Week 13 Soooo Lucky

Oddly enough, week 13 contained a Friday the 13th. Must be a very lucky sign.

What's up with baby in week 13: there are lots of things going on this week. All twenty teeth have formed and are waiting. The baby weighs 1 ounce. Also the placenta weighs about 1 ounce now. The baby's intestines are migrating from the umbilical cord into his or her abdomen. The villi are also forming in the intestines, these help in peristaltic movements and digestion. The pancreas is even secreting insulin.

What's up with mom: well, I thought that after the first trimester, my morning (all day) sickness would go away. It hasn't completely gone yet. I've had a few sick days this week. All I'm gonna say is that fresh pineapple tastes good going down but it burns like crazy coming back up. I am not sure if I will be able to eat pineapple again for a few months. On Saturday, my husband and I and another couple went to visit out of town friends to see them and their 6.5 month-old. It was a fun day, with good food and conversation. Thair baby boy is darling and he had recently taken some dapper photos. And we made off a supply of baby magazines.

Week 12 End of the First Trimester

Tada! I have made it to week 12. This is the real week 12 (today, October 12 is day 2 of week 12).

What's up with baby in week 12: While the baby's brain is not the same size it will be at birth, it does have the same structure. Bile is being secreted by this time (whatever that means). The baby weighs about 14 grams and is 3.5 inches long, about the size of a large lime. The baby has its reflexes and also practice movements in the digestive tract. All of this is in preperation for extrauterine life. Also, the placenta takes over the production of hormones this week.

What's up with mommy: I am feeling much better this week. I have almost cleared all the morning sickness. I am not as tired. I am really enjoying some more interesting food flavors. I even got to go to the coveted Chipotle. Of course, I had a desire to deviate from my standard order and try something new. I am still not digging guacamole, which was one of my top five most loved foods prior to conceiving.

Two days ago I went to my second doctor's appointment. I have two doctors in my physician group so I go to meet the other doctor that might be the lucky guy to deliver my baby. I have to say that I like them both. My regular physician did a good job with the recommendation. I got my second ultrasound is as many visits....maybe I'm lucky, or maybe both doctors wanted to do an ultrasound to see for themselves. Both times I've heard the baby's heartbeat. This time the baby looked much more like a baby. I could see hands and feet and even fingers. In one view I could see where the facial bones were, the eye bones and the nose and the chin. It's a handsome baby indeed. The best part of the entire ultrasound was seeing the baby move for the first time. Amazing! It brought tears to my eyes. This was a really neat way to see that the life inside of me is healthy and doing great!

Week 11 I Got Behind Again

Well, I got behind in the posting again. It's not really week 11 (on Oct 12) but I want to catch up with the details from week 11.

What's up with the baby in week 11: the iris will begin to develop this week as well as fingernails! The head is really big - about 1/2 the total baby size. The baby weights 7 grams.

What's up with mom: I can see the light at the end of the morning sickness tunnel. It's so close! I am looking forward to eating some more interesting foods. I have gotten into a morning routine that starts with my husband bringing me a glass of milk and my prenatal viatmin. Then on the way to the train (or on the train) I eat a granola bar. I find that most days this allows me to get to work without actually getting sick.

Week 10 Coming to an end

Today (the real today, Oct 4) is the last day of week 10!

What's up with baby in week 10: the baby has now entered it's fetal period. The average size is approx 27-35 mm crown to rump or about the size of a small plum. S/he weighs in at 4 grams (or about 4 paper clips). Tiny toes have formed. The eyes are largely open, but the eyelids are beginning to fuse and will stay that way until 25-27 weeks. External ears are completely formed, as well as the upper lip. The biggest accomplishment this week is the disappearance of the tail!

What's up with mommy: still tired, especially tonight working very late. I'm really looking forward to my Dr. appointment on Tuesday. I want to hear that everything is going well. And then after that my husband and I will feel comfortable spreading the news beyond family and close friends.

My husband and I are planning a trip in early Nov to have a long weekend away and travel somewhere really cool before we become parents. I'm looking forward to it and hope that I am feeling good by then. I also hope the air travel doesn't make me uncomfortable.

