Week 15

Christmas has come and gone in a blur!  I think the lead up this year was overshadowed by the excitement over baby!!  With all the festivities and busyness of the season, it made the days go by so fast....but now I fear the next 3 weeks will drag on until the anatomy scan. Will we have a little girl in a red tutu next Christmas, or a handsome little boy in a tie and vest? 

I have been rooting through the basement storage to see what sorts of baby things I could find.  Luckily I kept the exersaucer, the bouncy chair, highchair, boxes of diapers (various sizes that I had planned to donate to a woman’s shelter) and some toys.  There are also boxes of clothes/sleepers which will be good if June Bug is a boy.  So we’re in pretty good shape considering I ‘thought’  I sold everything.  I’ll keep an eye on the Boxing Week sales and hopefully be able to pick up a baby swing at a good price.  (Or check good ole’ Kijiji)  

To pass the time, until I know if we’re “team pink or blue”, I’ve been window (internet) shopping for bedding.  As I mentioned, Bryce suggested we paint the nursery green which is a great, neutral colour.  So keeping that in mind, plus the brown crib/dresser, I’ve found two crib sets I like.   I love this one for a little boy.  Just something about Monsters...and the colours would match a green room perfectly. http://www.babysupermall.com/main/products/coc/coc7835-847_pop1_coc7835-847.html  I’m having a harder time for a girl.  Most crib sets are VERY pink and white oriented.  It’s a little harder to find something that coordinates with green and brown but I did find this very muted, whimsical bird themed set.  http://www.babysupermall.com/main/products/ban/banlbb0143_pop1_banlbb0143.html

Lots of baby movement these days, noticed mostly when laying down just before bed.  It feels like a rolling pressure.  I’m surprised at how far down in the pelvis baby still is, (based on where I hear his/her heartbeat with the doppler) considering my noticeable increase in abdominal girth?!  I guess my growing belly is just displaced organs (intestines) and not really baby yet.  I saw this diagram representing how much displacement actually takes place.  Our bodies really are remarkable!

What is baby up to this week? “Baby's gaining weight fast! At around 1 ¾ ounces, he's nearly doubled in weight since last week, and ultrasound pictures at 15 weeks would show that he's now the size of an orange (around 4 ½ inches or 10.5 cm). His thin skin shows a web of blood vessels stretching across his body and he may be testing his recently developed reflexes by sucking his thumb. The eyes are now on the front of the face as the retinas develop under the paper thin skin, but they're still very wide apart. Lanugo, the extra fine hair that regulates your baby's body temperature, is starting to cover his body and his tiny eyebrows are becoming defined.  Inside his little body, Baby's bones are hardening and lengthening. The tiny bones of the inner ear have begun to harden, but his hearing is too rudimentary for him to understand any sound. Limbs of a 15 week old fetus are growing longer and bones are retaining more calcium, and so you would be able to see baby's skeleton with an X-ray this week!

Only 25 weeks to go!

Week 14

Welcome to the 2nd trimester, the land of energy and absence of nausea.  Dare I say I actually feel a little bit better for fear of jinxing myself?  Hope this trend continues. :)

June Bug

Bryce

On a baby community board, I learned of a new “method” of early fetal gender determination.  It’s called the “Skull Theory”.  Of course there is no real scientific basis for this method but it’s fun to try to predict while I wait these long 4 weeks until the anatomy scan.  (Which is scheduled for January 19^th) Apparently the skulls of little boys will look more squarish with a caveman brow.  Whereas little girls have a more semi-circular, rounded forehead/skull.  Take a look at the ultrasound pic?  What do you think?  You know what's funny when I look at these pictures side by side?  My uterus is already much more "relaxed" around June Bug than it was around Bryce.  Poor little B was squished.  Guess it's true that it never really ever shrinks back to the size it was pre-pregnancy.

