14 Weeks - 2nd Trimester

I feel like I graduated and there should be a big party to celebrate.  Today marks the beginning of my 2nd trimester!  I have exactly 6 more months to reach my due date.  Our baby is due June 26, 2010.  I am just a little over a 1/3 of the way there.  My total weight gain so far this pregnancy is about 5 pounds.

This week's big developments: Our baby can now squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly suck his/her thumb! Thanks to brain impulses, his facial muscles are getting a workout as his tiny features form one expression after another.  From head to rump, he/she measures about 3 1/2 inches and weighs about 1 1/2 ounces and is compared to the size of a lemon.  He/she is starting to develop an ultra-fine, downy covering of hair, called lanugo, all over his/her body.

This is hilarious!! We had our friends Mike and Eileen over for dinner Tuesday night.  Eileen is also pregnant and we are about 3 1/2 weeks apart.  She's due at the beginning of June.  Well, her husband Mike unfortunately hasn't been able to hear the heartbeat yet since he missed their last prenatal appointment, so I offered to let Eileen try out the Fetal doppler I had.  So while the guys chatted over a beer, Eileen and I went upstairs to get the doppler set up.  I had her lie down in the bed.  Instead of helping her out, I offered to show her how it was done.  So, I got over to the other side of the bed and we both cracked up laughing because while the guys were downstairs we ladies were upstairs in the bed with our shirts up, rubbing lotion on our bellies...yeah, you get the picture!!!  The guys were called up and they both got a kick out of it!  They were both able to hear their baby's heartbeats though.  Such a joyous moment!  I regret not having a picture taken with Eileen, but hopefully we'll get one soon.  It's so much fun being pregnant with someone you know!

Below is a belly pic taken today to mark the 14th week.

14 Weeks

13 Weeks

Can you believe it?  I'm exactly 3 months along and only 1 more week until I begin my 2nd trimester!!  I don't really feel any different lately, but I definitely notice I'm growing.  My belly just hasn't rounded out enough yet for others to realize I'm pregnant.  It just looks like I've been eating too many cheeseburgers and fries.  But, my time will come.  And before you know it, Cleetus will be kicking me in the ribs. 

This week, our baby measures almost 3 inches from crown to rump.  That's almost double the size from just 2 weeks ago!!  She/he weighs just under an ounce.  It has its own fingerprints.  The nose and chin are well defined.  Bone is beginning to replace cartilage and the ribs are appearing.  The child will begin to learn to suck its thumb.  If it's a girl, she already has more than 2 million eggs in her ovaries!  The external genitalia are well defined making it possible to determine the baby's gender, but we will keep that a mystery throughout the pregnancy.  Finding out before hand is like unwrapping your Christmas gift before Christmas!

Since I don't have a belly pic for you today, I thought I will show you what our baby potentially looks like at this time inside my belly.  She/he is practically fully developed now.  The baby just needs to mature and grow.  Take a look!

12 Weeks

Wow, it's hard to believe I'm already 12 weeks along.  Only 2 more weeks left in the 1st trimester!  I'm 1 week further along than where I got to my last pregnancy before the miscarriage, so I'm entering all new territory and excitement now. 

My baby is just over 2 inches in length from crown to rump and is compared to the size of a lime weighing about 1/2 an ounce now.  The baby can soon clench its fists, curl its toes, and make sucking movements with its mouth.  The feet are almost half an inch (1cm) long.  Vocal chords are complete and at times, the baby does cry silently.  The poor thing can feel pain too which probably causes him/her to cry.  The kidneys are starting to excrete urine into its bladder.  If I prod my abdomin, the baby would move in response due to its reflexes it now has although I won't start to feel anything for several weeks yet.  I can't wait to feel those 1st movements!!!

As for how I feel?  I feel plain fat!  I can't wait until I start to pop so I can just feel pregnant instead of fat.  Unfortunately, that might not happen for about another month or so.  But as far as the infamous morning sickness, I've been blessed and I think I might finish the 1st trimester without an ounce of morning sickness.  I've had the occassional heartburn or headache, but that's about all.

Craig and I decided not to find out the sex of the baby until delivery.  As much as we would like to plan for the sex, I think the surprise in the delivery room will make for a much better suspense.  I'll have the rest of its life to dress it in pink or blue!  I think the suspense will want me to push that much harder too so that I can find out the sex in the end!

Below are belly pics from 8, 10, and now 12 weeks.

12 Weeks

10 Weeks

8 Weeks

We have news!!!

Yes, you guessed it - we are pregnant!  This is our 2nd pregnancy, but hopefully our 1st baby that we can take to full term.  Most, if not all of you, probably remember the horrible news I shed at the end of July when we miscarried at 11 weeks. 

We had our 1st prenatal appointment this morning and everything seems to be moving along just fine.  I haven't experienced any spotting or bleeding this time around which is an extra bonus.  So our little peanut is about 1 1/2 inches from its head to rump and has a very fast heartbeat of 168!  I say it's from all that moving around we got to see in the sac on the ultrasound!  I think it's taking after Craig's whacky ways by flailing its arms and legs and going "look at me!!"  Those who know Craig well should be able to get the picture! 

So far, I gained 5 pounds which is more than I anticipated at this time, but I guess with all of that Thanksgiving food we had all week long, I could not have avoided it!  We are 11 weeks on Saturday.  At 10 weeks, our little embryo graduated into a fetus and now Craig likes to refer to the baby as "Cletus the Fetus"  It has all its organs and fingers and toes.  It's even starting to grow fingernails and toenails!  It now is going to begin its rapid growth and maturity.  In fact, in just a little over two weeks, it will double in size!  So stay tuned for updates!

Here is my 10 week 5 day sonogram! (The head is the round object on the right). Now you know why I called it a peanut! It looks just like one! :)