brain was smooth, it is now developing folds.  These folds increase the surface are of the brain and therefore increase the amount of gray matter and the amount of information that can be processed.  Pretty cool!  This is the 28th week of the pregnancy.  As you can see on the chalk board, Chelsey and Lennon have made it into the third trimester!  Chelsey and I are both getting very excited to meet our little man.  I included a shot of Chelsey’s belly from the front this week as a few of you have asked about the belly and Kate was curious what her belly button is looking like.  Chelsey was happy to oblige because she doesn’t think the profile picture does her belly justice as it has become wider.  (still pretty much just a basketball though)  Chels has been describing her belly button as a ying yang symbol, where half of it is raised and the other half is “hanging on for dear life.”  We are pretty sure it is going to just pop like a turkey timer here soon.

This week Chelsey had a little more weight gain, up to 18 pounds overall.  As some of you may know Chelsey and I both made an effort about this time last year to lose some weight. Kind of crazy, but this is about the same weight Chels was before we dropped the lbs.  Chels is still sporting some non-maternity clothes, but is has switched to mostly maternity clothes.  Today she is sporting one of my button downs and is looking great!  This week there were no real cravings or aversions.  Chels is enjoying 2 or 3 bananas each day and actually ate red meat a few times this past week which I was super happy about.  Lennon is moving all the time and all over the place.  This past weekend he discovered he could reach Chelsey’s ribs with his kicks.  Despite the internal abuse, Chels says that she is going to miss his wiggles and kicks, she finds them very comforting. 

The thing Chels is missing the most this week is solid sleep.  Chelsey is still having some low back pain, which is causing her sleep to be a little restless.  Last night was the best night of sleep that Chels has had in a while and it is a shame it didn’t last a little longer.  Chels has been able to avoid stretch marks and swelling to this point.  Not sure, but we will chalk that up to copious amounts of lotion,  drinking 100+ ounces of water a day and working out.  No labor signs to speak of either, Chels is thankful that she has not experienced Braxton Hicks contractions.  Chels is looking forward to a nice relaxing weekend with the dogs and me.  It is finally going to feel like winter, snowing and very cold, so we plan on popping popcorn and renting a couple of movies.  I am hoping to take some maternity pictures of Chels in a few weeks and I am really want to practice this weekend to make sure they turn out well, cross your fingers!

Hope this reaches all of you well and thank you for keeping Chelsey and Lennon in your thoughts and prayers!

Love,
Patrick, Chelsey, & Lennon