Monday, February 28, 2011

13 weeks 3 days

Hello again :)

Yet another week has passed and it's like baby fever all around me! I'm so happy for all of my friends who have delivered their little ones in the past couple of days. Congrats to Jen and Zach for delivering miss Quinn Taylor this weekend and to Ashley and Bo for delivering baby Madison Grace just this morning! I can't wait to go visit them both!

In my own personal developments, I'm now just over 13 weeks and feeling better. Today is kind of an exception to that, but overall I think I'm on the upside of all of the sicky stuff. I've still been really tired most days, but I'm thankful for my progress. In the past week, fingerprints have formed on our baby's tiny fingertips, veins and organs are still visible thru its still-thin skin and its body length is starting to catch up to its head - which makes up just about a third of his/her body size now. If we are having a girl, she now has just over 2 millions eggs in her ovaries! Who would have thought that 25 years ago when I was just a few weeks along growing inside my mom that my little one was already inside of me waiting for the day to start turning into a litte person! Absolutely crazy! Who can say there is no God for all of the incredible things He's created? Tiddle is about 3 inches long (the size of a medium shrimp) and weighs nearly an ounce.

My belly looks and feels like it's grown a bit over just the past couple of days. I'll try to get some more consistent belly pics going over the coming weeks and post them. I'm thankful to all of the support and advice I'm receiving from everyone, so keep it coming! I love hearing all of your personal stories and learning all kinds of little tricks and helpful tidbits of different products to try out and different remedies that have worked for you.

My next doctor's appointment is on March 8 and we'll get to hear our little heart beat again, can't wait!

Monday, February 21, 2011

Weeks 11 and 12

Hello again :)

I have been pretty busy the last couple of weeks and haven't had time to do my weekly update, so I'll have to catch up on this one.

At just over a week ago, at the 11 week mark and a day before my 25th birthday, our baby (which was just over 1 1/2 inches long and about the size of a fig) is now almost fully formed. Its hands will soon open and close into fists, tiny tooth buds are beginning to appear under the gums, and some of its bones are beginning to harden. Apparently he/she's already busy kicking and stretching, and its tiny movements are so effortless they look like water ballet. I wish I had a way to watch! These movements will become more frequent as it continues to grow and becomes more developed and functional. I likely won't feel our baby's acrobatics for another month or two - although a friend of mine said she felt hers move at just 15 weeks for the first time - nor will I notice the hiccupping that may be happening now that the little diaphragm is forming. Can't you just picture the tiniest hiccups? So cute to think about!

This past Friday was 12 weeks and lots more has already happened. The most dramatic development this week: reflexes. Our baby's fingers will soon begin to open and close, its toes will curl, its eye muscles will clench, and its mouth will make sucking movements. In fact, they say if I prod my abdomen, little Tiddle will squirm in response, although I won't be able to feel it. Intestines, which have grown so fast that they protrude into the umbilical cord, will start to move into the abdominal cavity about now, and kidneys will begin excreting urine into its bladder.

Meanwhile, nerve cells are multiplying rapidly, and in the brain, synapses are forming furiously. Our little one's face looks unquestionably human: Its eyes have moved from the sides to the front of his head, and two teenie ears are right where they should be. From crown to rump, Tiddle is just over 2 inches long (about the size of a lime) and weighs half an ounce.

Over the past couple of weeks I've started feeling slightly better. I haven't been constantly sick or queasy, so I think the days of 'morning sickness' are about over. Thank goodness! But, I think this baby is bound and determined to keep me on my toes. My OB and nurses have told me to make sure that I get my flu shot, but that I had to wait until after the 12-week mark. Baby is already teaching mommy to be ready for the unexpected, when Russell and I both came down with the flu a whole three days before I was eligible for my shot. Needless to say, this past weekend was full of fluids, rest and lots of snotty kleenex :)

Russell has been a complete blessing to me through all of this. He continues to show me that I can depend on him for anything. He takes such good care of me and I couldn't have asked for a better person to share all of this with.

Until next time...

Friday, February 4, 2011

10 Weeks

What's up y'all!

Today I'm 10 weeks along and it's been quite the week! I don't think we've ever had this many "snow" days in a row in Texas. Not any that I can remember anyway. It's only been about a week since my last post, but there's a lot that's changed so far with our little one. Though it's a little over an inch or so long, crown to bottom and weighs less than a quarter of an ounce, our baby has now completed the most critical portion of its development. This is the beginning of the so-called fetal period, a time when the tissues and organs in the body rapidly grow and mature.

He/she is swallowing fluid and kicking up a storm. I can't wait until I will be able to feel it! Vital organs — including 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 the pregnancy.

Little bitty tiny nails are forming on fingers and toes (no more webbing) and peach-fuzz hair beginning to grow on tender skin. In other developments: Its limbs can bend now. His/her hands are flexed at the wrist and meet over its heart, and its feet may be long enough to meet in front of its body. The outline of his/her spine is clearly visible through translucent skin, and spinal nerves are beginning to stretch out from the spinal cord. Our baby's forehead temporarily bulges with its developing brain and sits very high on its head, which measures half the length of his body (with it being Russell's baby, it could be even bigger than that! Haha!). From crown to rump, he/she's about 1 1/4 inches long. In the coming weeks, the tiny thing will again double in size — to nearly 3 inches.

I can definitely tell that I'm growing. My jeans won't even zip anymore. Probably can't get away with wearing normal jeans and a belly band for much longer. Still seems weird to me that I'm getting bigger in the belly and haven't gained (I've lost actually) weight. Last week and this week were definitely brutal in regards to morning (all-day) sickness. I even graced the presence of I-20 with my stomach contents one morning this week :)

My sister, Heather, and I decided that calling the baby "it" is sounding weird so she came up with calling it "Tiddle" for now hehe. That's all for now; more to come!