27 weeks

How your baby's growing: This week your baby weighs almost 2 pounds (like a head of cauliflower) and is about 14.4 inches long with his legs extended. He can now open and close his eyes, and he sleeps and wakes at regular intervals. He may suck his fingers, and although his lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with assistance — if he were to be born prematurely. Chalk up any rhythmic movement you may be feeling to a case of baby hiccups, which may be common from now on. Each episode usually lasts only a few moments, and isn't bothersome to him, so enjoy the tickle. With more brain tissue developing, your baby's brain is very active now. Wonder what he's thinking?

How your life's changing: Your body is gearing up for the final lap, so you may start noticing some new symptoms. Along with an aching back, for example, you may find that your leg muscles cramp up now and then. They're carrying extra weight, after all. They may also be aggravated by sluggish circulation and compressed nerves caused by your growing uterus. (As your uterus expands, it puts pressure on the blood vessels that return blood from your legs to your heart and on the nerves leading from your trunk to your legs.) Unfortunately, the cramps are likely to get worse as your pregnancy progresses. Leg cramps are more common at night but can also happen during the day. When a cramp strikes, stretching the calf muscle (by straightening your leg and then gently flexing your toes back toward your shins) should give you some relief. Walking for a few minutes or massaging your calf sometimes helps, too.

It may be the furthest thing from your mind right now, but it's not too soon to think about family planning. You'll want to have made some decisions before your baby arrives. In some states, if you're considering a tubal ligation during your hospital stay, laws require that you sign a consent form at least a month before delivery day. (You can still change your mind later.)

How I'm doing: I feel pretty lucky at the moment. I am still able to sleep well and even though I'm doing things slower, I don't really have any aches and pains to speak of. I really feel like yoga has helped with this. I have noticed a definite increase in flexibility and strength since I started attending regularly. Unfortunately, after this week I will be down to only attending once a week since our birth class is also on Thursday evenings. I have also been trying to go to the gym as much as possible too. Swimming still feels a little strange since I'm more buoyant than before. But I alternate swimming with riding the bike.

As I mentioned, our birthing class starts next week. We will be taking an 8-week Bradley birthing class which focuses on husband-coached natural childbirth. We are taking the class through Birth and Beyond which is a birthing and infant resource center in Santa Monica. Our midwives recommended the class and we'll be taking it along with a friend and her husband who are due about a month after us. We're very much looking forward to getting the ball rolling.

The baby is kicking quite strongly now. She can easily be felt from the outside it's just a matter of being in the right place and the right time to catch it. She's fond of kicking up a storm and then taking a nap as soon as her daddy tries to feel her move. He has felt her though. She kicks so strongly that you can easily see my stomach move, even through clothing. We've tried to catch this on tape but she's been uncooperative so far. She seems to be a feisty one. But she's only kicked me hard enough, or in the right location, to hurt once. Hopefully it will stay that way. She does like to stretch and pushes back when my pants push into my stomach when I'm sitting. She doesn't like my elastic waistbands I don't think.