17 weeks & some flutters

Your baby's weight has doubled in two weeks and now weighs around 5 ounces. The crown-to-rump length of your growing baby is 4.4 to 4.8 inches. If you spread your hand out opened wide, you can see about how big your baby is.

Huge changes continue to take place within your developing baby. This week fat begins to form and will continue to do so until he is born. Fat is important to the body's heat production and metabolism. Right now, at 17 weeks, water makes up about 3ounces and fat 0.018 ounces of your baby's body. In a baby at term, fat makes up about 5.25 pounds of the total average weight of 7.7 pounds. The placenta is continuing to grow at an amazing rate. The placenta will continue to develop in tandem with the fetus and it will weigh more than a pound at birth! By this week, the placenta is large and well established with a network of blood vessels that exchange nutrients and waste.

The eyes are facing more forward. The ears are now close to their final position.

Your baby is more flexible with ability to move head, mouth, lips, arms, wrists, hands, legs, feet, and toes.

I have been feeling more and more flutters this past week. Last weeks post I remember saying that I didn't know if it was the baby moving but I am now for sure. Every once in a while I'll get them, especially after I eat. It is a weird feeling but I welcome it with open arms.

Christmas was great. We spent time with family and had a great time like always. I provided the little one with LOTS of goodies!! Now its time to get back to a more healthy eating routine. But it was fun while it lasted. Gained two pounds to show for it!!

Now we are just couting down the days until we find out the sex! Less than two weeks!!!!

Happy New Year!!!

16 Weeks & Merry Christmas

At this point of your pregnancy, your baby is approximately 4.3 to 4.6 inches long and weighs 2.8 ounces. Not only is your baby growing, your uterus and placenta continue to grow to accommodate the growing baby inside of you! Just six weeks ago, your uterus weighed about 5 ounces. This week it now weighs 8.75 ounces! The amniotic fluid that surrounds the baby is increasing and there is about 7.5 ounces of fluid. You will easily be able to feel your uterus approximately three inches below your navel.

Five and a half inches tall and only six ounces in weight. The child can grasp with his hands, kick, or even somersault.

At this time, your baby is holding her head erect. Because her muscles are developing, she can make some faces now. Your baby is able to squint, frown and open its mouth. There is enough calcium in the bones that they will show up on an x-ray. Your baby's fingernails are well formed now and the legs are longer than the arms. Because your baby is moving well now, you may begin to feel his movements! Some women say that the early movements feel like gas bubbles or a slight flutter. If you have not yet felt the baby move, don't worry. Fetal movements are usually felt between the 16th and 20th week of pregnancy.

You may feel your heart beating 'louder'. This is because there is a lot more blood in your body than normal. (about 20-25% more)

Ahh 16 weeks! I am anticipating some movement soon. I thought that I felt flutters the other day but I haven't felt it since soooo maybe it was the baby & maybe it wasn't. I hope to feel something else real soon. I can't wait.

Mommy and baby are doing great. We had our check up last Friday and everything went well. Joey and I heard the heartbeat again and it was in the high 150s bmp which is strong. I could listen to that sound FOREVER. It is soooo amazing. Not much else to report. Our next appt is January 11th and we can hopefully find out the sex (if baby cooperates of course.)

A while back my dad asked me what I wanted for Christmas and I responded with pre-natal yoga classes. I did some research and found a place in Bothell that offers them. Its a 8 week class that starts in January. He agreed to get me these classes as my x-mas gift and I am really looking forward to it. I have been having back pain lately and I know its only going to get worse so these classes should help me out a lot. I am also going try to go swimming more. I took Gage to his swimming lessons last Saturday and the swimming was heaven on my back. I don't think I will take water aerobic classes, just maybe hit up the "open swims" and just swim around. Hopefully both of these exercise routines will help my back. I don't want the doc to refer me to a physical therapist like she said she might if my back doesn't improve.

I feel really good otherwise and I'm looking forward to Christmas this Friday with the family!!!

How far along?: 16 weeks ish
Total weight gain: 8 lbs total so far. Not bad!!
How much does baby weigh?: 2-3 oz
Maternity clothes?: Just pants
Stretch marks?: Nope
Sleep?: Its ok- I still get up to pee a lot
Best moment this week?: Hearing the baby's heartbeat again
Movement?: I thought I felt something - hopefully I feel more soon
Food cravings?: Milk- lots and lots of Milk
Labor signs?: no way
Belly button in or out?: in
What I miss: Nothing this week
What I'm looking forward to: Gender ultra sound on Jan. 11th
Milestone: having a successful check up with the doc.

15 weeks

Your baby's crown-to-rump length is approximately 4 inches and she now weighs approximately 1.75 ounces. Your baby is close to the size of a softball and you can easily tell that you are pregnant now!

Your baby is growing at an amazing rate and looking more like a human every day. Because your baby's skin is so thin, you are able to see blood vessels through the skin. Lanugo hair covers your baby's body, but it will be gone when your baby is born. The hair on the eyebrows and head continues to grow. Some babies are born with little or no hair and others have a head full of hair! Even though the eyes continue to move to the front of the face, they are still widely separated. Your baby's ears look like normal ears and continue to develop externally. The bones that have already formed continue to get harder and retain calcium. The baby is very mobile and flexible at this point. She can bend her arms at the elbows and wrists and she can also make a fist with her hands.

Only 25 more weeks to go. Geez that seems so far away. But I guess since the last 15 have flew by-maybe the next 25 will do the same. I can't wait to meet our little munchkin.

I feel pretty good. I am slowly getting my energy back. SLOWLY. Nothing really new to report except that I am finally starting to look pregnant. Our next appointment is this Friday. I haven't really bought anything baby related yet. I guess we are just waiting to find out the sex and then its game on from there. But for now, we are just enjoying the holiday season and spending time with family and friends.

14 weeks!

You are now in your second trimester! Your baby's crown to rump length is 3.2 to 4.5 inches long and he weighs approximately 1 ounce now. Your baby is about the size of the average fist.

At this time, your baby's face is becoming more developed. The cheeks and bridge of his nose appear and the ears move from the sides of his neck to much higher on his head. The eyes continue to come closer together. A big development from this week onward is the development of lanugo. Lanugo is the fine hair that grows over almost your entire baby. The hairs grow in whirled patterns that follow the grain of his skin. These patterns later give way to your baby's fingerprints. The lanugo will be shed before birth and replaced by thicker, coarser hairs. Your baby's thyroid gland has matured and starts to produce hormones. If your baby is a boy, the prostate will appear and the ovaries descend from the abdomen into the pelvis in baby girls. The embryo`s soft cartilage is now being replaced with ` real` chalk bones. Your baby has eyebrows, but no eyelashes. Fine, light hair also begins to grow.

How far along?: 14 weeks ish
Total weight gain: 4-5 pounds total since the start
How much does baby weigh?: 1-1.5 oz
Maternity clothes?: Just pants for now
Stretch marks?: Nope. I ordered uber expensive cream to help prevent them. I don't really care if people say that creams don't work- I'm trying it anyway
Sleep?: I still get up to pee a lot
Best moment this week?: Getting the results back from the Maternal Fetal Medicine Clinic that our baby is not at risk for Down Syndrome
Movement?: I thought I felt something the other day but it was probably just gas
Food cravings?: I still love my french fries but I'll eat anything now since my appitite is increasing
Labor signs?: nope
Belly button in or out?: in
What I miss: people not commenting on my weight. Since when is ok to call a pregnant woman fat?????
What I'm looking forward to: hearing the heartbeat again next week at our 16 week appt
Milestone: same as best moment this week