When I was at my OB appointment earlier this month, I questioned whether a recent LEEP procedure would affect my pregnancy at all.  (LEEP is a medical procedure that removes pre-cancerous cells from the cervix)  She said that I should be O.K., but it does increase the possibility of having an “incompetent cervix” meaning I may not be able to carry to term  The reason being is that the LEEP procedure shortens the cervix.  Dr. Moores said she will consider adding in more exams/Ultrasounds to monitor for any changes.   Additionally, she told me that because of the scar tissue left behind, I may have MORE difficulty dilating , with a prolonged  labour.  Oh Joy!  Not exactly what I wanted to hear.  :(

So begins June Bug’s birthright as a “hand me down kid.”  (Sorry kiddo)  I actually managed to find all the required screws to reassemble Bryce’s old crib, and re-built it today.  Glad now that I kept it as that just saved me a couple hundred bucks.  Money well spent elsewhere.  Also glad I kept Bryce’s stroller which I disassembled this weekend to wash.  (Despite the fact that the cover is apparently NOT machine washable as stated in the manual.  You are supposed to “spot” clean it.)  UNFORTUNATELY I did sell the matching (and stroller compatible) car seat so had to buy another. FORTUNATELY, I found one in pristine condition on Kijiji (where I sold mine) and purchased for $70 less than new.  It also came with a bug cover and winter cover which would easily cost another $100 to buy separately.

What's going on with baby this week? "This week's big developments: Your baby can now squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possible 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 res of his body.  (His legs still have some lengthening to do.)  You baby's liver starts making vile this week - a sign that it's doing its job right - and his spleen starts helping in the production of red blood cells.

Only 176 days to go!! 

 

Week 13

Baby is the size of a Peach this week!

Most of you who are reading this know that there has been a little bit of ‘stress’ in my life these past few months. Of course this inconveniently coincides with the very important 1^st trimester.  So being the curious type, I immediately consulted Mr. Google to see how harmful all this stress has/can be on a growing fetus....and well the results just stressed me more! Argh!!  Apparently, chronic stress leads to elevated epinephrine (fight or flight chemical) which can constrict vessels and reduce oxygenation. But MORE worrisome is that when a pregnant woman experiences stress (especially in the first trimester) the body produces a chemical that essentially “ages” the placenta prematurely....which leads to preterm birth.  And the WORST of all is that baby’s temperament and neurobehavioral development can be altered.  As one article states "Who you are and what you're like when you're pregnant will affect who that baby is." SO the take home message for me is…take a breath….sing a song….count my blessings….and RELAX! 

No peach so ornament instead.

On a happier note, I have definitely been feeling little June bug wiggling around.  I had forgotten how incredible that sensation is. It feels like a gentle rolling or tapping.  I looked back to Bryce’s blog and noted that “quickening” was documented around the same time. (14 weeks) I feel fortunate because many times, women don’t feel this movement until closer to 20 weeks especially in their first pregnancy.  Why do they call it quickening anyways!?  The word “quick” originally meant “alive”. Historically, quickening was considered to be the beginning of the possession of "individual life" by the fetus.

Bryce and I decided to attempt to reassemble his crib for the new baby.  I wanted to buy a new one by couldn't justify throwing it out when it's perfectly fine. (minus the teething marks)  So of course Bryce was eager to "help" with the screwdriver, placing random screws in random holes.  Come to find out we were missing many key components. I had a feeling that would be the case as Bryce had from time to time, removed the Ziploc baggie of parts to play "Mr. Fix It".  So after an hour, it was deemed to be a futile endeavour and I'm afraid it will be headed to the landfill.  If June Bug is a girl, I'd like a white crib anyways.  Just something about white for a little girls room.  And if we are blessed with another boy, I think I'll choose a nice espresso colour again.

What's going on with baby this week? "Buckle up folks, we're about to head into trimester two!  You little womb tenant is getting bigger and smarter every day! Their skin is paper thin and rather see through, showing off all their shiny new functioning and still developing organs.  Their sense of taste and smell are more developed and refined while their cozy amniotic sac continues to increase in size and mass and fill with more fluid.  As we embark on the second trimester, it's time for your manatee-to-alien-to-tiny-weird-human to evolve into a monkey baby!  Little hairs, known as lanugo, will start to cover your baby's body this week, which will eventually be shed some time after birth.  Of all the trimesters this one has been the most critical to ensuring your baby's development is on the right track.  If you've carefully adopted a healthy diet, continued to stay active, and made sure you're getting all the rest you need, you've got you little one set up for some spectacular growth and development in tri-two.  Way to go mama!"  (Active? when feeling insanely sick all day?  And getting rest? With a spirited 3 year old?  That must have been written for 1st time mom's! lol)

184 days to go...bet they'll fly by!!

