Almost halfway there! The top of my uterus now almost reaches my bellybutton, it will grow approx 1cm a week. The baby is about 6 inches from the head to the bum, and weighs in at about 9oz. In addition to 'breathing' amniotic fluid, the baby is now swallowing it, this then works through the kidneys and produces urine. The hair on our little one's scalp (if any) is starting to sprout.
Sensory development reaches it's peak this week. The nerve cells serving each of the senses - taste, smell, hearing, seeing and touch, are now developing in their specialized area of the brain. Nerve cell production slows down as existing nerve cells grow larger and make more complex connections. If our little one is a girl, she'll already have roughly 6 million eggs in her ovaries. By the time she's born, that will decrease to about 1 million.
At this point I should be able to feel the kicking and somersaulting of the growing baby. At times, the baby will be so active that I may not be able to sleep! The next 10 weeks are the baby's busiest, and most active time, until the womb gets too crowded.
I forgot to mention in my previous entry, at my appointment yesterday, I did the routine weigh in, and guess what?? Weight gain remains at ZERO, yes, ladies and gentlemen, I have gained NOTHING, not a pound! This puts me right on target for my target weight gain in the long run (hoping to stay around 15-20 lbs) They say in the end, you'll gain about a pound a week, and I have only 21 weeks left - so with some careful meal planning, I should be exactly where I want to be! This is a completely healthy gain for me, by the way - as I wasn't 'ideal' weight pre-pregnancy.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
The results are in.....
So, as the title suggests - the results are in from the ultrasound on Friday :) Baby is developing well! The diameter of our little one's head is in the 84th percentile (which is FINE by me LOL, any bigger and I'd be worried!) The measurements from the ultrasound put me at 19 weeks and 4 days, when I was positive I was 18 weeks, 4 days - not that it's a big difference, but it would move my estimated due date up to April 13 and I would be 20 weeks, instead of 19 today. My doctor said he isn't going to change my due date, we'll stick with the 21st - because the measurements are just for approximations. He did say that a bigger baby will tend to make it's escape a little earlier than expected, but not to count on it!
Other than that, my placenta is lying a little low - nothing to worry about, again, the doctor said that as my uterus expands, it generally takes the placenta with it. So a low lying placenta will move up - they'll check again around 30 weeks. If by chance it doesn't move, we'll need to start looking at a C-section to get our baby out.
The ultrasound tech didn't get a good enough look at the baby's face, so I have to go back in for a targeted ultrasound, where they'll just find the baby's face - it's a short ultrasound, so Rob won't be coming to this one.
At the appointment yesterday, the doctor did all the usual things, felt for my uterus to see how far up my abdomen it is, and he said we're 20cm, right on schedule (about 1cm ahead, which would correspond with the baby's measurements). He also brought out the Doppler, which is getting to be my favourite part of the appointments - but our little one was so active yesterday, he couldn't keep the heartbeat on the monitor for more than a second or two at a time before the baby decided to wiggle away! I knew I was feeling more movement yesterday!
Anyways, stay tuned for the 19 week update, which will come either later today or tomorrow :)
Other than that, my placenta is lying a little low - nothing to worry about, again, the doctor said that as my uterus expands, it generally takes the placenta with it. So a low lying placenta will move up - they'll check again around 30 weeks. If by chance it doesn't move, we'll need to start looking at a C-section to get our baby out.
The ultrasound tech didn't get a good enough look at the baby's face, so I have to go back in for a targeted ultrasound, where they'll just find the baby's face - it's a short ultrasound, so Rob won't be coming to this one.
At the appointment yesterday, the doctor did all the usual things, felt for my uterus to see how far up my abdomen it is, and he said we're 20cm, right on schedule (about 1cm ahead, which would correspond with the baby's measurements). He also brought out the Doppler, which is getting to be my favourite part of the appointments - but our little one was so active yesterday, he couldn't keep the heartbeat on the monitor for more than a second or two at a time before the baby decided to wiggle away! I knew I was feeling more movement yesterday!
