pictures from ultrasound yesterday

OK, so there are 2 pictures, I will try to let you know what to look for in each.

Ok this is a shot from the right side.  you can see the head, a leg at the bottom and a hand that looks like it's either waving or it's getting ready to suck it's thumb!  You can also see the spine (brighter white along the back).

This one is a lot like the one above just smaller, the only difference is the heartbeat you can see at the top, above the actual picture of the baby.

Since I'm technically 11 weeks but measuring at 12 weeks, here is info for both weeks on me and baby!

(11 weeks) 

Your baby, just over 1 1/2 inches long and about the size of a lime, 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.
(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

Emergency Appointment and 11 weeks

So today I'm supposed to be 11 weeks and I woke up this morning bleeding.  I was in a minor panic so I called the doctor and they got me in at 9am this morning.  They did an ultrasound and baby was squirming away, legs and arms going everywhere and had a nice strong heartbeat of 170 (We think it went up due to me being stressed out because my blood pressure was up a bit too).  That was definitely reassuring but they also checked to make sure there weren't any bleeds aroudn the baby.  They found nothing so it was just a fluke bleed, makes me think that if we weren't trying, would I end up on that show "I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant?"  I mean it could have been easily mistaken for my monthly cycle. 

Anyway, they also measured the baby again.  Last Wednesday the baby was measuring at 10 weeks and 1 day, so today I should have been 11 weeks on the nose.  However, baby Smith in there is measuring 11 weeks and 6 days, so almost a week ahead!  Meaning in 1 week the baby grew almost 2 weeks!  It definitely led to a disussion on the possible size of our baby with the size of Dan and I. 

However, because of this growth spurt we had to change the date of my NT scan (the one that checks for Down Syndrome).  It has to be done between 11 weeks 1 day and 13 weeks 6 days, and my original appt was scheduled for next Thursday.  So if my baby were to grow normally from now on then I'd be 13 weeks and 1 day.  However, they are worried that the baby may grow faster and I'd miss that window.  So we moved the date to next Monday at 3pm, just to be safe.  Whew!  Ok normally I would post an 11 week fruit picture for reference and info, but siince I'll be 12 weeks tomorrow, I'll just post the 12 week one tomorrow.  I got 2 pictures from the scan today, but they are a bit more blurry than the last ones due to our little one squirming so much, so I might not post the pics here.  We'll have to see how they turn out. 

Whew!  Ok, update everyone tomorrow, now it's time to change that ticker at the top! Oh, by the way, this would change my due date to Sept 8th!

Comments

The comment area is set up so that you can leave on annonymously (just sign your name at the bottom so that I know that it's you!).  I would appreciate comments now and then so that I know who is reading this :)  Thanks!  (By the way, thanks to those of you who do leave me comments!)

Doctor's Appointment and Car Pictures

Ok so the doctors appointment went great.  They asked me if I wanted an ultrasound and I said I sure did!  I asked that they make sure they bill it as medically necessary and they said they won't even bill it, they are considering it like Glamour Shots! lol 
So I got an ultrasound done and SO much has changed in 4 weeks!  Our little bean was squirming around in there, it was the cutest thing ever!  We got a couple pics, they didn't turn out great, they were so much clearer on the screen when she was showing us.  I'm measuring right on schedule so I still have a due date of Sept. 14th.  The heartbeat was beating away strong at 163 beats per minute!  It was a great appointment and I go back in a little over 2 weeks (on March 4th) to have an NT scan, which checks for markers that may indicate down syndrome. 

Here are the baby pics!

I know it looks a little bit alien-like, but that's ok! lol

Here are some pics of my new car, I took them really quick while it was in the garage, so sorry they aren't better.

                                  

My 2010 Nissan Sentra

The dash

The ginormous trunk

The backseat

10 weeks

So it's been a chaotic week.  Last Monday Dan got a call saying he'd be laid off for a week.  We took it in stride, it actually worked out for the week because there were a lot of things we'd been meaning to get done that have to be done during the day.  However, on Friday he got the call that the layoff is going to be longer.  Hopefully they'll call him back by the end of the month, but they aren't sure.  He put is name on the list at the union hall, but he's #25, so 24 people will be called out before him.  We're trying to stay optimistic though.

One of the things that needed to be done during the week was to take my SUV into the shop.  My airbag light was on (meaning they weren't working).  He had to take it to the dealership and it costed $90 just to diagnose the problem.  They then told us that to repair it it'd be about another $1000 and I also need a belt replaced.  So we started getting concerned about the safety and reliability of my car with me being pregnant.  We started looking at some of the dealerships on the same road for a new car.  We figured if I could get the SUV paid off and keep my payments close to the same and have a reliable car, it'd be worth it.  So we ended up leasing a 2010 Nissan Sentra.  It only had 22 miles on it, I know people with Nissans and they love them, it has a lot of safety features and it will fit a carseat in the back and a stroller in the trunk.  We are paying about $20 more a month in payment, but it gets WAY better gas milage, so we'll save in gas and it will save us on insurance since it's brand new, it's a car and has more safety features.  So all in all it's been a crazy week!

OH!  And my next doctor's appointment is tomorrow!  I'll make sure to update afterwards!

This week our little one is about the size of a prune!

Here is what is going on with the fetus and me this week (Oh!  Make sure you read the new message under the ticker at the top of the page, it's a good one this week!):

Though he's barely the size of a kumquat — a little over an inch or so long, crown to bottom — and weighs less than a quarter of an ounce, your baby has now completed the most critical portion of his development. This is the beginning of the so-called fetal period, a time when the tissues and organs in his body rapidly grow and mature.

