24 Weeks - Perfect by tiny

Today's offical-ish weigh in puts me up 4 pounds from my pre-pregnancy weight.

Max has been VERY active this week. He seems to wake up fairly early. He moves before I eat. He moves after I eat. He moves at bedtime. He pretty much seems to move whenever he feels like it. :) I'm glad he is enjoying himself in there.

Now that I have seen photos of my cousin's son (at 1 day old) it makes the whole purpose of the pregnancy seem a lot more real. It isn't just about puking unexpectedly and having trouble rolling over at night. At the end of all this there will be a baby... It is nice to have a reminder about what this is all about. Plus baby Alfie looked totally cute!

http://www.maternityandbabyshoppingmart.com/pregnancy_week_24.html
Your Baby's Growth and Development
During pregnancy week 24 your baby weighs roughly one pound or more. By now your baby resembles a tiny but perfect human being in most cases. During pregnancy week 24 and beyond your baby's central nervous system continues to develop, as do your baby's lungs. Your baby's lungs are starting to form tiny branches and will eventually produce a substance called surfactant, necessary for full respiration after delivery.
The amniotic fluid in your uterus will increase in volume starting around 24 weeks pregnancy, and will continue to do so until right before delivery. Most of the time a woman's uterus holds roughly 2 pints of amniotic fluid. Did you know amniotic fluid actually changes consistency during pregnancy? During early pregnancy your amniotic fluid more closely resembles plasma, whereas near delivery your amniotic fluid contains multiple substances including fetal urine and lanugo covering your baby.
Most babies swallow and excrete a small volume of amniotic fluid during pregnancy. This is perfectly normal and perhaps prepares your baby for actual breathing after delivery.
Changes In Your Body
By now your uterus may rest as much as 2inches above your navel. Many women start touching their bellies more frequently now as they notice their belly growing larger and larger. You may also notice that other people acquire a fondness for touching your belly.
While normal, this does bother some women. For some reason people are fascinated by pregnancy, and take every opportunity they can to rub pregnant women's bellies, with or without asking. If you don't mind, let them. If it makes you uncomfortable, place your own hand there first or tell people you are too ticklish. This will send a message without you feeling uncomfortable or being rude.
Some people just feel pregnant women are lucky and want to rub your belly for a little luck. It certainly is worth a try.
You'll also notice that people have a tendency to comment on your belly size every chance they get. Whether they notice your belly is too "large" or too "small" for dates don't be offended. This happens all the time. Just take everything in stride and have faith your belly size is just right for your baby.
Counting Your Babies Kicks
When babies first start moving about strongly enough that you feel their movements, you'll notice for the most part they are quite random. Eventually however, especially toward your third trimester you will notice your baby tends to kick more at certain times of the day than others.
Babies go through normal patterns of sleep and wakefulness during the day, and their kicking reflects this. Many times during the third trimester a doctor will recommend you start counting fetal kicks during the day to ensure your baby is healthy and thriving.
How do you do this? You only have to do this once a day. Normally you can do these easily by sitting quietly for a short period and counting the amount of time it takes you to feel ten or more movements for your baby. Typically this should happen within a two hour time frame. Some women drink juice to facilitate this process. Most babies' respond to sweet drinks or changes in schedule.

(if that is true then Max should be using a different schedule today since I got almost no sleep and feel like a zombie...)