17 weeks 1 day

Hi guys :)

Yesterday was 17 weeks for me and little Tiddle. Pretty soon we will know what he/she is and will be referring to it by its actual name! This past week has gone by really fast, and it's crazy to think that I'm almost half way thru this whole thing.

As of this week, our baby's skeleton is changing from soft cartilage to bone, and the umbilical cord — his/her lifeline to the placenta — is growing stronger and thicker. Tiddle weighs 5 ounces now (about as much as a turnip), and is around 5 inches long from head to bottom. He/She can move his/her joints, and sweat glands are starting to develop.

Each week as I learn what is going on and what new feature is starting to develop it opens my mind to the incredible complexity of what it takes to make a human and this little life that is growing inside of me. God's imagination and creativity are amazing things :)

Here's a pic of what the baby looks like this week:

And here is me this week:

16 weeks, 3 days

Hello faithful followers :)

This past Friday I hit the 4 month mark. Only 5 more to go! I'm pleased to announce that we finally have our appointment set to find out if Tiddle is a boy or a girl! I've got the sonogram at 7:45 am on April 12 in Arlington, then it's over to Mansfield at 1:15 pm for an appointment with my OB. Can't wait!

Here is the latest as of week 16:

It's time to get ready for a growth spurt. In the next few weeks, Tiddle baby will double his/her weight and add inches to his/her length. Right now, he/she's about the size of an avocado: 4 1/2 inches long (head to rump) and 3 1/2 ounces. The legs are much more developed, its head is more erect than it has been, and the eyes have moved closer to the front of its head. His/her ears are close to their final position, too. The patterning of its scalp has begun, though its locks aren't recognizable yet. Tiddle's little toes have even started growing toenails. And there's a lot happening inside as well. For example, the heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day, and this amount will continue to increase as our baby continues to develop.

I was looking at the image below (what the baby looks like right about now) and it's crazy to think that is's a teenie tiny little human being with all of the working parts! And it's inside of my body right now! So unbelievable and amazing :) Hold your hand out flat and (depending on your hand's size) imagine a little bitty human laying in it. It's kind of a lot to take in! And here is one of me getting pudgy :)

15 Weeks

It's amazing to believe that I'm just a few short weeks shy of being half-way through my pregnancy! It is really flying by fast now that I'm feeling better. As of today, I'm 15 weeks 3 days and it feels great to be a couple weeks into my second trimester! Last Friday and Saturday I switched to a different sample of prenatal vitamin that I got from the doctor, and they caused some pretty crazy dreams. I know that around this time, dreams are a normal side-effect of pregnancy, but it was only on the nights that I took the new vitamin that I experienced some pretty violent dreams. I switched back to my normal (but crazy expensive) vitamin Sunday night and voila! No more crazy dreams!

I had a doctor appointment back on the 8th and everything was great :). We got to hear Tiddle's heart beating away in the 140s where it should be. He/she didn't want to cooperate tho and kept running away from the heartbeat monitor. Once the nurse got him/her to calm down we got to hear the little thump for an exciting few seconds. I really want to go get one of those heart rate monitors so that I can listen in whenever I want! Our next appointment with the doctor isn't for about a month, and shortly after we will have our gender-identification ultrasound! Eeee! I can't wait!

Here's where we are at with the developments of week 15:

Our growing baby now measures about 4 inches long, crown to rump, and weighs in at about 2 1/2 ounces (about the size of an apple). He/She's busy moving amniotic fluid through its nose and upper respiratory tract, which helps the primitive air sacs in the lungs begin to develop. Legs are growing longer than the arms now, and it can move all of its joints and limbs. Although the eyelids are still fused shut, our little bean can sense light. If I were to shine a flashlight at my tummy, for instance, it's likely to move away from the beam. There's not much for Tiddle to taste at this point, but he/she is forming taste buds. Finally, if we were to have our ultrasound this week, we may be able to find out whether Tiddle is a boy or a girl. Although I'm super anxious/excited to find out, I'm glad we will be waiting just a little longer to give it a little more development time to make sure we get the sex right. Hopefully he or she isn't modestly curled up or turned in such a way as to "hide the goods" :)

Here's a picture of what the baby might look like at around this time:

And here's what I look like at around this time (super flattering outfit, I know):

14 weeks

I know I'm behind, but here is what you would have heard from me a couple weeks ago if I were on top of things :)

Week 14's big developments: Our baby can now squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly suck his/her thumb! Thanks to brain impulses, facial muscles are getting a workout as its tiny features form one expression after another. Its kidneys are producing urine, which he/she releases into the amniotic fluid around itself — a process it'll keep up until birth (As Amanda pointed out to me, "Your baby is peeing in you!" haha. Indeed). It can grasp, too, and if we were to have an ultrasound now, we may even catch Tiddle sucking its thumb. Our next sono won't be for a while tho.

In other news, the little one is stretching out. At week 14 from head to bottom, it measured 3 1/2 inches — about the size of a lemon — and he weighed 1 1/2 ounces. Tiddle's body is growing faster than its head (no more alien baby!), which now sits upon a more distinct neck. By the end of the 14th week, arms will have grown to a length that's in proportion to the rest of the body. (The legs still have some lengthening to do.) It's starting to develop an ultra-fine, downy covering of hair, called lanugo, all over its body. Our baby's liver starts making bile this week — a sign that it's doing its job right — and the spleen starts helping in the production of red blood cells. Though I can't feel any tiny punches and kicks yet, our little pugilist's hands and feet (which now measure about 1/2 inch long) are more flexible and active.

Only about a week until I am allowed to get that wonderful massage Russell got me for my birthday, can't wait!!

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!

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...

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!