14 Weeks, aka, The Second Trimester!

Well, today is the big day:  The second trimester!  It is nice to finally hit a big landmark, and it makes it seem like that third trimester is actually something that will happen one of these days!  I know everyone says pregnancy just FLIES by, but these past few months have been the LONGEST of my life!  I truly hope now that things are calming down and I am feeling a little better I can enjoy the pregnancy more, and maybe it will begin to fly by.


In big baby news this week, the baby can now make all kinds of facial expressions!  It can grimace,  frown, and squint.  None of the books mentioned smiling, but when Jeremy asked if it can smile too, I said, "Sure!  We have a happy baby!"  So, if you know for a fact that the baby cannot smile yet, please don't burst our bubble!

The baby is about 3 1/2 inches now and probably weighs about 1 1/2 ounces.  It can also probably grasp and suck his or her little thumb! The fact Jeremy found the weirdest was that the baby is producing and excreting urine already.


The neck is growing longer and straightening out, and the body is finally growing faster than the head.  By the end of this week, his or her little arms will probably also have grown to a length that's in proportion to the rest of the body, though the legs need a little more work to be in proportion.


He or she is also developing languo this week, or the ultra-fine hair that will cover the body and keep him or her warm, which my baby certainly needs! :)  I have a super-low basal temperature, even with the one degree I increased with the pregnancy.  I don't want a chilly baby!


The baby's liver should also begin making bile and the spleen will start the production of red blood cells.  And even though I can't feel it yet, the baby's hands and feet (which are about 1/2 inch long!) are flexible and fully active.  I can't wait to feel those kicks!

13 Weeks

Today I am 13 weeks and the baby is about three inches long.  The milestone today is ... fingerprints!  It is really amazing to think that the baby probably only weighs about an ounce but already has his or her unique fingerprints.


Speaking of other teeny-tiny things, if the baby is a girl (which OBVIOUSLY she is!), she already has over 2 million eggs in her ovaries!


Next week marks the beginning of the second trimester, which according to the books, is a time of "relative comfort for most pregnant women."  While I have been feeling better overall, I am still having some bad days, so I hope to enjoy some of that relative comfort soon!


I went to the mom 2 mom sale with my friend Loe'l this morning, but I didn't find anything.  They didn't have any big items besides a highchair that another woman swooped on moments before I could, and the rest was basically clothes, which does NOT help me because I don't know the sex of the baby.  So I will definitely go to the next one to look again, but I think they might be better after the baby comes if they are mostly clothes again.  At least I got to scope things out and see what to expect in the future!

Beating Heart, Baby!

I apologize for the title being a music reference that maybe only my sister will get, but that song has been stuck in my head all day because ... you guessed it: we got to hear the baby's heartbeat today!!


I had my second check-up, and this time it was with the RN, who was wonderful (recap: my place has a team of four doctors, a midwife, and a RN, who you rotate between and get to know because any combination might be the team on-call when you give birth.  So far, I love the midwife and RN, and I meet one of the OB/GYNs at my next visit in four weeks).


This was only my second visit, but it was Jeremy's first time going, and he was impressed by how nice it was, which made me feel very good.  


This check-up was very quick.  We talked about my symptoms, she reassured me that it was okay that I had lost 20 pounds, since I have not lost too much in the past four weeks.  Most of my weight loss was really really early in the first trimester, and I just haven't gained much of it back, and she said it doesn't concern her because the baby is obviously growing (have you SEEN my belly??).


Finally, she felt my belly a bit and pulled out the doppler.  I was so nervous!  She put it to my belly, and I (logically) knew she probably wouldn't find the heartbeat immediately, but I still freaked out when all I heard was silence!  After the appointment, Jeremy said as soon as she put it to my belly he heard something, and then he realized it was someone walking in the hallway and he got mad and wanted to tell them to shut up! :)  She found the heartbeat quickly, and it was fast and strong!!  It was so amazing to have Jeremy there and see the look in his eyes!!


Then, it was over!  Jeremy and I were shocked at how quick it was, but then I remembered that one of the reasons I chose the place was because they weren't overly pokey and invasive.  I am not a high risk pregnancy, so I don't need unnecessary tests all the time just for the sake of running tests.  The baby is obviously fine and I am healthy, so I should just be thankful and chill out.  Easier said than done, but I would like to try to stick by that mantra.


I have one more regular check-up in four weeks before I get to have my ultrasound (another four weeks after that), which will put me really close to 21 weeks.  While it is really disappointing that I will have to wait so long to see the baby, it should be a good ultrasound since the baby will be bigger and more developed, so I am trying to think positive thoughts about it.


