Week 16

So I am still following a website that gives updates on what is happening with the development of ALF...alien life form that has invaded my wife's body. Here is some of last weeks update:

At around 4 inches long, crown to rump, your baby now weighs about 2 1/2 ounces. He's busy inhaling and exhaling amniotic fluid, which will help the air sacs in his lungs develop. His legs are growing longer than his arms now, and he can move all his joints and limbs. That means his hands are more functional, too. Sweat glands are appearing, and although his eyelids are fused shut, he can sense light. If you were to shine a flashlight at your tummy, he'd be likely to move away from the beam. Your baby's taste buds are beginning to form now, too, and a study at the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia suggests he may be able to taste what you've been eating. Researchers found that flavors from the food pregnant women ate ended up in their amniotic fluid. They also found that eating healthy foods during pregnancy may help your baby develop a preference for those foods that could last a lifetime.

It still blows my mind at how quickly things develop...16 weeks ago there was nothing, now ALF has sweat glands, can sense light, and can taste what Natasha is eating. I guess that means ALF will like a dinner of pickles, peanut butter, ice-cream, and orange/pineapple juice.

This whole thing still seems surreal. People keep asking if we have picked out names or if we will find out the gender. It seems so weird to think of those things...maybe when it sinks in a little more.

Last week I found out my best friend from highschool and his wife are also expecting their first child and due about the same time we are. Kind of funny. When we were seniors in highschool we made this huge time capsule, filled it with all sorts of junk from 1991, and buried it in a safe place. We made a pact and a map to unearth it 20 years later. Part of our thought was when we returned in 20 years we would have kids about the same age as we were at the time we buried it. Boy were we a little off on that one.