Week 12





Baby June Bug - 12 weeks

 Here he/she is!!  The size of a plum. What a cutie pie!  Baby was wriggling around but being very cooperative for his/her first photo shoot. The tech said everything looks good so far.  The NT (neck) measurement was only 1.4mm, (<3mm is normal) and he/she measured at 2.1 inches. All limbs were accounted for, spine and head looked good too.  I was also very happy to see that the nasal bone was present because research says that 75% of babies diagnosed with a chromosomal problem DO NOT have a visible nasal bone. (And also have >5mm NT results) The 20 week scan will provide a more detailed look at all his/her bits and pieces, but so far so good.  I compared June Bugs pic with Bryce's 12 week scan.  His NT measurement was 1.3mm and he was a whopping 2.6 inches already!  I really wouldn't mind a slightly smaller baby this time around!  Not just for the selfish birthing reasons (lol) but Bryce didn't fit into any of his cute little newborn outfits.  He was in 0-3 month right outta the gates. :)



I know it's much too early to be thinking of labour again.  But I was doing a little reading on Pitocin and its effects on contractions.  When it was offered to me, I wasn't told of the risks to baby nor did I give it much thought.  I believed it was a safe synthetic contraction hormone that would just help to speed things up. But I had no indications for its use.  My labour was not stalled, I was not overdue, nor was baby in distress. I remember now that the nurse said, "We will give it to you to speed you along so you don't get lost in the shuffle or forgotten about "?!  Well that's certainly not the indication to receive this powerful synthetic hormone. According to research, Pitocin-induced contractions will be longer, more forceful (MORE PAINFUL) and much closer together than a woman’s natural contractions. This can cause significant stress to the baby, because there’s not enough time to recover from the reduced blood flow that happens when the placenta is compressed with each contraction. The net effect of this is to deprive the baby of necessary supplies of blood and oxygen, which can in turn lead to abnormal fetal heart rate patterns and fetal distress. "The situation is analogous to holding an infant under the surface of the water, allowing the infant to come to the surface to gasp for air, but not to breathe." Additionally the research found that the hormonal disruption may also explain the reduced rate of breastfeeding following labor that was induced with Pitocin. (I know I sure had a hard time with breastfeeding)  So the point is, I think I may ask to delay the Pitocin unless my "NATURAL" labour stalls or baby becomes stressed. :)

What's happening with baby this week? "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."

Mommy is still feeling nauseous..much worse in the later afternoon-evening.  I pray that I am not one of those women who are afflicted throughout their ENTIRE pregnancy!!  Ugh :s

Bring on the 2nd Trimester!!

Week 11

I was reading a very interesting article this week.  It was a study involving 5000+ pregnant women and was trying to correlate the gender of the fetus based on which side their placenta was attached.  The data was collected through ultrasounds, and the gender confirmed at birth.  The results were incredible! In 97.2% cases where the placenta was attached on the right, the baby was a boy. And in 97.5% of the cases where the placenta was attached on the left, the baby was a girl.  Amazing right?  I'm pretty sure my placenta is on the left because that's where I can hear it.  So if this method (called the Ramzi method) is correct, we're having a girl! 

My new Obs-Gyn is so nice!  What a difference from the last in terms of bed side manner!  I met her while pregnant with Bryce.  I was at the hospital for a stress test and she was finishing up a specialty in OB's.  (Already a GP at the time)  I met her again after Bryce was born. She came into my room and had a little visit.  After that she became my family Doc...and shortly thereafter...my Obs-Gyn.  She always has time for questions, and I never feel rushed.  She's very thorough, explains everything, and offers advice.  In fact her clinical practice is geared towards Mothers and Newborn health. Very happy I found her. Oh - and the amazing thing is, she or her partner (Dr. Millar-who I'll meet throughout my care) are on call to deliver all their patients babies.  No more Doctor du Jour when you arrive in labour.  http://www.millarmoores.ca/new-patients/dr-daisy-moores/