Anyways, stay tuned for the 19 week update, which will come either later today or tomorrow :)
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Our sweet, little angel :)
So our ultrasound was on Friday, 18 and a half weeks along. The tech told me our little bean was moving around like crazy, she almost had to have me come back in, because she couldn't see the baby's spine well enough! However, as soon as she said that, the baby flipped and she was able to get the pics she needed.
Oh how our bean has grown! Our first ultrasound was at 13 weeks (i think) and then 5 weeks later, there's a little person in there! She showed us the kidneys, the beating little heart, our baby's face, the umbilical cord (which we thought may have been a little weiner... but didn't ask haha)
Rob made sure to tell the tech to check the baby's kidneys, he really is such a wonderful man - the look on his face when our baby was on the screen was something I'll never forget! He's so proud of himself!
In other news, we babysat Carleigh for the night to let Dave and Nikki get out for a little. She is such an angel! Poor little girl is probably starting to teeth, so she was a little cranky but we were fine :) I'll admit, I was terrified! I was tired yesterday, and I couldn't just take a nap - I had a little person to take care of, feed, entertain! But although I was tired, and anyone who knows me knows I like to get my uninterrupted sleep - we were fine all night! I changed her and fed her in the middle of the night - then rocked her and sang her back to sleep. What an amazing experience!
So, last but not least, here are some pics from the ultrasound!
This one is the whole baby from the back, you can see it's head, with it's arm up by it's face, and the body.
A beautiful little hand, with five clear fingers!
A little leg, or chicken wing LOL
Here's the little legs, and a bum - the baby's body is on the other side, you're looking directly at the bum!
And last, but not least.... our baby's profile! Looks like it's sucking it's thumb!
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
18 Weeks
The baby is now about 6 inches long from head to bum, and weighs about 7 ounces. If you watched you'd be able to see it's chest moving up and down, mimicking breathing, but all s/he's taking is amniotic fluid. Right around now (friday to be exact), an ultrasound is done to check for certain birth defects, check the placenta and umbilical cord, and determine whether the gestational age, and due date is correct. At this ultrasound, we may see the baby kick, flex, roll or even suck its thumb! We'll be able to get printouts of the pictures at this one :)
If the baby is a girl, the sex organs, uterus and fallopian tubes are in place. If it's a boy, the genitals are distinct and recognizable. This, however, does not mean we'll be finding out the sex. I'll admit, we're wavering a little - we both WANT to know, but I'm on the fence, because I know it will be such a wonderful surprise when all is said and done, and Rob doesn't want to know, purely out of spite, because he wanted to know in the beginning, and I talked him out of it :) That being said, if we DO find out, you can pretty much guarantee, we won't be telling ANYONE. The only person that may hear is my dad, mostly because he's needed to repaint the baby's room a nice, dark Maple Leafs blue, should our little one be a boy :)
Another happy moment, last night while I was relaxing in the tub before prison break, reading my book, I felt 4 or 5 tiny punches on my lower belly! It was so distinct that I almost dropped my book in the water, reached to hold my belly, and waited. It didn't happen again, but I'm sure that Rob would have felt it this time, it wasn't a flutter, or a roll - it was a punch! I'm so excited now, I hope it means that now I'll be feeling our little one more often - and hopefully Rob will soon too!
If the baby is a girl, the sex organs, uterus and fallopian tubes are in place. If it's a boy, the genitals are distinct and recognizable. This, however, does not mean we'll be finding out the sex. I'll admit, we're wavering a little - we both WANT to know, but I'm on the fence, because I know it will be such a wonderful surprise when all is said and done, and Rob doesn't want to know, purely out of spite, because he wanted to know in the beginning, and I talked him out of it :) That being said, if we DO find out, you can pretty much guarantee, we won't be telling ANYONE. The only person that may hear is my dad, mostly because he's needed to repaint the baby's room a nice, dark Maple Leafs blue, should our little one be a boy :)
Another happy moment, last night while I was relaxing in the tub before prison break, reading my book, I felt 4 or 5 tiny punches on my lower belly! It was so distinct that I almost dropped my book in the water, reached to hold my belly, and waited. It didn't happen again, but I'm sure that Rob would have felt it this time, it wasn't a flutter, or a roll - it was a punch! I'm so excited now, I hope it means that now I'll be feeling our little one more often - and hopefully Rob will soon too!
