Your Pregnancy this Week!!

When I found out I was pregnant this past fall, many people said that it would be a good idea to sign up on one of the websites that would send me weekly updates about what was happening with me and the baby. So, of course, I did. I signed up with babycenter.com and enjoyed getting the weekly updates, called "Your Pregnancy this Week." I really liked how they gave a "guestimate" of the size of the baby and compared it to a type of fruit/vegetable. (The only problem was that I didn't know what the heck a few of the fruits/vegetables were when they listed the comparison). The message also gave you an idea of what would be happening with your body and what kinds of things you need to be thinking about. It was great, especially as this was our first baby!!

Anyway, Charlie is now 5 weeks old and I am still getting the weekly updates. I never changed the due date on my profile so I should be 38 weeks today. Because he was so early, I wanted to keep getting the updates so that I could compare where he should be at in the womb to where he actually is here in my arms. I have found it quite interesting!! I got the email earlier today and this is part of the update ....

Your baby has really plumped up. He weighs about 6.8 pounds and he's over 19 1/2 inches long (like a leek). He has a firm grasp, which you'll soon be able to test when you hold his hand for the first time! His organs have matured and are ready for life outside the womb. Wondering what color your baby's eyes will be? If he's born with brown eyes, they'll likely stay brown. If he's born with steel gray or dark blue eyes, they may stay gray or blue or turn green, hazel, or brown by the time he's 9 months old.

Let's compare now -- we went to the doctor last Thursday afternoon .... Charlie weighed in at 6 lbs 7 ozs and was 19.75 inches long. So, I guess it is about right on with it's prediction. For your information, his eyes have a blue tint to them at this point. Eric has blue eyes and mine are a hazel color, so who knows if they will stay blue (I hope so!!)

He is getting a grip too!! He will clamp down on your finger if you put it in his hand and he will look "at" you when you talk to him. We have found him to be much more active over the past few days. He is starting to get some "muscle" to him. We have to keep an eye on him now as he is able to push himself. If we are not careful, he will push himself into an uncomfortable position, which causes for an unhappy baby.

Today, I stopped in at the office for a couple of brief meetings regarding our upcoming camps. While I was in, the daughter of our CFO stopped in to say hello and to show off her baby boy. This little guy, Henry, was born one day after Charlie in the same hospital. When he was born, he was about 7.5 lbs ... today his mom said that he was over 10 lbs. I looked at Henry and then looked at Charlie and couldn't believe they were the same age. Charlie does a lot of the same things that Henry does as far as holding his head, reactions to people and their voices, but Henry is so much bigger. I really kept thinking that Charlie has grown and is becoming a hoss (compared to what he was), but after seeing Henry, I now realize that we are still pretty small. It is going to be that way, but I know that Charlie will not stay small forever and that someday we will be talking about how he was once the "runt!!"

He continues to do great though and we love watching him change each day. Sometimes I just sit there and look at them and think how I want him to stay this small forever, but then I realize that he needs to grow and that it will be exciting to see all the things he learns to do. Wanting him to stay small is just another reason to have another little one in the future so that we can go through it all again ;)