What's happening with baby this week?  "Slightly more than two inches long now and weighing about a third of an ounce, your fetus is growing by leaps and bounds when you are 11 weeks pregnant. And so is his or her head, which is equal in length to the rest of the body (don't worry — all fetuses are top-heavy). On the crown of that large head (and over the rest of the body), hair follicles are forming. Fingernail and toenail beds begin to develop this week and by next week, the nails themselves will start to grow (so don't forget to add a baby nail clipper to your to-buy list).Your baby's body is straightening and his or her torso is lengthening (sounds like a yoga pose, doesn't it?). Other poses your baby can assume now: stretches, somersaults, and forward rolls. And while you can't tell this baby's gender by its cover yet, testes are developing if it's a boy and ovaries if it's a girl. 

I have my 12 week ultrasound on Monday Dec. 1st, so stay tuned for my next post.  Hopefully I'll have a great little pic of Baby June Bug.

Week 10

The doppler arrived and.....drum roll please....I heard June Bug’s heartbeat!!  It took about 10 mins of searching as I started off WAY too high and too far left and right. (Which resulted in nothing but a symphony of bowel sounds and the thundering beat of my femoral artieries.)  Finally I found the whooshing of the placenta (matching my heartbeat) and used that as a target to hone in on my June bug.  I estimated his/her heart rate at ~140 last night (sleeping?) but used a stopwatch to count this morning and got a reading of 174.  Right on target.  Best $50 I spent for the peace of mind I just received.  Such a long time to wait for reassurance between the dating Ultrasound at 6 weeks, until the IPS screening ultrasound at 12weeks.  Now I can reassure myself any time I like!!

Bryce is pretty excited to be a big brother.  He keeps telling Daddy that there is a baby in my tummy. (He also thinks there is one in his!!) Bryce said he wants to “pet” the baby and that he/she can sleep in his room.  I bet that generous offer will be revoked once he hears how loudly his sibling can cry!  Lol  For some reason he thinks baby will be orange?!  I said “he/she will be pink like you”. He said, “I not pink, I yellow”.  Alright fine...but you are definitely NOT orange?!

What’s happening with baby this week? “By the 10th week of pregnancy, your baby’s crown to rump length is 1.25 to 1.68 inches long. All of her major organs and systems have begun to develop; now comes the growth spurt. Currently at 10 weeks of pregnancy, your baby's head makes up half her length; during the next few months, her body will catch up, although her brain will still be developing rapidly. Now that your baby's liver is funtioning well enough to make all of her blood cells, the yolk sac, which performed this functions, is starting to disappear. This 10th week, or next, the placenta will begin to function, providing nourishment to your baby and filtering out the waste. During the next 3 weeks, your baby will double in length. Her webbed fingers and toes start to separate; she will begin to develop peach fuzz, fingernails, toenails, and all those little details that make us all more human-like in appearance. Her eyelids are fusing together in the 10th week of pregnancy so that they can develop, starting with the iris. Her arms bend at the elbow and her hands meet up by her face.

What’s happening with Momma?  Morning sickness?  Yup! Fatigue?  Yup! Oh and my uterus has doubled in size and now resembles a small melon! ;)

206 days to go!

Week 9

Strange how this pregnancy is so different from the first.  This time around, it has been nausea 24/7  from the get go.  Ugh! And so much more tired now.  I can hardly stay awake past 8pm!  Every everning it’s the same battle. Me trying to coax Bryce to come upstairs to “mommy’s bed” to watch cartoons while I lay down! :s  Gonna be a long 9 months!

I read an interesting study about nausea/vomiting and pregnancy.  It suggests that the more sick a woman is in pregnancy correlates to a higher IQ in her child?!   Something about the hormone responsible for nausea, builds more neural pathways?!  Given that theory then, neither of my children may be genius’s  but given the nausea with this one, he/she is gonna be the brains of the family!  Sorry Brycey-Boo.  At least you have your good looks!

