Not quite, but almost 22 weeks. According to the baby's head size, she's 22 weeks old - but that doesn't say much since the Forrester's have HUGE heads, or at least my dad and I both do. I've borrowed a picture from Visible Embryo to illustrate where our little girl is at in her development. Her hearing has already begun to develop, and now she's able to recognize voices. Garrett has been reading Frankenstein to her at night, however, I think what he really wants to do is read the beat writers, but I'd rather her not come into this world with low expectations and a predilection toward profanity. She'll no doubt learn all of that on her own.
If any family members are reading this, please post any information you know about Garrett or I as children, since neither of us have any clue what our child's temperment will be. Garrett told me that he liked to nap a lot, which sounds great. I've heard that I never smiled and was thought to be possessed by satan by a deacon of the church that we attended, Howard Roberts' son, the guy who gave candy to all the kids. My mother also thought that I was a sociopath, although I have much higher hopes for this one.
Here is some information about the stage of our little one that I am reprinting from Pregnancy.org. What I find really amazing is that she is considered viable in 2 more weeks, meaning she has a chance of survival outside of the womb if born early.
Week Twenty-Two
Your baby weighs close to a pound at this point!
Your baby can now hear your conversations more clearly than before!. When you talk, read, or sing, expect her to hear you. Studies have found that newborns will
suck more vigorously when read to from a book they heard frequently in utero.
Eyelids and eyebrows are fully formed.
Fingernails have grown to the end of the fingers.
Be prepared for all those "Why" questions coming! Your baby's brain has entered a stage of rapid growth, especially in what's called the germinal matrix. This structure deep in the middle of the brain serves as a kind of factory for brain cells and disappears shortly before birth. But the brain's amazing expansion program continues until around the five birthday.
With some help from mom, baby's liver is starting to break down bilirubin, a
substance produced by red blood cells.
Length is 10.94 inches (27.8cm); weight is nearly 1 pound (430gm).
