Christmas: 15 Weeks

This past week was filled with family gatherings and lots of thoughts of how next year will be so much different with our little peanut here.  This week I also noticed how tight my pre-pregnancy pants are fitting.  A few mornings I was late to work due to a clothing crisis.  This in between stage really stinks…regular clothes are too tight and uncomfortable and maternity clothes are still too big and baggy.  I’m still switching back and forth between maternity pants, but when I get the chance I’m living in my black yoga pants and Michael Kors Jeans whenever I can.  Luckily I received quite a few new maternity clothes for Christmas and a gift card to Destination Maternity. Not to mention the greatest mom-to-be thing ever invented…the Snuggle pillow.  Baby Stafford even received quite a few gifts as well.  Laura gave us her favorite things as a baby: Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls, Goodnight Moon and Skittles for me (my only craving).  Sara gave us a the book "Guess How Much I Love You".”  Ben’s parents, gave us an adorable breathable blanket embroidered with bumblebees.  And my mom and Jim gave us a few little clothes, teething toys and of course the pack-n-play we received early last weekend.  Santa even brought Peanut a stocking at my mom’s, which had a Sock Monkey, ornament, and paci’s.  Our growing baby now measures about 4 inches long, crown to rump, and weighs in at about 2 1/2 ounces, about the size of an apple. He or she is busy moving amniotic fluid through the nose and upper respiratory tract, which helps the primitive air sacs in the lungs begin to develop. Baby’s legs are growing longer than the arms now, and the baby can move all of it’s joints and limbs. Although the eyelids are still fused shut, they can sense light. If you shine a flashlight at your tummy, for instance, they baby likely to move away from the beam. There's not much for our baby to taste at this point, but he or she is forming taste buds.