12 weeks!!

How your baby's growing:

The most dramatic development this week: Reflexes. Your baby's fingers will soon begin to open and close, his toes will curl, his eye muscles will clench, and his mouth will make sucking movements. In fact, if you prod your abdomen, your baby will squirm in response, although you won't be able to feel it. His intestines, which have grown so fast that they protrude into the umbilical cord, will start to move into his abdominal cavity about now, and his kidneys will begin excreting urine into his bladder.

Meanwhile, nerve cells are multiplying rapidly, and in your baby's brain, synapses are forming furiously. His face looks unquestionably human: His eyes have moved from the sides to the front of his head, and his ears are right where they should be. From crown to rump, your baby-to-be is just over two inches long (about the size of a lime) and weighs half an ounce.

See what your baby looks like this week.(Or see what fraternal twins look like in the womb this week.)

Note: Every baby develops a little differently — even in the womb. Our information is designed to give you a general idea of your baby's development.

I have to get ready for work now, but I will make an update later on this morning. :o)

Survey says...

...according to the ultrasound tech, Baby Skipper is measuring in at 11 weeks and 1 day! Which means I'm a whole week more pregnant than I originally thought. w00t! I'm so excited!!

And here is Baby Skipper's first picture:
You can see it's eye and little hands. Aw! I'm so excited!! :o)

Which also means...

How your baby's growing:

Your baby, just over 1 1/2 inches long and about the size of a fig, is now almost fully formed. Her hands will soon open and close into fists, tiny tooth buds are beginning to appear under her gums, and some of her bones are beginning to harden.

She's already busy kicking and stretching, and her tiny movements are so effortless they look like water ballet. These movements will become more frequent as her body grows and becomes more developed and functional. You won't feel your baby's acrobatics for another month or two — nor will you notice the hiccupping that may be happening now that her diaphragm is forming.

See what your baby looks like this week.

Note: Every baby develops a little differently — even in the womb. Our information is designed to give you a general idea of your baby's development

10 weeks and first ultrasound!!

Today is the day -- my very first ultrasound with baby #2!! I'm super, super excited to see the baby, even though it probably won't look like a baby at all. I'm still not really feeling like I have a baby inside me (regardless of morning sickness and bigger boobies) so maybe this will really jumpstart it.

I have 3 and a half more hours here at work and then I'm off until Wednesday. Tomorrow is Mark's 29th birthday! Happy (early) Birthday Honey!!

And to top it off, I'm 10 weeks today!!

How your baby's growing:

Though he's barely the size of a kumquat — a little over an inch or so long, crown to bottom — and weighs less than a quarter of an ounce, your baby has now completed the most critical portion of his development. This is the beginning of the so-called fetal period, a time when the tissues and organs in his body rapidly grow and mature.He's swallowing fluid and kicking up a storm. Vital organs — including his kidneys, intestines, brain, and liver (now making red blood cells in place of the disappearing yolk sac) — are in place and starting to function, though they'll continue to develop throughout your pregnancy.

If you could take a peek inside your womb, you'd spot minute details, like tiny nails forming on fingers and toes (no more webbing) and peach-fuzz hair beginning to grow on tender skin.

In other developments: Your baby's limbs can bend now. His hands are flexed at the wrist and meet over his heart, and his feet may be long enough to meet in front of his body. The outline of his spine is clearly visible through translucent skin, and spinal nerves are beginning to stretch out from his spinal cord. Your baby's forehead temporarily bulges with his developing brain and sits very high on his head, which measures half the length of his body. From crown to rump, he's about 1 1/4 inches long. In the coming weeks, your baby will again double in size — to nearly 3 inches.

See what your baby looks like this week.

Note: Every baby develops a little differently — even in the womb. Our information is designed to give you a general idea of your baby's development.

If I get pics of the ultrasound today, I'll make sure to scan them at my mother-in-law's house so that I can post them on here. :o)

In other news, I've been sick as a dog with a head cold since Friday. It has not been a fun weekend. All I can take is Sudafed and it doesn't do anything. I feel awful, but what can you do?

ho-hum

Boredom has plagued me as of late. I can't seem to find anything I want to do. I'm thinking maybe I should start knitting something for the baby but I just don't feel like it. I wonder if that's just one of those "baby blues" side effects?