I did it! I bought a Baby Doppler. I hummed and hawed about it the first pregnancy, but think I may actually be more neurotic this time around. It’s a Sonoline B and medical grade.  Apparently you can detect a heartbeat as soon as 9 weeks.  It’s shipping from the States so may take awhile to arrive. Hopefully I’ll have an update for the next post.

I’ve been hesitant to purchase anything baby related....like desperately needed maternity clothes, for fear of jinxing this pregnany.  Same with telling people at work, even though I’m walking around with my uniform shirt untucked which  is THE tell tale sign of a Paramedic being preggers! I know that’s totally irrational but pregnant, hormonal, moody women ARE irrational.



Not our Ultrasound! But neat to see!!



What’s happening with baby this week” “Your fetus is now about one inch long, the size of a medium green olive (but no martinis, please). 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.”

*Think I'll start posting baby bump photos next week.  It's just that I feel and look like a train wreck, and am hesitant to have that documented on film!! ;)

Week 8

Well I was going to moan and complain about how awful this nausea has been but I just finished eating lunch with another pregnant colleague who said her morning sickness was so violent, it caused her nose to bleed.  She was literally throwing up on calls and had to be put on Zofran.  Sooooo, I’ll take my “non-throwing up nausea” over that any day!!  Good old Google says that nausea is a very good sign as it means the body is producing all the necessary hormones to maintain the pregnancy. There is also an old wives tale that states nausea most often occurs when carrying a girl...and/or Multiples!  Wouldn’t that be something? To find out at the next ultrasound that another bean was hiding?!  My OB said the nausea should start to subside in the next couple of weeks as the placenta takes over.  She offered a prescription for some sort of medication (wasn’t Zofran) which I graciously refused.  She said it was safe....but that’s what they thought about Thalidamide!

As with my first pregnancy, I have been offered the Integrated Prenatal Screening (IPS) test to look for chromosomal abnormalities.  Basically the IPS test just gives you an “odds of” something being wrong.  Like 1/100 chance based on proteins found in the blood and “soft markers” seen on the Ultrasound.  (Like white spots on the heart, no nasal bone, thickening at back of neck ect) Unfortunately the risk of problems has increased exponentially from age 37 to 41.  Sigh.  In fact my OB suggested skipping the Ultrasound & blood work, and going straight to the amniocentesis.  She did mention the risks involved with the procedure and said I should really ponder what I would do with the knowledge anyways?!  Why risk a miscarriage if I would never terminate a pregnancy to begin with?!  There is also a new blood test, I think it’s called “Harmony”.  Apparently there are fragments of fetal DNA in my blood which can be assessed for abnormalities with 99% accuracy.  I believe the cost is $800 and out of pocket UNLESS the IPS test comes back with a positive. (Positive means anything less than 1/40 I believe.)  Then the Harmony test is covered by OHIP.  Anyway, my IPS scan is scheduled for Dec 1^st unless I change my mind an decide to skip right to amnio.  (The bonus of amnio is sex determination before 20 weeks.)

What's happening with baby this week? "Most of your baby's joints are formed now and he is using them. Baby is flexing and stretching, but it will be a couple of months before you can feel it.  Your baby is now almost one inch long and weighs just .07 of an ounce, about the size of a grape. Growing more human like from his early embryo days, your baby has finally lost his embryonic tail.  This 8th week of pregnancy, your baby is being nourished by the placenta, rather than the yolk sac. The placenta is an amazing structure, as it provides nutrients to your baby, along with providing a filter for your baby’s waste. Your baby is now fascinated with his hand, and he actually has a grip. If you were to place a very small object in his hand, he would wrap his little fingers around it. Speaking of fingers, your baby’s fingerprints are also forming, and they are like nobody else’s. Your baby’s eyelids are now fused together at 9 weeks of pregnancy and will remain that way until about 27 weeks. This gives his eyes a chance to do some developing of their own. Your baby’s ears, nose tip, and tongue have also formed. All major organs are now present, but need a lot of further development to function properly.

Week 7

Molar pregnancy, ectopic pregnancy, blighted ovum....OH MY!  These are the things I was worried about since getting the positive pregnancy tests last Thursday.  But happy to report that there is really a Baby Bean in there.  All 7mm of him/her.  And his/her heart is ticking away at 116.

