Week 22: Thumb-sucker

Unfortunately, the poll did not work for everyone...sorry :-( We will post the results (and our choices) soon!

On another note (e.g. not exactly Bean related per se), Bean and I are looking forward to having P home soon (he hasn't had a rotation here for a few months.) His current rotation was switched in the middle and he had to pick up and travel to Columbia, SC...where the living conditions are less than desirable (think horrible smells, holes in the walls, rats, and having to share this err, 'home' with a bunch of female PA students from a different university.) P also has had 2 conferences the past 2 weekends so we haven't spent weekends together lately either :-( However, since this is Lil' Bean's blog and we didn't want to post too much about us...on to Bean's development this week!

This week, your sweetie is making more sense of the world as he develops the sense of touch. In fact, your little one's grip is quite developed by now — and since there's nothing else to grab in utero, he may sometimes hold on tight to that umbilical cord (don't worry — it's tough enough to handle it). The sense of sight is also getting more developed. Your fetus can now perceive light and dark much better than before (even with those fused eyelids).

Moving up from the eyes, the eyelashes and eyebrows are well formed now — and even more hair is sprouting atop that cute little head. You'd be quite surprised, though, if you could see your little one up close and in color. Hair at this stage has no pigment, so it's bright white. ( hmmm...what color will his hair be? If mommy's genes win out, it definitely will not be white when he is born, and he will have lots and lots of it :-)

No wonder you’re getting so big, you’re now housing a wonder baby! Your baby's future in the circus as a world-famous tight-rope-walker is secure: their inner ear is now developed to the point that they have their own sense of balance. Lucky for your little explorer, balance also promotes physical dexterity, which has them actively feeling out their surroundings — where skin, body parts and umbilical cord are the big sensory experiences. Your foot-long baby, is looking a bit like an oversized raisin right now as more and more wrinkles are showing up each week. Not to worry, all that excessive wrinkling is just their skin’s way of planning ahead for the time when they’ll start piling on that irresistible baby chub.