16 Weeks!

Get ready for a growth spurt. In the next few weeks, your baby will double his weight and add inches to his length. Right now, he's about the size of an avocado: 4 1/2 inches long (head to rump) and 3 1/2 ounces. His legs are much more developed, his head is more erect than it has been, and his eyes have moved closer to the front of his head. His ears are close to their final position, too. The patterning of his scalp has begun, though his locks aren't recognizable yet. He's even started growing toenails. And there's a lot happening inside as well. For example, his heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day, and this amount will continue to increase as your baby continues to develop.

I go for my next doctor's appointment and ultrasound on Friday and I can NOT wait! The thought of getting to see Nugget moving around again is just thrilling. I was talking to my mom the other night and realized that I'm only 4 weeks away from the halfway point! It's going by so fast! But at the same time, not fast enough! I am so ready for Nugget to be here and to be able to hold him/her in my arms. I have a friend who is also pregnant right now (about a month or so behind me) and my step-sister is about 2 months ahead of me in her pregnancy. It's so exciting to know others who are pregnant and hear their experiences and be able to compare them. I will post the new ultrasound pics on Friday when we get them and I'm still holding out that tiny grain of hope that maybe, just maybe, we might be able to find out the gender this week. :) Always the optimist!

15 Weeks!

Your growing baby now measures about 4 inches long, crown to rump, and weighs in at about 2 1/2 ounces (about the size of an apple). She's busy moving amniotic fluid through her nose and upper respiratory tract, which helps the primitive air sacs in her lungs begin to develop. Her legs are growing longer than her arms now, and she can move all of her joints and limbs. Although her eyelids are still fused shut, she can sense light. If you shine a flashlight at your tummy, for instance, she's likely to move away from the beam. There's not much for your baby to taste at this point, but she is forming taste buds. Finally, if you have an ultrasound this week, you may be able to find out whether your baby's a boy or a girl! (Don't be too disappointed if it remains a mystery, though. Nailing down your baby's sex depends on the clarity of the picture and on your baby's position. He or she may be modestly curled up or turned in such a way as to "hide the goods.")

Well we finally saw all of my extended family this past weekend at Easter and we were able to share the good news. Everyone was surprised and excited for us. It's great having everyone know now. Like the cat's out of the bag! :)

We go for our next ultrasound and appointment with the doctor next Friday, the 16th and I can't wait!!! It's practically torture waiting the four weeks in between all of these ultrasounds! However, I know I need to savor them as best I can because I'm getting to the end of all the ultrasounds. After the one next Friday, I'll only have 2 more - one at 20 weeks and then the 3D ultrasound in my third trimester. I keep holding out hope that we will be able to find out what the gender is at this appointment. I am so ready to start picking out things for the nursery and planning out how I'm going to decorate! Also I want to start working on narrowing down a name. We have about ten picked out for each gender but we've decided to hold off on worrying about narrowing it down until we know the gender.

Thankfully, I am still feeling great! In fact, I'd say I'm probably even feeling better these days because I am nowhere near as tired as I used to be. I know they say that your second trimester is supposed to be the easiest and I hope that holds true for me. I'm ready to start feeling the baby kick though, that will really be a treat!

14 Weeks! Officially in the Second Trimester!

This week's big developments: Your baby can now squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly suck his thumb! Thanks to brain impulses, his facial muscles are getting a workout as his tiny features form one expression after another. His kidneys are producing urine, which he releases into the amniotic fluid around him — a process he'll keep up until birth. He can grasp, too, and if you're having an ultrasound now, you may even catch him sucking his thumb.

In other news: Your baby's stretching out. From head to bottom, he measures 3 1/2 inches — about the size of a lemon — and he weighs 1 1/2 ounces. His body's growing faster than his head, which now sits upon a more distinct neck. By the end of this week, his arms will have grown to a length that's in proportion to the rest of his body. (His legs still have some lengthening to do.) He's starting to develop an ultra-fine, downy covering of hair, called lanugo, all over his body. Your baby's liver starts making bile this week — a sign that it's doing its job right — and his spleen starts helping in the production of red blood cells. Though you can't feel his tiny punches and kicks yet, your little pugilist's hands and feet (which now measure about 1/2 inch long) are more flexible and active.

Oh my gosh! I'm in my second trimester! This is so exciting! To know that I've already made it through 1/3 of this whole journey - hooray! I'm still feeling great, just a little tired here and there, but honestly I think that's getting better. And it should be getting better. I know that most people say that you feel your best during your second trimester and so I'm hoping the same holds true for me. I'm so very thankful and blessed to have not experienced any awful symptoms so far and I'm just praying that it continues!

We're finally telling the rest of our extended family this Sunday - my aunts, uncles and cousins. I cannot wait to tell them because I know they will be just as excited as we are. So I am really counting down the days until Sunday.

We are only 2.5 weeks out from our next ultrasound and I honestly cannot wait. I don't know if this is common among first time pregnancies or if it's just because I'm not having any symptoms, but sometimes I just have a hard time believing that I'm really pregnant since I'm not feeling anything yet. But seeing those ultrasounds every month and getting to watch little Nugget move and kick, just makes it all so much more real! I can't wait to see him (or her) this month and see how much he/she has grown! I'll be 16 weeks then and maybe there might be a chance to find out the gender. I'm wishing that point would hurry along, because I'm ready to start planning out my nursery!!! Time just moves so slow these days! :) But I know that as soon as Nugget is born, the time is just going to FLY, so I'm thankful for the time now while I have it.

