Belly Pics

I am going to start taking a belly pic every week. I have weeks 4, 6, 11 & 12 at this point.

4W1D

6W1D

11W1D

12W2D

(I still have not figured out how to take these shots of myself in the mirror!)

11W5D Update

Mungee is now about the size of a large lime (from crown to rump)! I am feeling better and have an increased appetite, though I am still throwing up a bit. I feel better after actually throwing up than just feeling like I need to throw up.

This is the last week of the embryonic period. From now on, your baby will be called a fetus. Your baby's fingernails appear this week! External genitalia are beginning to show distinguishing features and the development of male or female will be complete in three weeks. The placenta's blood vessels increase to provide your baby with the nutrients and oxygen he needs for continued growth. Your baby's ears are gradually moving from the neck towards the sides of his head. Inside of your baby's abdomen, the intestines are developing. Because the intestines are so large, some of them project into the umbilical cord and they will return to the abdomen within the next week or two.

At the size of a plumb, your baby is now able to swallow. The urinary system functions. The baby swallows and urinates the amniotic fluid and the fluid is continually replaced. The baby is kicking but the mother cannot feel it yet. All vital organs are formed and, for the most part, function normally. From now on, they will grow in size and efficiency.

We Heard Our Baby's Heartbeat!

Today we heard our baby's strong heartbeat! Our midwife said it was normal at 160-170 beats per minute. Her theory was that since our baby was easy to find on the doppler that it is a girl. She said, "Of course, I have a 50% chance of being right and a 50% chance of being wrong". I am happy whatever we are having! I go back in 4 weeks for bloodwork and then we have another ultrasound at 18 weeks, when we will find out for sure what's "down there"!

We took a video to capture the sound and I have tried to upload it here twice, but it's not working :(

10W4D Update

The crown-to-rump length of your developing baby is 1.25 to 1.68 inches. It is now easier to tell how much the baby weighs since he is beginning to put on some weight. Your baby weighs approximately 5 grams and is the size of a small plum! The fingers and toes have separated and the tail has disappeared now. Your baby's tiny feet are fully formed and shaped and could stand on an adult's fingernail. Your baby has taste and tooth buds at this point, which will continue to develop. The brain will continue to grow at an amazing rate and nearly a quarter of a million new neurons are produced every minute! The embryonic heart is completely developed. External genitalia are not apparent until next week, but a male's testes will already be producing testosterone.

The baby's eyelids are fused now and the irises are developing. Your baby will begin to get baby teeth, fingernails, toenails and hair follicles this week, too.

I seem to be regaining my appetite, though I have a hard time identifying what I want to eat. The other night we went out to dinner and I couldn't stand my former favorite food - French fries! The more full I stay, the less nauseous I get, but it's hard to do.

I think I can feel my uterus just above the top of my pubic bone. It feels hard to the touch under the skin. It's encouraging to feel and see changes in my body because it helps me to think things are progressing along properly.

I started a baby registry today. I'm not really sure of everything I need to add to it, but for now, I put some things I think we will need, as well as some really cute sleep sacks! I also learned of a site where you can create one registry and add items from many different websites. This way, you don't have to create a registry for one or two things on ten different sites. It's called www.myregistry.com

On Monday we will see the midwife and, G-d Willing, hear our  baby's heartbeat for the first time! I am so excited for this day. I wish we could get another ultrasound so we can see what Mungee looks like, but I think we have to wait until 18 weeks.

Being able to count in the double digits and say I was 10 weeks pregnant this week has been awesome!

9W4D Update

I'm still feeling nauseous most of the time and having major food aversions. I cannot wait until I get my appetite back! I'm worried that I'm not getting the right nutrition for fueling Mungee's  growth :( I still have bloated pooch and have started wearing maternity jeans because they are much more comfortable than regular jeans. I'm also starting to feel more fatigued.

Mungee is growing rapidly. S/he is now the size of a medium green olive. S/he is officially moving on from embryo to fetus this week!

The head has straightened out and is more fully developed, the ears are much more prominent, and some new organs (the liver, spleen, and gallbladder) are forming. Your fetus is also making spontaneous movements of his or her arms and legs now that minuscule muscles are beginning to develop. Your baby's heart is developed enough — and grown large enough — so that its beats can be heard with a Doppler, a handheld ultrasound device that amplifies the lub-dub sound the heart makes - we should be able to hear the heartbeat at my next appointment, when I will be almost 11 weeks along!

Your baby's back is straightening out and the tail is shrinking. In proportion to the rest of his body, the head is large and remains curved forwards onto the chest. The head is erect and the neck is developing well. Even though your baby's eyes are well developed, they are covered by a membrane lid. The eyes will not begin to open and close for quite some time still. Your baby will begin to make tiny movements as the muscles start to develop. The arms and hands are progressing faster than the legs and feet at this point. By this time of your baby's development, the hands have defined finger ridges and the tissue between them will die off to leave separate fingers. It is impossible to distinguish a male from a female at this time because external genitalia look very similar at this point.

8W3D Update

At a length of about half an inch right now, your baby has graduated from blueberry-sized to raspberry-sized. But weekly growth is getting a bit hard to estimate, and here's why: Growth occurs at about the rate of one millimeter each day, but that growth isn't necessarily just in height. Spurts can occur in the arms, legs, back, and other parts of your baby's body. So, big changes will be occurring every which way in the coming months.

A close-up view of your little embryo would reveal a more baby-like appearance. You'd see an upper lip forming, the protruding tip of that cute button nose, and tiny (and very thin) eyelids. And check out those hands and feet! Your baby's webbed fingers and toes are differentiating now.

His or her heart is beating at the incredible rate of 150 times per minute. (That's twice as fast as your heart beats.) Your baby's digs are growing, too. Amniotic fluid increases at a rate of about two tablespoons per week to accommodate your womb's growing tenant.