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
17 Weeks
Our baby is now nearly 5.5 inches long from head to bum and weighs about 5 ounces. It's skeleton is mostly rubbery cartilage that will harden later. The spinal cord is now being protected by myelin. The baby's heartbeat can be heard clearly with a doppler (like a microphone for my belly!), and it's the most reassuring sound in the world! Because of the growing baby, my uterus has expanded to the point where it may throw me off kilter a little bit - it's now clear that I'm pregnant by the baby bump!
The baby's movements are sporadic - some days I feel it a lot, and some days (like yesterday) I feel nothing. I'm not worried, I know it's common at this stage of the pregnancy. Rob's dying to feel our little one moving around! He's insisting that I'm hogging all the fun, but I know that the weeks will pass by quickly for him, and before he knows it, our baby will be pushing out to touch Rob's hands too.
It's officially Christmas season, despite the fact that most people like to wait until December 1st. I like to celebrate the season a little longer, and will probably be putting out my decorations and using my christmas dishes soon enough! And, with the Christmas season upon us, it's hard not to look down at my growing belly and consider what a blessing and joy it is to have this baby inside me, growing into a perfect little girl or boy.
More soon!
The baby's movements are sporadic - some days I feel it a lot, and some days (like yesterday) I feel nothing. I'm not worried, I know it's common at this stage of the pregnancy. Rob's dying to feel our little one moving around! He's insisting that I'm hogging all the fun, but I know that the weeks will pass by quickly for him, and before he knows it, our baby will be pushing out to touch Rob's hands too.
It's officially Christmas season, despite the fact that most people like to wait until December 1st. I like to celebrate the season a little longer, and will probably be putting out my decorations and using my christmas dishes soon enough! And, with the Christmas season upon us, it's hard not to look down at my growing belly and consider what a blessing and joy it is to have this baby inside me, growing into a perfect little girl or boy.
More soon!
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
16 Weeks
Our baby is now about 5 inches long from head to bum, and weighs approximately 4 ounces. Comparable to an avocado. In the next couple weeks, our little one will go through an incredible growth spurt, doubling in weight and adding inches to it's length. Because babies love to play, our little wiggle worm may have already found it's umbilicle cord to grasp at and pull on. There will be times our strong little one will hold the cord so tightly, it will let less oxygen through (not to worry though, it won't hold on long enough to hurt himself). Right now, the circulatory system and urinary tract are in full working order - our wiggle worm is now breathing, taking in amniotic fluid through it's lungs!
I've felt some fluttering lately, and the occasional little nudge from our wiggle worm... it's reassuring to know I can feel our baby, stretching and growing and making a home in my belly. I feel terrible for Rob who just pats my stomach and pouts - he's dying to feel it too.
My next plan is to set up the nursery, if it kills me LOL I want to get the room painted, the closet cleaned and some shelving installed. This way, I can at least feel like I'm preparing for the arrival of our little one. Right now, I've got a beautiful green room, filled with painting supplies, that needs another coat on the walls....
I'll check back in soon!
I've felt some fluttering lately, and the occasional little nudge from our wiggle worm... it's reassuring to know I can feel our baby, stretching and growing and making a home in my belly. I feel terrible for Rob who just pats my stomach and pouts - he's dying to feel it too.
My next plan is to set up the nursery, if it kills me LOL I want to get the room painted, the closet cleaned and some shelving installed. This way, I can at least feel like I'm preparing for the arrival of our little one. Right now, I've got a beautiful green room, filled with painting supplies, that needs another coat on the walls....
I'll check back in soon!
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