Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Trimester 2 begins!



So, today marks our 14th week of being lego my ego preggo! Yay! We're officially in our second trimester! Okay, so maybe that's not as special to everyone as it is to me. I'm just excited to be seeing the end of morning sickness and the beginning of a little preggo belly. I think I have a little more energy lately too, compared to the past three months anyways.
Anywho... I really wanted to post a picture of the baby already, but since it's too early for my ultrasound the best I could come up with is up above. And, for anyone interested, below is a brief summary of how my baby should be progressing as of now....
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.
Anywho... I know, I'm a nerd. I just can't believe our baby is the size of a lemon! OMCheesewiz! I still find it hard to believe there's a baby somewhere in there. It just looks like a layer of fat to me. It's very strange to think about actually.... A little person... inside me... strange. I bet it will be even more strange when I start to feel it move. I can't wait! :) Anyway, all is going well so far (with the exception of some really obnoxious back pain - not pregnancy related, I'm sure). I think Nick is getting more excited as time passes too. I know that it hasn't been easy for him to see me sick much of the time. So, I have high hopes for the next couple months. I think with me feeling a little bit better for a while, both me and Nick will be a little bit happier. And seeing my belly grow is going to make this feel more like the real deal too.