I was on my way into work Thursday morning when I received the call from the Ultrasound clinic.  They had a cancellation and asked if I could come in for 10am?!  I agreed and made a frantic call to my supervisor, who was very understanding. The Ultrasound tech began the exam and said "well you're definitely pregnant...there's the sac".  Of course pessimistic me responded..."yes but is there a baby in there?"  She told me my Uterus was tilted and was very hard to see.  (I blame 9lb Baby Bryce for breaking my Uterus!! lol) The tech recommended an internal Ultrasound.  Not exactly what I had in mind when I woke up this morning...but no dignity in pregnancy and childbirth so why be shy now.  She was able to get a much better look that way, (probably because the probe was 6 feet long), and there was Baby Bean just hanging out in his/her little bubble.

Did you know that a 41 year old woman only has a 5% chance of conceiving every month.  If I thought Baby Bryce was a miracle...then I don't even know what to call this?!  I also read that a 41 year old has an increased risk of miscarriage at 20%....even AFTER seeing the heartbeat.  GOOGLE is NOT a pregnant woman's friend!  I don't know why I torture myself by reading things like that?!  (Probably because I had already read everything on the internet about molar pregnancies and blighted ovums!!) Argh.

What's going on with baby? "Early in week 7, the embryo still looks like a tadpole, but by the end of the week it will have transformed into a tiny being that’s distinctly human-like. Its body is continuing to lengthen, the arms begin to bend at the elbows and curve around the heart, which is beating even more rhythmically now. By the end of this week the embryo’s whole skeleton—made of bendable cartilage, like a shark—will be fully formed. (To be replaced by bone soon enough.) The baby has a digestive system now, as well as kidneys, liver, heart, spleen, and even an appendix. Your placenta has sprouted hundreds of minute hair-like projections (called villi), making it look like a fuzzy ball. The villi have the important job of carrying nutrients and oxygen from your bloodstream to your growing baby."

230 days to go!!

Week 6

Insane appetite, nausea, sore b**bs, extremely tired, crying over every little thing.....  I feel like I've experienced these symptoms once before?!  OH!  That's right!  About 4 years ago because I was PREGNANT!  You heard right.  Baby Fritz 2.0 has currently taken up residence in the cushy lining of my womb.  Sneaky little bean!

Something just seemed a little off and when I calculated back, multiplied by 3, and carried the one....I realized my little friend hadn't visited in 6 weeks!!  So I just happened to be at the Dollar store buying some knick knacks for Bryce's Birthday when I saw a pregnancy test.  YES, the Dollar store sells pregnancy tests.  Seems kinda funny to pay a measly $1 for such a important medical test.  But it guaranteed a 99% accuracy!!  So in I trotted to a Tim Horton's bathroom and peed on the stick.  2 lines as clear as day!  Obviously a false positive right?   Can't expect a $1 test to be accurate?  Next stop - the pharmacy and paid $15.99 for a second test.  NOW, I expect accuracy.  Back to Tim Horton's (they must have wondered) and a big fat + sign.  Crazy! The odds of conceiving at 41 are pretty slim which makes this such a blessing!!


As with Brycey-Boo, I'd like to document my journey with this second pregnancy.  What a wonderful keepsake and way to capture each weekly/monthly milestone.  My Sister ended up having the "Baby Bean" blog printed and bound. BEST BABY BOOK ever!!

I have been to the Doctor's for all the necessary blood work and we have our first Ultrasound scheduled for Oct 29th. (Although I put myself on their cancellation list, hoping to get in sooner.) Better not be any tricks in there...just a treat!!

"This week's major developments: The nose, mouth, and ears that you'll spend so much time kissing in eight months are beginning to take shape. If you could see into your uterus, you'd find an oversize head and dark spots where your baby's eyes and nostrils are starting to form. His emerging ears are marked by small depressions on the sides of the head, and his arms and legs by protruding buds. His heart is beating about 100 to 160 times a minute — almost twice as fast as yours — and blood is beginning to course through his body. His intestines are developing, and the bud of tissue that will give rise to his lungs has appeared. His pituitary gland is forming, as are the rest of his brain, muscles, and bones.