In other news, Jeremy found out about a mom-to-mom sale this Saturday in Lansing, and I am going to go check it out.  I know, it seems early, but everyone says pregnancy flies by, so I better get shopping! ;)

Music!

We decided to play the baby his/her first music tonight.  Jeremy was playing records on the turntable, and then he finally believed me that the baby wouldn't be able to hear it ... the womb just doesn't work that way.  So, he got his old CD player and we hooked the baby up.

Yes, I realize I look huge in this picture, but I want to remember this moment!

Any guesses as to what we played baby Dimick?

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

The Beatles, of course!! "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" is playing as I type!

12 Weeks

Twelve weeks already.  I would love to report that I am feeling better, but now it's more like intermittent horribleness.  One day I will be feeling awesome (and then I stupidly say something like, "Jeremy!  I think I am turning a corner here!") and then the next day I will be back on the couch unable to lift my head.  But at least I am having some good days!


On Thursday I was actually thinking about posting about how much better things were getting, but I decided to wait for Friday.  Friday morning I was feeling fantastic.  I had a morning meeting at work (still feeling fantastic) and then I was driving home and ... BAM.  I threw up in a Tim Horton's bag while driving on the expressway.  It was so freaky and came out of nowhere!  Most of what I have been dealing with is just that overwhelming nausea feeling, and I wasn't even feeling nauseated when this happened!  I called Jeremy panicked and crying (which turns out, didn't help), and then got home and took a 3-hour nap.  What a weird day!


Anyway, two more weeks and the first trimester will be a distant memory!  This week the baby is the size of a lime ...

... and I am apparently already the size of a house! :)


But amazing things are happening this week.  The baby is developing REFLEXES!  Reflexes!!  I told Jeremy (through sobs, of course) and he was just as shocked as I was that the baby is opening and closing its little fingers, curling its toes, and making SUCKING MOVEMENTS!  It is just too amazing.


Nerve cells are forming rapidly now, and synapses in the brain are forming furiously.  The face also looks more human now.


The baby probably looks something like this today:

Except, let's be honest -- my baby probably already has a MUCH bigger butt than normal babies at this point! :)


The next doctor's appointment is this Thursday, and Jeremy will get to go with me to hear the heart beat!!  I am so excited!  Maybe they will also tell me it is twins, and that is why I am already as big as a moose!

11 Weeks

The first trimester is drawing to a close, and I am getting EXCITED!  People keep promising I will feel better soon, and I am sure in the mood for that!

Today the baby is about two inches long, and he or she is kicking, moving, twirling and spinning in there!


There are hair follicles developing on his/her head, some of his/her bones are beginning to harden, and the beds of the fingernails and toenails are also forming for nails that will begin growing soon.


Testes are forming if it is a boy, and the ovaries are forming if it is a girl.


And, finally, even though I can't feel it, the baby might be hiccuping a lot these days because the diaphragm is developing.

Materinty Clothes and Shopping and Crying, Oh My!!

I wore MATERNITY CLOTHES today!!  In honor of such a momentous occasion, I took a picture, and I even took ... a BELLY SHOT!

You may have noticed a lack of belly pictures, and to be honest, I have been embarrassed to take any.  I started showing very early, and after hearing about a thousand mothers tell me I probably won't show until the 4th or 5th month, I was feeling fat.  I was sure that I was just gaining pudge, and I didn't want to go showing that off to the Internet.


Well, guess, what?  I have lost SEVENTEEN pounds since getting pregnant, and I still gained THIS bump ...

I am assuming it is baby-related and not fat-related.  I also read that if your abs were not in such great shape when you get pregnant you are likely to show earlier because there is not much resistance.  I'll be honest.  My abs were NOT in tip-top shape when I got pregnant, so I think it just popped right out.


So, NO MORE SHAME!  I have a bump and it is not fat!!  I'll just tell strangers that I am like 5 months along when they ask! ;)


In addition to all this excitement, Jeremy and my mom when to Babies 'R Us today ... and I got so overwhelmed that I cried.  Kind of a lot.


The crib I thought I liked was WRONG WRONG WRONG in real life, and they didn't have the swing or bouncy seat I wanted to check out.  I was also very underwhelmed by the car seat stroller combos.  The seat does NOT seem secure in that stroller.  What if we move to San Francisco and have to go downhill all the time and the seat pops out??


Anyway, it was all just too much.  Like the first time I went shopping for my wedding dress and the consultant wasn't bringing me the dresses I asked for and I felt like the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man and left crying.  The moral of the story is that I went back a few weeks later and the second dress I tried on was the one and I bought it and took it home with me and looked at it lovingly every day for 10 months until the wedding.  So, the next baby shopping trip will probably be amazing.  Right?