Weekly Baby Update: Week 14

This week is the beginning of week 14. This week, we finally start our second trimester. This week...everyone waits for this week in their pregnancy.

Baby is the size of a lemon this week. She's getting longer and her neck is more distinct. Her legs and arms are lengthening to a more proportionate size. Her liver is producing bile, her kidneys are producing urine, and her spleen is helping make red blood cells.

She's may have hair on her head and eyebrows but she most likely has a layer of hair all over her body which she will shed before birth. Currently, it's there to keep her warm. Baby can squint and grimace and frown. It's all neural impulse right now, has nothing to do with baby's actual emotions.

Baby is kicking and punching and sucking her thumb. Although in a first pregnancy you don't usually feel baby move for several more weeks, it's possible to feel baby early. As a matter of fact, I was standing at work, getting ready to clock out when I felt a wave low in my gut. It honestly felt like she rolled over. It was one of the coolest feelings in the world. I can't wait to feel her move more!

This was from last night, technically 13 weeks, 6 days. I still haven't gained any weight. I'm bouncing around a bit but mostly losing.

182 days to go!

FFR

Baby's 1st Fourth of July

Working Man and I went to see fireworks last night. This was baby's first fireworks display. She didn't get to see it even though she was there. So I photographed it for her. I wanted to make sure she could enjoy it later.

Working Man. Boy is he handsome. And goofy.


Then there's me. No less goofy.

It was horribly hot yesterday. Fortunately, by the time 9:30 rolled around, it cooled down to a nice 85 with a wonderful breeze.

How was your Fourth?

FFR

13 Week Baby Appointment

Today Working Man and I had our first regular prenatal appointment. It was filled with the usual stuff. Blood pressure, weight, palpation. Our doctor went over blood results, urine results (and I got to pee in a cup again, that was lovely), and she listened for the heartbeat. Took her a minute to find our little girl and then we heard it. But it wasn't two seconds before it was gone again and she had to search around again. As our doctor said, "She's cruisin'."

Before she gets here, we got her some cruisin' socks.




Dad, Mom, baby girl's favorite cruising wear :)

I have an appointment tomorrow with some nurses, another appointment in four weeks (which I couldn't get with my regular doctor because she's so popular she was already full) and another appointment in another four weeks which I did get with my regular doctor. I figure if we schedule an extra two appointments ahead, we can get with our regular doctor.

I am sorry to say that I have horrible heartburn. Of this I am not glad. Although an old wive's tale says that if you have bad heartburn your baby has hair. Some limited research has shown this to be fairly true. Here's to baby hair.

FFR

Weekly Baby Update: Week 13

Today starts week 13. This week, finally, we are reaching the end of our first trimester. And all rejoiced. This is supposed to be the last week of exhaustion, morning sickness, moodiness, and all-around being uncomfortable. Ok, so I never really had morning sickness but I'll be happy to kiss off exhaustion and moodiness. The second trimester is supposed to be the easiest and I am looking forward to that. All rejoice.

At any rate, this week, our precious baby girl is reaching the end of her danger stage for miscarriage. The majority of miscarriages happen in the first trimester. If we were traditional folks, this is about the time we would be starting to tell people. But...we're just too excited. Baby is the size of a peach, about three inches long, and her intestines, currently outside her body in the umbilical cord (how weird is that?) are receding back to her abdomen where they properly belong.

Additionally, her vocal cords are forming. I feel the headaches already. Believe it or not, her ovaries already contain more than 2 million eggs. 2 million! That's...crazy! And she better not fertilize any of those for a good long time! That's a warning. Never too early to start.

All in all, my energy has received a small boost although I am still finding myself dragging about four or five o'clock which makes it difficult to finish working but I'm powering through best I can. My weight gain is non-existent which is typical for the first trimester. I was supposed to have an ultrasound yesterday at my prenatal appointment but they had to cancel it. So instead, I'll go in tomorrow morning and I should get to enjoy the pleasure of seeing our little girl again.

Until next week, or at least until I post those pictures of Working Man putting the stroller together.

FFR

8 weeks



13 Weeks...told you I've lost weight!

And the baby is...

First a long post about what we did today...
Here's a handy tip for all of you someday mothers out there. When you get pregnant and they decide to do lab work on you, you will have instructions...and you should read those very carefully. For some, you will need to do urine samples, for others, you will not. For some, your bladder should be empty, for others, it should be full. For some, you will need forms, for others, you will not. Getting a trend here? Urine and forms, urine and forms.

At any rate, read the instructions. Today, we had our nuchal translucency ultrasound (don't I sound smart?). Basically, the plan was for a sonogram to catch a good look at the c-spine and count the number of vertebrae. No big deal right? Well, not exactly. See, for baby to be in the right position, we had specific instructions. First, empty bladder an hour before appointment. No big deal except I was on the road at that time so I emptied about an hour and a half before. Second, drink 16oz of water or some other liquid 45 minutes before. Check. Chug water. Don't eat spicy food. Ok, not really, but the water stuff, really.

We, Working Man and I, end up early because we're both crazy like that and hate to be late. It's a good thing because we got in early and that means we got more time to look at Baby. Now, she tells us she can't comment on the pictures because she's not a doctor. Working Man asks if we can tell the sex at this age. She says it depends. So begins the picture taking. For a long time I'm sitting there as she's pressing all over my belly with the wand...silence. Working Man can see but I can't see anything but a reflection in her glasses.

When she's done, she tells me to empty my bladder so maybe we can figure out what baby is. So I empty my bladder which I didn't realize was full (even though she'd been pushing on it rather hard) and go back. Back to the pushing on the now empty, rapidly filling, bladder. Baby is facing my back. Jiggle the tummy trying to move baby. Finally, baby turns a little.

Alien face!

Then my bladder was full again. Back to empty and come back to try again. Alas, baby has moved!

In this pose, we could see baby hiccuping. And I mean a lot! It's funny that I've been reading about how baby will hiccup now with the development of the diaphragm but it's out of this world to see it!


In this view we could see a straight profile down past the legs.

From this view, the lady put her money on...


GIRL!

 It's not 100% certain because she is so small still and she was moving around quite a bit but she was pretty comfortable with that. She cautioned us not to buy clothes or anything just yet. So I caution you all who want to buy things, don't do it yet! Wait until we know for certain or buy neutral colors. She already has green socks :)

John Deere...Raise 'em right!

About this time, she got quite tired of us poking in at her. So we watched her hiccup some more...then we watched her turn over. She actually turned over and faced my spine again.

Remember how I said she was starting to respond to outside stimuli? She has begun to do just that. Do you have any idea what it's like to watch this little thing turn over in front of you?

After the sonogram, we met up with the doctor who could comment on the pictures. Everything looks great, arms, legs, organs, fingers, toes...all there. Ears, eyes, mouth, nose, there. Then she said our chances of having a down's baby is 1 in 4,700 and our chances of her being trisomy 18 is 1 in 12,000. Overall, extremely low and these are about 90% accurate. After the second round of lab work next month, it'll be 95% accurate. They start to worry about down's if you come up with 1 in 100 or less and trisomy 18 if you come up with 1 in 50 or less.

So many emotions today! Our little girl is growing fast and she's become more real today than before!

Personally, I was just glad to see she is still there. She's quiet for now but I guess I should be enjoying this period.

FFR