Little Grape

Here is my email update for this week. I know I missed a few but you can read what the little grape is doing now. And remember this is from an email I am NOT the one calling this baby she and her. I still call "it", "it" or baby.



Your pregnancy: 9 weeks

How your baby's growing:Your new resident is nearly an inch long — about the size of a grape — 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.See what's going on in your uterus this week.

Not Much to Report!

Well I thought I would post a quick update. My blog has suddenly gotten very boring. Actually I think that is a good thing. Everything is very normal. I am still feeling good. Still hungry and sleepy. My belly is starting to pop out a little. I need to get Terry to take some pictures. I tried to do it myself but it didn't work out very well.

I haven't told my staff at work and certainly not any of the kids. My office knows but none of the teachers know. Well yesterday morning we had pictures, assembly, then Clyde (assistant principal) and I had to go to a funeral for one of our teachers fathers. So as I was watching the kids take pictures I happen to mention to one of our pregnant teens that I needed to go eat before the day got started or it would be lunchtime before I got to eat anything. I went back to my office and scarfed down my cereal and then walked back out into the hall. This student that I had been talking to comes walking through about that time and says "Mrs. Richards you look pregnant, you must be really full." I started laughing, Mrs. Jacobs (she knows) was standing there and nearly fell over. I'm pretty sure I'm not going to be able to hide this for much longer. I plan on telling the staff after the next ultrasound which is in a little over a week. I think this student suspects that I am pregnant because she has asked me at least twice in the last couple of weeks when I'm going to have kids.

Anyway that's all I've got for now. Keep praying for this little miracle inside me. Pray for it's health and that it continues to grow and develop as it should.

Little Baby

Here is the ultrasound I promised a week ago. The arrow is pointing to the actual baby. The circular looking thing to the right of it is the yolk sac. Pretty cool. Of course now the baby has doubled in size. It is now the size of a blueberry.

So far I haven't had throwing up morning sickness but I sure have been nauseated a few times. I felt pretty rotten this morning so I decided to take saltine crackers in the car with me. Word of advice: Never put stale saltine crackers in your mouth when you are pregnant (or not). I didn't realize they were stale, oh my goodness, that was the most disgusting thing I have ever tasted. Thank goodness I had an empty Kleenex box in the car to spit it out into. DISGUSTING!! That was definitely the closest I've come to throwing up and with good reason. Other than that I am dead tired ALL the time but it gets really bad right after lunch. Of course when you stuff yourself, that can wear a person out. Food is still an obsession at this point. So much so that today while I should have been concentrating on the meeting I was having with our LPC, a police officer, and a student who is being abused by her boyfriend all I could think about was a Breakfast Jack from Jack-in-the-Box. I know, I know, BAD school counselor. I only zoned out for a minute or so and she was totally being listened to by the important folks. Needless to say I did eat a Breakfast Jack for lunch..........and a Supreme Croissant. YUMMY!!

Well that's all I have for now. I need to go take a nap or eat something :)

Ultrasound

Well yesterday was our ultrasound day. I was so nervous going into it. I kept having crazy thoughts that something bad had happened. So when I got on the table for the ultrasound I was almost in tears. Terry was holding my hand as she started the ultrasound. She confirmed how many embryos had been put back and started looking around. At first I freaked because I didn't see anything then she said "well I just see one gestational sac." As she said this Terry and I both saw the heart beating and burst into tears. That was definitely on the top of my list of awesome experiences. The baby's heart is beating at 122 beats per minute and is 6.1mm long, (not the heart, the baby). It's a tiny little thing but working hard. I go back for another ultrasound in 4 weeks and if everything is ok I will be headed back to the OB. Everything looks great so far. I still worry, I can't help it. I suppose that is what I will do until I die, now that there is a child on the way. Mom still worries about us and I'm sure the grandmothers still worry about their kids. I will post the picture of the ultrasound when I get home today, if I can peel myself off of the couch for a few minutes. So check back for Baby's second picture.

6 weeks. WOHOO!!

This is my email update for this week!!!

How your baby's growing: This week's major developments: The nose, mouth, and ears that you'll spend so much time kissing in eight months are beginning to take shape. If you could see into your uterus, you'd find an oversize head and dark spots where your baby's eyes and nostrils are starting to form. His emerging ears are marked by small depressions on the sides of the head, and his arms and legs by protruding buds. His heart is beating about 100 to 160 times a minute — almost twice as fast as yours — and blood is beginning to course through his body. His intestines are developing, and the bud of tissue that will give rise to his lungs has appeared. His pituitary gland is forming, as are the rest of his brain, muscles, and bones. Right now, your baby is a quarter of an inch long, about the size of a lentil bean.

Really?

It is so weird how this whole "we really are having a baby" thing does not feel real yet. I even forget throughout the day that I am pregnant. I am still starving the majority of the time. Thank goodness no morning sickness yet. I get a little nauseated in the evening for a minute, then it goes away. I also had to go buy some maternity pants because I have already grown out of my clothes. Of course some of that has to do with the fact that all the hormones and medication I was on previously had caused me to gain a couple extra pounds. Even with that this doesn't seem real. We have had negative pregnancy tests for 6 years so it is unreal to me that this is for real. My mind is not wrapping around it. I had someone tell me yesterday that it wasn't real for her until she went into labor. I hope that doesn't happen. I'm sure on Tuesday things will become more clear. We have the ultrasound. Still quite nervous about it but can't wait to see the little munchkin. It is still kind of a blob but I'm sure it will be a cute blob. Anyway just thought I would check-in. I hope people are still reading this and I'm not just writing to myself. Comments are still welcome, that way I know I'm not just talking to myself :)

Week 5: Teeny tiny baby

This is the email I got this morning. I signed up for updates on what is happening with the baby......

The changes to your growing embryo are not quite as drastic this week as they've been in the last few weeks. Growth is now largely focused on their little head, which is starting to develop much more rapidly than the rest of their tiny body. This is because their amazing brain is undergoing some very crucial and rapid development in order to effectively regulate their heart rate, blood circulation, and other vital functions. As for the rest of their miniature body, what were simple limb buds last week are limb flippers this week and the tail is more expressed. Amazingly, within a mere five weeks your little miracle is already developing the rudimentary forms of their liver, pancreas, lungs, stomach and nasal pits while their little heart is already increasing its circulation. Your baby is now a whopping 4-6mm in length.

Thought ya'll might like to read this!!