We do not yet know the sex of the baby.  We will find out in about 4 weeks (I schedule the appointment today and will update later with a current belly shot).  The “she” or “he” in these sections are just what Baby Center chooses to use this week.

How your baby’s growing:

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.

Note: Every baby develops a little differently — even in the womb. Our information is designed to give you a general idea of your baby’s development.

How your life’s changing:
Have people been telling you how wonderful you look? The “glow of pregnancy” is real, thanks to increased blood flow to the skin. You may be enjoying yourself more, too, now that your hormones have stabilized and nausea has eased up. You’re also probably less anxious about something happening to your baby (the risk of miscarriage drops dramatically after the 14th week) which likely adds to your overall sense of well-being.

Soon you’ll experience one of the most wonderful moments of pregnancy — feeling your baby move. While some women notice “quickening” as early as 16 weeks, most don’t until about 18 weeks or more. If this is your first baby, don’t be too anxious — you may not be aware of your baby’s movements until 20 weeks or so. The earliest movements may feel like little flutters, gas bubbles, or even like popcorn popping. Over the following weeks they’ll start to feel unmistakably like kicks.

 So, I’m at the end of week #15!!

I’m excited by all that is going on inside of me, but no, I can’t feel anything yet.  We also will not know if we are having a boy or girl until my 20 week ultrasound, so five more weeks before that!  Patience is a virtue…Patience is a virtue…
I’m feeling good, though still tired.  I have gas which is something I’m not all that used to.  I don’t like burping or breaking wind so the fact that this happens on occasion and it is beyond my control is annoying.  Some of my friends, however, find it funny.

Let’s see…what else is happening…Charlotte Rich asks me everytime she sees me if I can feel the baby yet.  So far the answer is “no”.  I should start feeling the baby in another week or so.  Of course BabyCenter.com says that sometimes first time moms mistake the first baby feelings as gas.  Like I said, I have a lot of that.  I’m wondering now if when the upper part of the sides of my belly aches if it isn’t baby movement instead of gas.  Like right now, I’m getting a slight jab (that feels gas-ish) below my left ribs.  Maybe I am feeling the baby move.  Even if it is, I can’t put my hand on my tummy and feel anything.  That doesn’t happen until closer to 20 weeks (or after).

Melissa’s big thing has been talking to my stomach – often in public places.  She just sticks her lips on my tummy and talks away.  I can’t wait until I can feel the baby move in response.  Jeff does the same thing, but he does so at home.  This whole thing is getting more real since my belly has become nice and round and very noticeable.

Info below is from BabyCenter.com and says that my kid is not the size of an apple.  I’ll put that picture below, too, so you can get an idea of how big that is.  Crazy thought, huh?  P.S.  if anyone can give me some sports analogies in place of the fruit comparison, I’d love to hear them.  Jerry has requested I use items other than fruit!  *I use fruit because that is what the website uses.

Thanks for keeping up with me!!  I’ll have another belly shot next week!

How your baby’s growing (from www.babycenter.com):

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.”)

On a side note, please pray for the family of Steven Curtis Chapman.  His five-year-old daughter, Maria, was run over in the family’s driveway yesterday by their teenage son.  She did pass away.  I cannot imagine the pain that their son and the rest of the family is in.  Please pray for the two other young children – this will be far bigger for them to grasp.  Be with the brother that ran over her, his guilt is probably beyond what I can imagine.

Thanks!

How your baby’s growing:

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 (I’ll add an ultrasound photo of this later today)

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.

Here is our baby today (5/9/2008)!

See ya next week!

So, according to my books, the first trimester is 13 weeks long.  I knew there was something tricky about the trimesters!  So, I’ve got a few more days before I expect to receive my promised second wind.  This will be great because Jeff & I leave Saturday for St. John for a short (and much needed) vacation!!

I’ll update Friday before I go with a 13 week picture (if I have time to take it!) & my 14 week picture will not be against a white door in my house, but me on my balcony of the condo we’re staying in.  Yes, folks, you heard me right.  The Cronins will not be staying at their usualy spot, Maho Bay Camps, but will be staying at Estate Lindholm (where they spent the first two days of their honeymoon).  Jeff is splurging so that I can have a potty nearby without shoes and a flashlight required and air conditioning just in case it is hot, hot, hot!

We loved Estate Lindholm two years ago (go here) and I left this travel report.
I can’t wait to get back there and hang out with the owners and resident kitties!  Maybe I can sneak some Carib back for after I give birth!  It is the only beer I have ever actually liked.

All is well in baby land!  Talk to you soon!!

Yep – I’m done with the first 12 weeks of my pregnancy – it is amazing to me!  Here is what BabyCenter.com says about what is happening inside me:

How your baby’s growing:

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 two inches long (about the size of a lime) and weighs half an ounce.

Now, what I can’t quite get straight in my head is this: Is this the decription of what is going on this coming week?  Or what happened this past week?  I’m assuming it is what is happening this week now that I’ve finished 12 weeks.  I think that is right.

I’ll post my 12 week picture this weekend!!