Week 17

17 weeks

How big is our baby at 17 weeks pregnant? About five inches long and more than three and a half ounces — the size of your open hand. Body fat (baby's, that is) is beginning to form and will continue to accumulate through the end of pregnancy. By the time our baby is born, body fat will make up about two-thirds of his or her weight. Our baby is almost certainly listening up by now. In fact, loud noises — the dog barking, the doorbell ringing — will actually startle the baby (and also get him or her used to such noises; for instance, fetuses who regularly hear a dog barking will become babies who sleep right through a dog's outbursts). Your baby's eyes (which have fortunately finished their migration to the front of his or her head) are making small side-to-side movements and can even perceive some light, though the eyelids are still sealed. And since practice makes perfect, our baby is sharpening his or her sucking and swallowing skills in preparation for that first (and second…and third) suckle for feeding. In fact, most of the survival reflexes that our baby will have at birth are being perfected in utero right now. It's amazing at how much the baby has already developed. I'll keep you posted!!

Thanksgiving in Gatlinburg

Butch and I went to Gatlinburg for Thanksgiving week. On Monday we left and drove about halfway and stayed in a hotel overnight. Then on Tuesday we got up and headed to Gatlinburg. We had a great time. It was very cold up there, but so beautiful. From our room at the resort, we had a beautiful view of the mountains! This trip was our last until the baby is born. The traveling was really uncomfortable for me. The baby must have not liked it either because he/she was constantly moving!! I took it that the baby was not comfortable sitting in a chair and being cramped up for long hours! Even though we split our trip on the way to Gatlinburg; on our way back we went straight to my grandmothers for Thanksgiving....and the drive was 6 1/2 hours!! But we technically were on the road for about 8 hours because of stopping periodically for the restroom breaks and lunch break. It was the longest trip ever! We had a really great time being alone with one another. We talked a lot of names and plans. Of course we were constantly thinking of DEC. 11th! We are so anxious to find out whether we're having a girl or boy!!! I'm so ready for the suspense to be over with and I can know!! I told Butch last night that once we find out the gender that "it's on like a chicken bone" as far as getting the nursery decorated and finished! I am ready to know pink or blues??

4 month Check Up

Today I had my 4 month check up with Dr. Kennedy. Everything was good with my blood pressure, weight, and the baby's heartbeat was very strong! We scheduled our ultrasound today after my doctor's appointment! We will be finding out about our little baby's gender on December 11! We really don't care if we have a girl or a boy, as long as he/she is healthy. We are just beside ourselves right now thinking about how close we are to finding out. I had another exciting thing happen yesterday....I felt the baby move! Our little peanut has been poking me every now and then. It's not very often and it usually happens when I'm really still and not paying attention to my belly...which is not often. I can't take my eyes from my belly for very long. I know that sounds crazy...but I have a teeny tiny baby growing in there and I'm just amazed. Butch and I are so excited and we can't wait to know what we're having. I think it will help us to bond to the baby even more! Well I just wanted to put a little update on here. Thanks for reading...

Week 15

Our nearly four-inch long gymnast is happily mobile inside my belly and if I'm really lucky, I will notice when I'm sneezing, coughing or laughing results in a little kick here or a poke there. Still, many women don't feel anything until the 17th week or later. Although the poking and kicking isn't very charming during sleeping hours, it’s a good sign as it means our baby is actually reacting to outside events. Yay! We’ve got ourself one active healthy baby! Their little elbows and knees are bending more freely this week and their little legs are finally growing longer than their arms and getting pumped up for prenatal Richard Simmons. haha. Many of their major organ systems are increasing in capacity—particularly that amazing tiny heart and complex circulation system, which is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood per day, and will increase to a very impressive 200 quarts per day by the end of the pregnancy. As far as hair goes, we’ve got some new scalp patterns beginning to develop on the head, although actual head hair is not yet present.

