Viability

Not more than ten minutes after I published last week’s post, did Baby D start having a party in my stomach so strong that Adam was able to feel him for the first time! And just a couple days ago, Adam was able to feel him kick and the kick was so strong that he even saw my stomach move! Being able to share that experience with him was one of the greatest moments thus far in the past 24 weeks. Our little dude is making himself more and more known to me every single day. It seems his favorite time of the day is after my morning orange juice at work.

I had another successful doctor’s appointment yesterday. Baby D’s heartbeat was measuring at 150bpm and my belly was finally big enough for the measuring tape! My fundal height measured at 22cm. Fundal height is a measure of the size of the uterus used to assess fetal growth and development. Fundal height varies for all women and is not an exact science, but it should only vary by a couple centimeters. A woman between 19-25 weeks should have a fundal height of about 22cm, so I am right on target! Blood pressure and weight gain were also great. My weight is smack dab in the middle of the range it should be at 24 weeks so that’s good.  

What is so special about week 24, is that this is the week the baby is viable. What this means is, Baby D has a chance of survival outside the womb. This isn’t to say he would be totally okay and super healthy, but it means he would have a chance and every day that passes now gives him an even better chance of living a healthy life. Keeping my fingers and toes (and LEGS!!) crossed that he stays in there until the end, but it feels good to know, that if the unexpected happened, our little guy would have a fighting chance.

Finally, I would be remiss not to mention something else huge that happened yesterday… I finally went to Social Security and changed my last  name. Ever since I was a little girl, I told myself that when I got married one day I would never change my last name. I am the last Rose in the family and the importance of keeping my name was very important to me for many reasons. One of the reasons I didn’t want to change my name was based on the thinking that changing my name would cause me to lose my identity. I also love the fact that I am a strong, professional, and independent woman, and felt that keeping my birth name proved that. Adam knew my mantra when we started dating – “I won’t change my name for no man,” and he has always understood and been supportive of my choice. Well, funny how things change. The little man in my belly and the amazing husband I have been married to for the past three years have melted my heart and I realized I can be the same strong woman with or without my birth name. Priorities change and what is important to me more than anything is to be a complete family unit with my husband and child. I know a name really doesn’t cause that, but it makes my heart feel right. I know it will make my son happy and I know it makes Adam happy. Most importantly, though, it makes our family happy, so I couldn’t be more at peace with my decision. Rose will move to my middle name (since I never had one in the first place) and hopefully Adam and I will find other ways to continue carrying on my family name (Hint hint – I think that means Baby #2 one day needs to be a girl). By the way – the cats we have now and any future kitties we have with ALWAYS have the last name Rose…

Sorry for the long post. I’ll try to keep things shorter next week!

Not the best picture, but here is 24 weeks! 

Adam and I bought Baby D the bedding for his crib this week!
We can't wait to get it in the mail! 

24 down, 16 to go!