We have started talking about where the baby will stay...in the second bedroom or in our room. We don't have many options so it's kinda one or the other. We also have some no longer needed furniture to get rid of to make space. Sooner or later we get to start baby shopping...cribs and strollers and clothes. I think it will be fun to create a registry. I plan to bring along a friend who has two little ones of her own so she can help me pick out the right stuff. Of course we might need to wait to find out if baby is a boy or girl first!

Week 9 Still Catching Up to Present Date

What's up with baby in week 9: baby is now approximately 13-17 mm crown to rump length, or about 0.51 - 0.66 inches. S/he also weighs in at 1 gram! Toe rays are present as the toes begin to form. The internal sexual organs have decided boy or girl, but you can't tell externally yet. Baby will move away if touched through the uterine wall, and can spontaneously move as well. Ossification (hardening) of the bones may begin.

What's up with mommy: tired. Working a full day at my office job takes it out of me. I wish I could sleep in most mornings, but I find that I toss and turn in the mornings anyway. I am also relaxing as much as possible on weekends (read: spend all day on the couch watching TIVO, reading or napping). I have started to consider when I will tell my boss that I am expecting. I am not showing yet, so there is no concern that people have started to wonder. I have my next doctors appointment on Oct 10. So I think I will tell my boss after that. I like my boss and he is a dad, so I'm sure the conversation will go fine. Our office has several mommies that work. I have heard that there is even a "pump room" for mom's at work that need to pump their breast milk into bottles. The only thing I wonder about is if they put it in the fridge. What kind of label do you put on that - Property of Baby - DO NOT DRINK.

Week 8 Bring on the Sickness

This is what's going on with baby in week 8: Your baby will be about 8-11 mm by the end of the week. The baby's hind brain is clearly visible. And spontaneous movement begins! Bones and joints this week have many things going on. Elbows appear and the process of ossification (hardening of the bones) begins. Toe rays become present.

We have decided to tell our parents this week. We also have started telling some close friends and other family members. My sister in law was commiserating with me about my "morning sickness." And just to be official, this sickness is poorly named as it does not restrict itself to morning. She pointed out that her morning sickness was the worst weeks 8-10. Oh boy. The worst is now beginning. I am really puking more often now, sometimes more than once a day. I am working on figuring out what my body needs when as far as food and liquid to keep this to a minimum.

Bland is in. Bland food and drink. Bring on the potato soup and bread and cereal and turkey sandwiches and crackers. Put away the Chipotle. I have also taken a dislike to coffee and most teas (which is what I used to drink at work all day). Now I am a water person. I like to mix it up at lunch with a Vitamin Water or if I want to splurge (and why not if all I'm eating is a cup of soup and crackers) with a Naked juiced fruit drink.

Week 7 We Meet Our Obstetrician

Some interesting baby info for this week: The hand plates become present this week, and the baby is about 7-9 mm by the end of the week. The genital tubercle is present, but you can't distinguish girls from boys by sight at this point. Nasal pits are forming. The baby will actually go through 3 sets of kidneys, very rapidly as they develop during this period. This week the second of such sets will form.

3 sets of kidneys? Who knew?

My primary care physician scheduled an appointment with an obstetrician she recommends. I wondered if this was one of those times in life to go through an exhaustive practice of polling friends in my city to find out who is recommened and who isn't, but decided that my doctor's recommendation would do just fine. So many babies are born everyday that this isn't a risky business. If I were having a brain tumor removed, I might be more selective. If I were having a brain tumor removed, I'd have McDreamy from Gray's Anatomy do it.

Our obstetrician is part of a group. I will have 2 doctors that I meet with in rotation during my pregnancy and then either one of them will be the one to delivery my baby. It's all about who turns out to be the lucky guy on call when I go into labor. So it will be a fun surprise...surprise, it's doctor Shawn, or surprise it's doctor Mike.

While at the obstetrician, we had an ultrasound and got to see our baby for the first time. It really did not have much of a baby shape to it. I think it still had a bit of a tail. In the ultrasound photos the baby looks more like a seahorse. The best part was hearing the heartbeat! So amazing. That really made the pregnancy real for me.

Knowing I'm Expecting Week One (week 6)

When I found out I was expecting, I was in week 6 of my pregnancy. At this point, my baby is just a little head and body with a beating heart and the starts of arms and legs. I look exactly the same. My nausea does not result in real puking that often. It's more like a consistant feeling of maybe puking sometime in the future. My abdomen feels like it does during PMS, a constant ache with occasional sharper pains. But this is all within the bounds of normal for someone with a pea sized alien devouring my body for it's nourishment.

