V-Day!

No, not Valentine's Day. Viability Day! Today I am 24 weeks which means little girl has made it to another big milestone. This means that if Courtney was born anytime after 24 weeks she has a 50/50 survival rate and the NICU would do everything in their power to save her life. BUT, I plan for her to stay in there as long as she wants.

My doctors appointment went well yesterday. I am measuring right on and the results from my 20 week ultrasound show that she is measuring right on with my dates. I'm really working hard at keeping my blood pressure under control (I get nervous every time I go to the doctor) and the first time they took my BP it was 190/70. :-O After I met with the doctor, the nurse took it again and it was 134/64. She said that is great and next time tell the nurse to just take my BP after my meeting with the doctor. I was given the glucose drink and told to drink it right before my next appointment and they will take my blood exactly one hour later. If you don't remember, this is to test for gestational diabetes. I took this test at around 8 weeks and failed the 1 hour test and then passed the 3 hour. Now I get to do it again. UGH!

Mike is gone to South Carolina for Boarding Officer training until March so I'm just trying to keep myself busy.

Here is a little about the baby at 24 weeks:
Your baby's growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces since last week. That puts her at just over a pound. Since she's almost a foot long (picture an ear of corn), she cuts a pretty lean figure at this point, but her body is filling out proportionally and she'll soon start to plump up. Her brain is also growing quickly now, and her taste buds are continuing to develop. Her lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" as well as cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help her air sacs inflate once she hits the outside world. Her skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon.