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!