6 weeks LMP/4 weeks Fetal Age

We've made it a month! Baby has a heartbeat that is beating anywhere from 100-160 beats per minute. The heart is actually a bulge that protrudes from the chest. Baby's nose, ears and mouth are beginning to take shape this week. Baby looks more alien than human right now...strange to say, but true...there is an over-sized head with dark spots where the mouth and nostrils are beginning to form. The ears are tiny depressions on either side of the head. The little bud of tissue that will become the lungs is starting to form, along with the intestines, pituitary gland and the rest of the brain, muscles and bones. Baby Meyer is about a quarter of an inch this week-teeny tiny, but not microscopic anymore! Baby is rapidly growing and developing, it is an exciting time!

Isn't it amazing that we all started out this way? I just never stop finding it absolutely fascinating!

I have started to feel some nausea from time-to-time but it's really not too bad. Luckily Aila still takes naps so if I need to, I just lay down when she's napping. I must say I have never felt such hunger and fatigue in my life. My body has been providing for Aila, Baby Meyer and me, and it's just too much. I have started weaning Aila from breastfeeding so that my body gets a little bit of a break. My body has even started to change already. My stomach muscles are looser and although I'm not "showing" of course, my stomach definitely isn't as flat as it was! It's interesting how even at this stage, when the baby is so small, it still has such an enormous impact on your body! Anyway, so far so good, we'll just keep trucking along!

Surprise!

Ross and I found out on Monday, January 19th that Miss Aila May is going to be a big sister! As of today, Thursday the 22nd, we figure I am about 5 weeks LMP or 3 weeks fetal age. This means that Baby Meyer #2 is about 0.05 inches long right now and is just beginning to develop a plate that will later become the heart. The central nervous system, muscle and bone formation are beginning to take shape along with the skeleton. At this point in my pregnancy with Aila I had already had morning sickness/all-the-time sickness for 2 whole weeks! So far, with this one I have felt great. I have been exercising, taking vitamins, and eating well. I am still breastfeeding Aila so a ravenous hunger has taken over, as I am in need of many additional calories now that I am sustaining two babies! I also cannot consume enough water and I have to pee all of the time! Darn hormones! I have had an insatiable craving for oranges, which I find really strange because with Aila I couldn't get enough ice cream! This is starting out as a healthier pregnancy for me, so I am looking forward optimistically. I have to say that I already feel like it is a boy, I have no rhyme or reason to that, I just know that as soon as I found out I was pregnant with Aila I knew it was a girl. We shall see...