Your baby's growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces since last week. That puts him at just over a pound. Since he's almost a foot long (picture an ear of corn), he cuts a pretty lean figure at this point, but his body is filling out proportionally and he'll soon start to plump up. His brain is also growing quickly now, and his taste buds are continuing to develop. His lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" as well as cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help his air sacs inflate once he hits the outside world. His skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon. Most women have a glucose screening test (also called a glucose challenge test or GCT) between now and 28 weeks. This test checks for gestational diabetes, a pregnancy-related high-blood-sugar condition. Untreated diabetes increases your risk of having a difficult vaginal delivery or needing a cesarean section because it causes your baby to grow too large, especially in his upper body. It also raises your baby's odds for other complications like low blood sugar right after birth. A positive result on your GCT doesn't mean you have gestational diabetes, but it does mean that you'll need to take the glucose tolerance test (GTT) to find out for sure.
Everything is going great with baby Jayce. So far I have gained about 5 pounds with this pregnancy so finally I am beginning to gain weight, praise the Lord. The doctor has scheduled an ultrasound for my next visit on August 10th to make sure the baby is growing as he should since I haven't been gaining much weight. Plus I have the glucose test my next visit as well. Overall things are going great. I feel great in fact better than great! I love being pregnant and am so blessed. I will say that I am very much looking forward to seeing what baby Jayce looks like and holding him in my arms. But I know how much work a newborn is so I'm not wanting to rush anything.