13 Weeks!

Fingerprints have formed on your baby's tiny fingertips, her veins and organs are clearly visible through her still-thin skin, and her body is starting to catch up with her head — which makes up just a third of her body size now. If you're having a girl, she now has more than 2 million eggs in her ovaries. Your baby is almost 3 inches long (the size of a medium shrimp) and weighs nearly an ounce.

Awe! Nugget is a shrimp now! :) It's hard to believe all of the neat and wonderful things that the baby is doing in such a small amount of time. I mean, Nugget is only 13 weeks old and he already has his fingerprints! That just blows my mind!

I'm still not having any symptoms other than just being tired. And the tiredness really comes and goes. Some days I feel fine as if I'm not even pregnant and then other days, like yesterday, it's all I can do to hold my head up. It was a struggle making it through to the end of the workday yesterday. I told a good friend of mine, I'm just thankful I have a full time job because otherwise I think I'd be tempted to do nothing on days like that but stay in bed and sleep all day!

I am really looking forward to the weather turning warm (and staying warm) and summer eventually getting here. I can't wait for the pool to open and to get down to the beach in St. Simons (where Joe's family lives). I need to develop Nugget's love for the beach now! :)

Second Ultrasound

Well today was my second ultrasound and I could not have been more excited. I couldn't wait to see how much my baby had grown and developed in only 4 short weeks! I was nervous again for the same reasons I was the first time. I just worried that something would be wrong. I can tell I'm going to worry for awhile! :) I think once I can feel him or her moving that will go a long way to helping me relax. So Joe got to go with me this time and he too was just blown away by what we saw!



I can't believe how much he/she has grown! The head is on the left and you can kind of see the two arms - one is off to the right and one is almost right in the middle of the ultrasound. He/she was kicking his/her legs all around and that was just so amazing! I couldn't believe that the baby is moving so much already! It was so exciting and I am so glad that Joe was able to be there this time to get to experience it.

We got to go and meet with my doctor for the first time following the ultrasound and thankfully he says that everything looks great. My bloodwork was right on and my blood pressure is perfect. I go back for my next ultrasound and to see him again in 4 weeks - April 16th. I can't wait! This is just such an exciting time for us and I am having a hard time containing my giddiness! :)

Thank you so much for your prayers and happy wishes... we appreciate them more than you know!

12 Weeks!

The most dramatic development this week: reflexes. Your baby's fingers will soon begin to open and close, his toes will curl, his eye muscles will clench, and his mouth will make sucking movements. In fact, if you prod your abdomen, your baby will squirm in response, although you won't be able to feel it. His intestines, which have grown so fast that they protrude into the umbilical cord, will start to move into his abdominal cavity about now, and his kidneys will begin excreting urine into his bladder.

Meanwhile, nerve cells are multiplying rapidly, and in your baby's brain, synapses are forming furiously. His face looks unquestionably human: His eyes have moved from the sides to the front of his head, and his ears are right where they should be. From crown to rump, your baby-to-be is just over 2 inches long (about the size of a lime) and weighs half an ounce.

It is just simply amazing to me to read the updates every week and learn how he/she is growing and developing! I cannot fathom how people can go through this experience and not have total faith that God is in charge of all creation. It is just so wonderful!

We go for our next ultrasound on Friday (3/19) and I can't wait! It seems like Friday is taking it's dear sweet time getting here! There is always a slight chance that if the baby is a boy that they might be able to tell the sex this early in the pregnancy if the baby will cooperate. So there's always a chance we might find out now! That would be wonderful because I am so ready to start planning the nursery!

11 weeks!

Your baby, just over 1 1/2 inches long and about the size of a fig, is now almost fully formed. Her hands will soon open and close into fists, tiny tooth buds are beginning to appear under her gums, and some of her bones are beginning to harden.

She's already busy kicking and stretching, and her tiny movements are so effortless they look like water ballet. These movements will become more frequent as her body grows and becomes more developed and functional. You won't feel your baby's acrobatics for another month or two — nor will you notice the hiccupping that may be happening now that her diaphragm is forming.

Reading this information is just fascinating to me! I've been following the growth from week to week online and thinking that in only about 8 or 9 short weeks, my baby has gone from being only the size of a poppy seed to a fig! I know a fig is still tiny compared to the 7 or 8 pounds he or she will be when they come out, but that is huge considering where they started!

For being 11 weeks along, they say that any of the first trimester symptoms should be starting to wane a bit. I've been very blessed that the only symptom I've really had is being tired every now and then. Otherwise, I've had no morning sickness or nausea of any kind. Heck, I don't even feel pregnant! We're only a little over a week away from our next ultrasound and I can't wait! I know the first one, he only looked like a tadpole (to me) but now he should really look more like a baby!

We are also only about a month away from telling the rest of my extended family - we are waiting until Easter when we're all together in person. I'm having a hard time holding out! I am so ready for everyone to know!!! This is such a blessed time and I am so thrilled and I really just want to share it with everyone I love.