I spent a lot of time this week trying to remember what I had been doing for the last 4 weeks...when I was with child, but did not know it yet. I do remember having a margarita. I think My husband and I also went to dinner once and I had a glass of wine. I am determined not to worry about it. When we saw the doctor in week 7, the heart-beat was healthy and he said the baby is just fine, so no worrying.

The Story of How I Told My Husband I Was Expecting

So in my previous post I told the story of how I found out I was expecting. It was a Wednesday morning and my husband has left the house early for a one day business trip. I went upstairs to the computer and read some pregnancy websites to get some details of what was pregnancy is all about. I wanted to know how to figure out how far along I was and what changes were going on with the baby and in my body. Who knew that most doctors count the pregnancy as starting the first day of your last period? That means that the baby has actually been around about 2 weeks less than how "far along" you say you are. In my case I figured out that I was 6 weeks along. Which meant that the baby had been created 4 weeks ago.

I had to go to work, so I shut down the computer and got going. All day I sat at my desk or in meetings and every now and then my brain would say: psst you are pregnant. I'd think back: shhh, don't let anyone hear you! I haven't even told my husband yet. I knew that he was unreachable during the day. During my lunch break I went to a bookstore and picked up a few pregnancy books. One for my husband: The Dad to Be Everything You Need to Know book. I snuck these back into the office with more stealth than if they had been shopping bags full of new shoes.

After work I had an event with co-workers to attend. My husband's flight wasn't getting in until after 9:00pm, so he wasn't due home until late. I beat him home and sat casually on the couch watching TV until he got home. He came in the door and we greeted each other and I asked him how his day was, how the meetings went, how the flight was. Casual, casual, casual. Finally I told him that I had picked up a book for him that day and slid it across the table. While he took a second to read the cover, I held up the home pregnancy stick and said: this goes with it! There was much smiling and hugging and kissing and smiling. And then he said he had thought so!

The Story of How I Found Out I Was Expecting

Some people say that when they conceived they immediately knew. I was not one of those people. One day I started to have abdominal pains similar to what PMS feels like. So I figured it was just that - the period before my period. But then my period never came and I realized the abdominal pains were pretty consistant throughout the day. I also felt a little more tired than usual. This went on for a week.

Into the second week of the pain, my husband and I went out of town over Labor Day weekend. By then I was starting to think that work pressure was causing stress that was manifesting itself physically. At this point I hadn't begun to experience nausea, so I was eating fine over the weekend. My mother-in-law cooked up a storm, so there was plenty to eat. We also had the joy of meeting our newest nephew, Bryce. Bryce's mom and I talked about her experience of how she found out she was expecting. That's when I really started to wonder. Her symptoms sounded familiar.

Once we returned home, and the first nausea set in, I realized it was time to see the doctor (in case I had an ulcer on the way). I was still telling myself it was just stress ;) My doctor's appointment was set for Thursday. On Tuesday night, I bought a home pregnancy test. I didn't tell my husband. On Wednesday morning, my husband left very early for a one day business trip. I figured while I was up I might as well pee on a stick. I honestly didn't really think it would be positive.

So I pee on the stick and sit it down on the side of the tub. Our dog decided to be in there with me, he sensed my need for moral support I guess. I gave him a few pats on the head and casually glanced over at the stick. Check the label: One stripe = not pregnant. Two stripes = pregnant. Ok, count the stripes in the window...one...two. Ok, check the label: One stripe = not pregnant. Two stripes = pregnant. Ok, count the stripes in the window...one...two. Look at dog. Look back at stick. Look back at dog. Tell dog that you are pregnant.

Hearing myself say "pregnant" outloud and realizing that I'm talking about myself was a pretty strange moment. I looked at myself in the mirror and said it again. Then I smiled real big. Then I tried saying a few other things like, I'm going to have a baby. The smile stayed on. I found out I was expecting and it was a good feeling. The date I found out was Wednesday, September 6.

Welcome to Liz Expecting

Hi, welcome to my blog. I am 9 weeks pregnant with my first. It's an amazing experience so far, not necessarily that physically pleasant, but just the idea of growing another human being inside me is sureal.