While at Sam's Club this afternoon I picked up a new book, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon. It's relatively small so it probably wouldn't take me all that long to read it. EW.com calls it a "new book classic," which is a group of 100 books they put together that have been written since 1983. They could have just said they were the best books written in the past 25 years. I'm such a doofus that I sat here and went, "What's so special about 1983?" and then I was like, "oh duh." :oP I don't know how accurate the list is because number two on the list is Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire. GREAT BOOK, but I don't think I'd put it at like number 2. Wally Lamb wasn't even on the list and his books are fabulous!

Anywho. Tomorrow I will be 9 weeks along. Here is where the baby is!

How your baby's growing:

Your new resident is nearly an inch long — about the size of a grape — and weighs just a fraction of an ounce. She's starting to look more and more human. Her essential body parts are accounted for, though they'll go through plenty of fine-tuning in the coming months. Other changes abound: Your baby's heart finishes dividing into four chambers, and the valves start to form — as do her tiny teeth. The embryonic "tail" is completely gone. Your baby's organs, muscles, and nerves are kicking into gear. The external sex organs are there but won't be distinguishable as male or female for another few weeks. Her eyes are fully formed, but her eyelids are fused shut and won't open until 27 weeks. She has tiny earlobes, and her mouth, nose, and nostrils are more distinct. The placenta is developed enough now to take over most of the critical job of producing hormones. Now that your baby's basic physiology is in place, she's poised for rapid weight gain.

See what's going on in your uterus this week.

Note: Every baby develops a little differently — even in the womb. Our information is designed to give you a general idea of your baby's development


So that's that. I guess I'm off to read my book. Sorry if this post is sorta disjointed. My heart's just not into it today.

Success!

I changed my template! It's almost too blue but still more baby-ish than the templates that Blogger usually provides. :o)

First OB appointment.

Yesterday was my first OB appointment with Dr. Bryan. He turned out to be very soft-spoken and super nice. I had called off of work yesterday because I was feeling really awful, so nauseous that I couldn't even get out of bed. As soon as I told him that, no other questions asked, he prescribed me not only medicine for the nausea (Reglan) but prenatal vitamins with a little something extra to combat morning sickness. I thought that was awesome because most doctor's would question you to the end of time. Even though I don't get sick all the time, it's nice to have something on hand for when I do. I can't keep missing work. I'll lose my job.

My first ultrasound is on the 21st. I've never had an ultrasound so early before. Well. Strike that. When I found out I was pregnant with Aidan, my doc had sent me to the ER because I was spotting. They did an ultrasound just to make sure everything was ok. But I've really never heard of having an ultrasound at what, 1o weeks? I'm guessing it'll be a vaginal ultrasound since they didn't ask me to drink a butt load of water or anything.

Mark and I also have to go to genetic counseling because I am a carrier for cystic fibrosis. He will be tested as well just to make sure everything is ok. That part is always a bit scary and I will be on pins and needles until we get the test results back. Even though it's a slim chance that both of us would be carriers, there is still a chance.

My next check-up is August 5th. I'll be 12 weeks then! Second trimester! wOOt!

P.S. I'm pissed off at Blogger right now because it won't let me change my template from any of the standard ones it offers. Everytime I try to copy and paste a template from another website, I get a bunch of errors. Grr!!!

8 weeks today!

How your baby's growing: New this week: Webbed fingers and toes are poking out from your baby's hands and feet, his eyelids practically cover his eyes, breathing tubes extend from his throat to the branches of his developing lungs, and his "tail" is just about gone. In his brain, nerve cells are branching out to connect with one another, forming primitive neural pathways. You may be daydreaming about your baby as one sex or the other, but the external genitals still haven't developed enough to reveal whether you're having a boy or a girl. Either way, your baby — about the size of a kidney bean — is constantly moving and shifting, though you still can't feel it.

See what's going on in your uterus this week. (Or see what fraternal twins look like in the womb this week.)

Note: Every baby develops a little differently — even in the womb. Our information is designed to give you a general idea of your baby's development.


