22 weeks: Mama Paquita

Mama Paquita
Mama Paquita buy your baby a banana,
A ripe banana, and a papaya.
A ripe papaya that your baby will enjoy!

Rain is the size of a papaya (or a spaghetti squash) these days, which is the equivalent of 11 inches, and we know he weighs at least 15 oz. His nipples are sprouting, and his cute little face is fully formed, including his eyes. He has lanugo (fine hair) that covers his body and deep wrinkles, which will fill in when he adds a padding of fat. His pancreas is developing steadily. He can now hear outside noises. Last night Kevin and I read "10 Little Monkey's Jumping on the Bed" to him. The book was a gift from a friend. I was the narrator, and Kevin was unenthusiastically the doctor. A very annoyed one, to say the least, even though he had the easiest part. Hopefully the baby enjoyed it, though. Rain is starting to settle into sleep cycles, snoozing about 12-14 hours a day.

I may start noticing stretch marks at this point. Let's hope I've kept them at bay. I've been using Jafra's Royal Almond Body Oil religiously lately, as I've heard that it works to keep stretch marks away. I also notice I lose less hair, which makes my already thick hair thicker. After baby's born, I might lose the excess in clumps. Scary! My rings are getting harder and harder to take off each night. I'm not sure what I'm going to do--wear them as a necklace, or buy an inexpensive, plain band in a size bigger to wear until my rings fit again. I just don't want people staring at me--pregnant, no rings--wondering if I'm an unwed mother.