Pregnancy Report- Week 28

Okay, we've made it to 7 months now, and passed another milestone on our journey to parenthood.

Trien's tummy is getting bigger every day. As it does, her sleeping problems get worse. Now I no longer sleep in bed with her, except if she asks me to join her, when she needs a hug to get to sleep. I sleep on the floor on one of the foam rubber mattresses we borrowed from the school. That way, Trien can twist, turn, and squirm to her hearts content, get into all kinds of strange positions and get to sleep without me interfering. It also helps me to sleep, not only because I am not getting whacked or pushed up against the wall, but because I have spondylosis. Sleeping on a mattress on the floor gives my back the support it needs, so this arrangement is good for both of us.

She is so used to having me sleep next to her, that she spends most of the night sleeping right on the edge of the futon with her arm dangling over the side. It is really sweet, and when I see that, I hold her hand and give it a kiss.

Our baby gets hungry, and lets my wife know by moving around, and making her uncomfortable. Mostly this happens early in the morning. When it does, Trien has no choice but to get up and get something to eat and drink. If she doesn't, then she feels like she is being attacked from the inside by a hyperactive kangaroo. Once she eats, everything is OK, and they both can get back to sleep.

According the pregnancy sites I surf that give weekly updates on how your baby develops, our baby's hearing has been fully developed for the last few weeks. The first real evidence of this was a few weeks ago, when she started moving to the music at church. Now she starts moving to music whenever we play it for her. When she does, my wife says it's not just her arms or legs, but her whole body, like she really enjoys it and is dancing.

Her favorite kind of music is classical. When she hears Bach, Beethoven, Mozart or the like, she becomes very active, and starts dancing, and Trien starts laughing. Her next favorite kind of music is Jazz. Pop and Rock and Roll comes in third. Trien and I both think that our daughter will grow up to be a dancer or a musician.

I try to play music for our baby as much as possible, as she is entering the part of development where her gray matter is growing, and the brain is making neural connections. If she enjoys the music, is stimulated by it, and moves to it, that can only help her mental and physical development. When she is born, what we play for her now will be familiar to her, and will help calm her when she is cranky or doesn't want to sleep.

So playing music now is a pre-emptive strike against future restless, sleepless nights. Invest some time now, and it will pay off later.

As the saying goes:

"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!"