He's swallowing fluid and kicking up a storm. Vital organs — including his kidneys, intestines, brain, and liver (now making red blood cells in place of the disappearing yolk sac) — are in place and starting to function, though they'll continue to develop throughout your pregnancy.
If you could take a peek inside your womb, you'd spot minute details, like tiny nails forming on fingers and toes (no more webbing) and peach-fuzz hair beginning to grow on tender skin.
In other developments: Your baby's limbs can bend now. His hands are flexed at the wrist and meet over his heart, and his feet may be long enough to meet in front of his body. The outline of his spine is clearly visible through translucent skin, and spinal nerves are beginning to stretch out from his spinal cord. Your baby's forehead temporarily bulges with his developing brain and sits very high on his head, which measures half the length of his body. From crown to rump, he's about 1 1/4 inches long. In the coming weeks, your baby will again double in size — to nearly 3 inches.

Before you got pregnant, your uterus was the size of a small pear. By this week, it's as big as a grapefruit. You may or may not be ready for maternity wear now. Even if you're not there yet, your regular clothes are probably feeling uncomfortably tight and your blossoming breasts are straining the seams of your bra. The thickening in your midsection is most likely due to slight weight gain and bloating. If you're between regular and maternity clothes, pants and skirts with forgiving elastic waistbands (or low-rise waistlines that sit below your belly) will provide some much-needed comfort.

9 weeks

OK, so TECHNICALLY I'll be 9 weeks tomorrow, but I had a second today to update.  My mom came down this past Thursday and stayed until Sunday morning.  We did the suicide prevention walk on Saturday and the weather was great for it.  It was about 65 degrees and windy, so we didn't get too warm.  I realized that maybe I should do some more walking since I felt good after it, so Dan and I may start walking around the neighborhood weekly.  Was sad to see mom go but she brought us these super cute WMU onesies!  I can't believe how tiny they are!

My friend got me a book called "The Pregnancy Journal" and it tells me what is happening DAILY with our little one.  I already have "What to Expect When Your Expecting" which tells you monthly, and "Your Pregnancy Week by Week" that tells you weekly.  So now I have all the time slots covered, months, weeks and days!  Haha Good thing I like to read!

Symptoms aren't bad, still tired all the time.  I also feel nausous if I am really hungry or really full, so I pretty much have to work at staying satified at all times (not an easy thing to do!). 

My next appointment is next Wed, so about a week and a half away and I'm excited and nervous!  Hoping they do another ultrasound and everything looks good!  I found a neat website that shows you how big your baby is in relation to food every week, so I'll be posting that as well every week, this week it's about the size of a green olive!

Here is an update of what is going on with our little olive and myself this upcoming week:

Your new resident is nearly an inch long — about the size of a grape (or olive!) — and weighs just a fraction of an ounce. She's starting to look more and more human. Her essential body parts are accounted for, though they'll go through plenty of fine-tuning in the coming months. Other changes abound: Your baby's heart finishes dividing into four chambers, and the valves start to form — as do her tiny teeth. The embryonic "tail" is completely gone. Your baby's organs, muscles, and nerves are kicking into gear. The external sex organs are there but won't be distinguishable as male or female for another few weeks. Her eyes are fully formed, but her eyelids are fused shut and won't open until 27 weeks. She has tiny earlobes, and her mouth, nose, and nostrils are more distinct. The placenta is developed enough now to take over most of the critical job of producing hormones. Now that your baby's basic physiology is in place, she's poised for rapid weight gain.

You still may not look pregnant even if your waist is thickening a bit. You probably feel pregnant, though. Not only are morning sickness and other physical symptoms out in full force for most women, but you may feel like an emotional pinball as well.

Mood swings are common now — it's perfectly normal to feel alternately elated and terrified about becoming a parent. Try to cut yourself some slack. Most women find that moodiness flares up at around six to ten weeks, eases up in the second trimester, and then reappears as pregnancy winds to a close.

8 Weeks today!

Today is a big milestone, 8 weeks (2 months)!  Originally we were planning on waiting this long to tell anyone, but we all know how well that went!  I'm tired a lot and nausous most of the day, but never really get sick.  Keeping food in my system helps but sometimes it's hard to eat when you don't feel well.  My appointment is still 2 weeks away and I don't know if I'm going to make it! AHHH! 

We know that we want to do a jungle theme in the nursery.  We have a friend that is a great artist and is going to do a mural on 2 of the 3 walls, which is exciting!  We have the bedding narrowed down to 2 or 3 different ones, I have pictures of them below with the name of it under the picture.  Let me know which one you like because we can't decide!

Tiddliwinks Safari

Jungle Talk

Baby Zoo

Here is what is going on with baby and me this week (Sorry about the bra talk Dad)!

Webbed fingers and toes are poking out from your baby's hands and feet, his eyelids practically cover his eyes, breathing tubes extend from his throat to the branches of his developing lungs, and his "tail" is just about gone. In his brain, nerve cells are branching out to connect with one another, forming primitive neural pathways. You may be daydreaming about your baby as one sex or the other, but the external genitals still haven't developed enough to reveal whether you're having a boy or a girl. Either way, your baby — about the size of a kidney bean — is constantly moving and shifting, though you still can't feel it.

You may notice that your bra is getting more snug. Soon you'll likely need a larger size with better support. Rising levels of hormones cause breast growth and other tissue changes, all in preparation for lactation. Your breasts may continue to grow throughout pregnancy. Don't be surprised if you go up a cup size or two, especially if it's your first baby. Keep this in mind, and allow for room to grow when investing in a new bra.

Feeling fatigued? Hormonal changes — in particular, a dramatic rise in progesterone — may be contributing to your sluggishness. Nausea and vomiting can certainly cost you energy, too. And you may be having trouble getting a good night's sleep at this point, especially if you're uncomfortable or find you need to get up to pee.