Week 19

I had to add this picture- I thought it looked so funny all scrunched in there :)

WOW! Next week is our anatamy scan, and yes- Im being spoiled and telling everyone- partially due to the fact that Target has a stinky return policy.. only two items per year.. TWO... Anyways..

Your amazing little baby is now around 10 inches in length! If this seems a bit shocking, you’ll be relieved to know they’ve not actually grown over 3 inches, but that their little legs are now straight enough to be measured. This is when doctors begin measuring fetal growth from head to toe, (no longer “crown to rump” or CR). Lanugo (little hairs) covers their whole body now, trapping that charming cheese-like vernix caseosa (see week 18) to the surface to the skin. This week your lil’ fetus will start on an appetizing diet of amniotic fluid which they are now capable of swallowing, digesting, and passing the fluid as far as their tiny “large” intestines. Fortunately for you, this nice little lump of baby-poop won’t be coming out while they’re still in your womb. Some time shortly after they’re born, this fun lump will become the first in a long line of baby poops. (What finally comes out— commonly known as “meconium” to the science world, will be black and sticky, and you’ll be very glad it happens only once!)

Where Does All The Weight Go?
Baby: 7 to 8 pounds
Larger breasts: 1 to 3 pounds
Larger uterus: 2 pounds
Placenta: 1 1/2 pounds
Amniotic fluid: 2 pounds
Increased blood volume: 3 to 4 pounds
Increased fluid volume: 2 to 3 pounds
Fat stores: 6 to 8 pounds pregnancy.

How am I doing? I am fighting a NASTY head cold, really.. the next 4.5 hours are going to drag on (well I hope not) I cant wait to go home and rest. its taking a lot of energy! Lots of stretching this week, which I especailly feel when I stand up! Here's to another healthy, safe week! Next week on the 7th we find out what our little miracle is!!!!!! :)

Week 18

I can hardly believe that I am already 'almost' half ways done.. two more weeks and we hit that milestone, wowzers.. its been a long but short week if that makes sense. Started a new job here in the Medicare system and its wearing me out- a lot of big words and terminology, but I think once I get going I think it will be well.. PS- to Auntie Emily- I fixed the website name, so I spelled Journey right. :P
And about the baby this week according to http://www.baby-gaga.com/:

We have two more ounces! Your "getting bigger-n-better by the minute baby" is already up to 7 ounces and 6 inches! This is a big week for their baby skin. There are now two distinct layers—the epidermis (or the surface skin) and dermis. Currently, their skin is covered with a greasy, waxy, cheese-like substance, known as vernix caseosa. Sure, it sounds pretty nasty, but this mixture of fatty secretions covering your little swimmer from head to toe is the best way to protect their oh-so-thin skin from bruising and abrasions as well as chapping caused by amniotic fluid exposure (and your little one is swimming in that stuff!). Still don’t like the fact your little darling is currently slathered in fatty cream like a greased pig? Well, you know the birthing process? Where you have to push something the size of a watermelon out a hole the size of a grape? That adorable little greased piglet would have a lot harder time getting through the birth canal without the vernix caseosa. Fun fact for momma’s with baby girls: it’s a uterus within a uterus! Your little girl will have developed a uterus and vagina canal by the end of this week.

And how Im doing:

Its getting harder to take deep breaths, kind of feel like I went for a run ALL the time, when really I only go for short walks at night (that is if this nice weather continues to stay.) And apparently I am also making more blood so that would explain why when I stand up so fast I get a little woozy. Other than that, not much else is new with us, next appointment in two weeks, and then we get to find out if our little bell pepper is going to be a boy or a girl!!!! :) See some of you this weekend!

Week 17

Holy cow how time flies, this week has just FLOWN by... mommy has been experience what they describe as "round ligament pain" feels more like a stretching muscle (which it is) right to the side of her hip bone, not fun when you roll over in the middle of the night... and you feel this PING.. yikes! I added a different picture up above to give an idea of what the baby looks like! :) Not so tadpolish/alienish anymore! If you still want to fruit/vegtable comparision you can click the blue link below.

How Im developing:

Your baby weighs 5 ounces now (about as much as a turnip), and he's around 5 inches long. He can move his joints, and his skeleton — until now rubbery cartilage — is starting to harden to bone. His sense of hearing is also developing. The umbilical cord, his lifeline to the placenta, is growing stronger and thicker.

And from another website:
Don't be too shocked but... your baby is EVEN bigger than it was last week, not to mention getting cuter, and smarter every day! As you’ve come to expect, there’s no shortage of growth and development this week: your fantastic little bean stalk has added yet another half inch to their overall height-- making them nearly half a foot long! Their little limbs have reached (or are within one week of) their relative proportions, and will continue to grow evenly with the rest of the body after this week. Reactive listening has begun for your baby, even though their ears are not yet structurally complete or fully functional. Meanwhile, different parts of their astonishingly complex brain are developing to process your little one’s hearing and other senses, (you know, sight, smell, taste and touch). Mind boggling factoid of the week: if you’re having going to have a little girl, her ovaries have already produced millions of primordial egg cells, which, within a few weeks, will develop into actual eggs! Phew… just wait till she’s a teenager eh?

3 more weeks until the big ultrasound.. until next week!
Mike, Mandy and Baby Gill

Week 16

Welcome to week 16... instead of comparing my baby to a fruit this week, I decided to show a picture of what the baby looks like at 16 weeks, seems big, but really it isnt. :) Mommy's tummy hasnt changed much- except its harder and not fluff. Which is weird, because when you poke yourself in the tummy it usually feels squishy- not when there is a baby in there! What the website says about this week:
At 4 1/2 inches long (head to bottom) and 3 1/2 ounces, your baby is about the size of an avocado. In the next three weeks, she'll go through a tremendous growth spurt, though, doubling her weight and adding inches to her length. Her lower limbs are much more developed now. Her head is more erect than it has been, and her eyes have moved toward the front of her head. Your baby's ears are close to their final position, too. Some of her more advanced body systems are working, including her circulatory system and urinary tract. Her heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day, circulating her total blood volume through her body many times. (By the end of your pregnancy, this will increase to about 190 quarts.) The patterning of her scalp has begun, though her hair isn't recognizable yet. Although closed, her eyes are moving (slowly), and she's even started growing toenails.
I had my 2nd doctors appointment today- no- no ultrasound, sorry family :) I had to pee in a cup, get my thyroid tested and we heard baby Gill's heartbeat. I think I actually almost started crying. Nothing beats that- well Im sure seeing your baby for the first time is great- but this was amazing. I could tell it was MUCH louder and closer than it was last time, although little Gill kept swimming away and we couldnt find it right away- but she found it. :) I also found out that Bridget (Lawler) Belter works on 6th floor- so if baby decides to come on a day/shift she is working, I can request her to be my Labor nurse! Next appointment is in four weeks, where we will get to FINALLY see the little one. Until next week...
Love- Mike, Mandy and Baby Gill