My thoughts:

I am highly anticipating the day we find out whether we're having a girl or boy! I have a doctor's appointment this coming Thursday, but it is just a regular check up. After my appointment I will get to schedule the ultrasound to confirm the gender of our little one! It's all I think about these days since we are getting so close to finding out. Since we've stepped over into the second trimester, I have not had morning sickness or as much fatigue. These past couple of weeks have been awesome. I've really enjoyed the pregnancy a lot more since I haven't been as sick and tired. The only thing I hate is the mood swings...and I know Butch is having a hard time with it. He doesn't understand how my moods are so different within seconds, minutes, or hours...and I don't either. It just happens!! The poor guy...he's been a good sport though. He has helped me get through the rough times of the pregnancy so far....and he has rejoiced with me in the happy moments - which are more frequent than ever!

Going on week 14....

14 weeks, 4 days

Growing by leaps and bounds, our baby is leaping and bounding. He or she is on the move almost constantly — and those movements are a far cry from those jerky twitches of last trimester (though I won't feel any of them for weeks to come). They are now ballet-like, smooth and fluid. If you could catch a glimpse of our fetus now, you'd see a baby the size of your clenched fist (a skill, by the way, our little one now has). Our baby also has the coordination, strength, and smarts to wiggle his or her fingers and toes and even suck a thumb (how cute is that?).
It'll be years before we'll start nagging our offspring to stand up straight — but unbelievably, he or she is doing it right now, without any prodding! No slouch anymore, our baby's neck is getting longer and his or her head is getting more erect (giving a more straightened-out appearance). And speaking of that head, our baby could be sprouting some hair (though the final color may not be determined until birth) and the eyebrows are filling in, too.



Hair growth isn't limited to the baby's head, though. He or she is also covered with a downy coating of hair called lanugo, largely there for warmth. As fat accumulates later on in my pregnancy (the baby's fat, not mine — though that will accumulate, too), most of the lanugo will shed — though some babies, especially those born early, still have a fuzzy coating at delivery (it sheds soon afterward).

Farewell First Trimester....

I am nearing the end of the first trimester and hopefully all the morning sickness, frequent bathroom stops, and fatique that goes along with it! I have had more nausea in the past two weeks then I've had since the early weeks of pregnancy. But it is subsiding and becoming few and far between. Thank God!!! But you know, it's all worth it when it comes to the end of the day and I've had a "knock down, drag out" kind of day...it really is completely worth it. I wouldn't trade anything for this little baby. And just an added bonus, Butch will get down and talk to the baby and I just love it! It makes me cry and feel all sorts of emotions - which is not hard for me to come up with at this point in my life! Now, for those of you *cough cough Chase*, who do not like reading the blogs where I talk about the development of the baby and how it has urine excreted into the amniotic fluid.....then don't go any further in this post because it will say something along those lines again today. =)

The producers. Now that the baby has completed the task of forming all the critical body structures, the organs go to work. The liver secretes bile, the pancreas produces insulin, and the kidneys form urine to carry waste away. The urine is excreted into the amniotic fluid. Our little one's intestines, which have partially resided in the umbilical cord, have moved back into the abdomen now that there's enough room to accommodate them. With muscle layers forming in the gut, it'll soon be time to get things moving through the digestive system, too.

Head long. Our little one is now about the size of a large plum, weighing less than 1 ounce and measuring anywhere from 2.6 to 4 inches. The head takes up half of that length, thanks to all that brain development. Over the next few months, the body will grow at breakneck speed to catch up. When our baby is born, the head will be only a quarter of his total length.

The BEST Hubby In The World!!

This past Thursday Butch came home with a surprise! He came in the front door bearing a vase with beautiful flowers and a few baby outfits. He came in with more girl outfits than boy...does that tell you something?? I asked him what they were for and he said that he just wanted to let me know that he loved me. I have the best husband in the world! I couldn't ask for a better one. He is going to be the best father too! I am so excited about what is to come...