It's not a drum solo!

I have been experiencing some pretty funky moves by Pickles this past month. Mostly kicks and turns, but probably once a day, there are hard kicks on one side with really fast movements on the other side. I imagined this to be Pickles figuring out how to use the kick drum with his feet while drumming fast on a snare with its hands. But then I figured it out and looked it up: Hiccups!

There goes my idea of getting pickles to be the next drummer savant.

For those who are keeping tabs, Pickles will officially be 27 weeks big tomorrow (Wednesday). That means, according to these freaky baby websites, it is about 2 pounds (the weight of a head of cauliflower) and about 14 inches (35 cm) from tip to toe. It is very sensitive to light. I tested it. I held a light to my stomach and it moved away from it...and then I did it again, and it still moved away. It moves a lot when I am hungry, while I'm eating and then once I've had enough, gives me a big kick in the bladder and then rests until the next cycle. Also, when Axel's alarm goes, it starts to kick. It has actually kicked Axel in the back and in the butt so it made him get out of bed. It has also figured out a way to put itself in the most awkward spot in the abdomen while riding my bike so I have to slow down or stop all together until it decides to try another spot. And it likes using my ribcage as an upside-down perch. When it does this, I think about my little brother who was obsessed with bats when he was 4-5 and when asked about what he wants to be when he grows up, he said "Nocturnal." So maybe I am growing a part-human, part-bat, part-condiment in the belly right now.


So here's some food for thought. A girl we met through ISU (she did the summer program last year, is TAing this summer session, will be going to the master's this year and is dating one of Axel's classmates) just had a great article written about her. She was born at 28 weeks and was just over a pound. Not only did she survive, but now she's a rocket scientist. This has reassured me that if Pickles does decide to enter the real world way earlier than it needs to, it has a chance to not only survive, but also be good at math. Here's the article link.