***

In other news Aidan went pee on the potty for the first time yesterday! It was really frustrating to be honest! He's just not ready and I know it. I just hate how I feel pressured to potty-train him by like everyone. I'm hoping now that he's done it once, he won't be so scared to do it again. Yes, that's right. He's TERRIFIED of sitting on the potty. I have no clue why, he just is. *sigh*

7 weeks and happy news!

First off -- I found out that my best friend's wife is pregnant!! I'm super, super excited for them and completely elated to have a pregnant "buddy." I just keep thinking about all the fun stuff we can do together! His wife, RM, is due a little under a month after me (EDD is March 7th) which is even more fun. Yay!

Secondly, this is what's going on for the baby this week:

How your baby's growing:

The big news this week: Hands and feet are emerging from developing arms and legs — although they look more like paddles at this point than the tiny, pudgy extremities you're daydreaming about holding and tickling. Technically, your baby is still considered an embryo and has something of a small tail, which is an extension of her tailbone. The tail will disappear within a few weeks, but that's the only thing getting smaller. Your baby has doubled in size since last week and now measures half an inch long, about the size of a blueberry.

If you could see inside your womb, you'd spot eyelid folds partially covering her peepers, which already have some color, as well as the tip of her nose and tiny veins beneath parchment-thin skin. Both hemispheres of your baby's brain are growing, and her liver is churning out red blood cells until her bone marrow forms and takes over this role. She also has an appendix and a pancreas, which will eventually produce the hormone insulin to aid in digestion. A loop in your baby's growing intestines is bulging into her umbilical cord, which now has distinct blood vessels to carry oxygen and nutrients to and from her tiny body.

See what's going on in your uterus this week.

***

Next week is my first OB appointment with Dr. Brian. Mark is going to go with me which will be so much nicer this time around. During my pregnancy with Aidan, I spent the vast majority of it going to my doctor's appointments by myself. It was really quite depressing but my life was very different at that point. Now I have a wonderful, supportive husband!

My mother-in-law is driving me a bit nuts though. She doesn't like that I have chosen an OB out in St. Louis instead of an OB on the Illinois side of the river. I would understand if her reasons were like, "Oh what if you go into labor, you'll have to drive all that way," but they're not. She doesn't like to drive in St. Louis. I told her she'd either have to find a ride to the hospital or not come at all. I know that sounds extremely bitchy, but come on. This is MY decision and I don't think I should be criticized for it. There aren't any great OB's on the Illinois side. Everyone that is around here has horrible reputations, with the exception of Dr. Dalla Riva. Unfortunately Dr. Dalla Riva does not take my insurance. I want an excellent doctor taking care of me and my baby and even though I have never gone to Dr. Brian his colleague, Dr. Gulick, was my old GYN and I loved him. And I trust in Dr. Gulick. He did both of my laser laproscopy surgeries and I've known him since I was 16. Of course, if I end up not liking Dr. Brian I will look for another doctor. I'm not dumb.

Other than that, so far everything seems to be ok with me. I still don't really feel pregnant but I haven't gotten my period so I figure I'm still with child. :o) My morning sickness hasn't returned *knock on wood* but I do still periodically feel a bit sick throughout the day. Usually it's when I haven't eaten in awhile though.

I'm not having any weird cravings although my sense of taste has changed. I no longer want to drink anything really carbonated or sweet. Actually I can't really find anything I want to drink. It's weird. Nothing tastes good. I've been sticking to diet soda though, even though it is carbonated it's not sweet. I tried juice and water and water that's flavored. Nothing. Nothing quenches it. Well, I do seem to like Yoo Hoo but I can't drink it all the time because it has whey in it and I'm lactose intolerant. Now if they made like lactose free Yoo Hoo or something I'd totally be down. Maybe I'll try some Lactaid milk with chocolate syrup. Tastes good and good for you! :o)

I guess that's about it for now. We keep talking to Aidan about the "baby" in my "tummy." He gives it kisses but then tells us he doesn't want a brother or a sister. :o) Silly boy!

Oh and I recently found out my step-sister is having a baby girl! Yay!