Milestone

Every week on Fridays, I check several online weekly calendars for the baby's development and I've been looking forward for some of the major milestones. Twelve weeks was a big one because that was when the chance of miscarriage decreased. Phew! Sixteen weeks was big because they said I should start feeling movement -- and, sure enough, I did. Twenty weeks was cool because it marked the middle point of the pregnancy. And my next big milestone was going to be Week 27 because that marks the beginning of the third trimester. I didn't expect such a huge milestone today...

Today is the beginning of the baby's 23rd week, and according to the online calendars I regularly view, he now has between a 30-70% chance of survival if he is born after today. That's just amazing to me. Apparently, he's just over a pound and about a foot long, but he could actually survive if he were born. And in another three weeks, his chance of survival goes up to 80%. I am amazed that medicine has advanced enough that a tiny little baby like mine could actually survive, but apparently even tinier babies have lived -- in 2006, Baby Amilia was born at only 10 ounces and 9 1/2 inches at only 21 weeks, but she was able to go home from the NICU four months later, the youngest preemie ever.

Now, I'm in no hurry for our little guy to make an appearance. I'd personally prefer for him to stay in there until his due date or even a little afterward (ask me if I still feel this way in May!), but it's incredibly reassuring to know that should anything happen (God forbid), he has a fighting chance. Which means this week, more than any since Week 12, is a very important milestone.