14 weeks/12 weeks fetal age

Last week I was in Nashville so I didn't get a chance to update for week 13 so here it goes...

Baby has fingerprints on its teeny fingertips and has paper thin skin. The organs and veins can all be seen through this thin, see-through skin. The body is becoming more in proportion as it catches up with the size of the head. Baby is around 3 inches in length and weighs nearly 1 oz!

Here's an artist's rendering of a 13 week fetus:

My first tummy shot (13 weeks 3 days), not a lot of contrast, but you can see it's getting there!

Today I am 14 weeks and baby has a lot of new tricks! Elle/Harvey can squint, grimace, frown, pee and even suck her/his thumb! The kidneys are producing urine which will continue to be excreted into the amniotic fluid until birth. My body eliminates all of the waste for baby at this point. The baby is stretching out to 3.5 inches and weighs in at about 1.5 ounces. The arms are nearing being in proportion with the body by the end of this week, and the neck is lengthening out as well. The downy hair called lanugo is starting to develop all over the body. Both the liver and the spleen are starting to function, making bile and helping in the production of red blood cells respectively. Baby is more active than ever now also, and I can't wait until I can start feeling the movements! It should be within the next couple of weeks!!!

I am still wearing my regular pants, although I will start switching to maternity pants soon I am sure. My pants still fit in the legs, and I'm pretty darn happy about that. Supposedly I've gained some weight, but I don't feel it or see it much. A little extra padding in around the waist I guess. Some days and some particular times during the day I really show, but other times not so much. After I eat I especially show! I feel good, I don't even feel pregnant. The only time I am reminded is when I go too long between eating, then I don't feel so well. I am also super thirsty still and I do tire a little easier than normal. I'm enjoying this transition time where I'm over the morning sickness and I'm not big or uncomfortable yet. But I do have to admit I look forward to the belly, I love it!

12 weeks/10 weeks fetal age

I just want to note that it's getting harder and harder to find good pictures to post. They are either ambiguously labeled or else I am coming up with really disturbing abortion pictures when I search for pictures of the fetus. So, I'll probably still post some pictures, but they'll be more varied- cool ultrasound pictures I find, illustrations or possibly actual pictures of a fetus at the correct age.

Anyway, let's get to it! The most dramatic development of the week is reflexes! If I poke my belly it will make the little one squirm (although I can't feel it yet!) Very soon baby will start making sucking motions and may even find their thumb very shortly. Currently the intestines are growing outside of the body because of their rapid growth rate, but they will now start to grow inside of the abdomen. The kidneys will even begin to exrete urine to the bladder. Baby is unmistakeable human now, with eyes and ears in the correct position. The length is about 2 inches this week-approximately the length of a lemon.

I'm feeling well these days, pretty "normal" for the most part. I have a pretty high level of energy, which is great because I am on my feet most of the day running back-and-forth and around Meijer. My weight is still on track, I'm still wearing my regular pants. However I have gotten out my old maternity clothes and will be starting to wear the pants soon. The problem is that when I do have to sit for a while it starts to get very uncomfortable as the pants cut into my waist. Anyway, so far so good! I had my intake appointment at the OB/GYNResidency Clinic at Spectrum Health Butterworth yesterday and my first appointment with the actual doctor will be next Tuesday (St. Patty's Day!) I'll let you know how it goes and hopefully will know when my next ultrasound will be. If it's scheduled at least a month from now we'll be able to find out if it's Baby Elle or Baby Harvey in there!

11 weeks LMP/9 weeks fetal age

Baby is about 1.5 inches long this week and is almost fully formed. The hands will soon be able to open and close into tiny fists and the tooth buds are even beginning to form beneath the gums. As some of the bones begin to harden, baby is busy kicking around and stretching and may even start having hiccups as the diaphragm is formed. (Aila had hiccups at least 5 times a day, it will be fun if Baby 2 does as well, it's so cool to feel!) Here's a picture to show just how much baby is beginning to look like a baby!



I am feeling pretty good in general these days. I still have my moments in the evening, but the sickness is really waning. Thank goodness, because as the sickness wanes my energy levels increase and I have sure needed the energy boost! Sometimes when I eat it really makes my belly stick out and I look pretty pregnant, but for the most part no one would be able to see any difference from the outside. I know how much my waist has changed though, my pants are definitely getting tighter. I'm really happy I haven't gained anywhere else though, I'm on a way better track this time around! I'm actually getting a little excited for the pregnant belly, I don't know why but I enjoy it (up until the end when the baby --Aila-- gains 3 pounds in a week and you suddenly feel like you're going to burst!)

10 weeks LMP/8 weeks Fetal Age

Since I didn't update about Baby Meyer's development last week, I'll just do that for this week as well. I also found a spectacular picture of a baby at 9 weeks that I wanted to share. Last week the heart finished dividing into 4 chambers, and I was fortunate enough to see that strong little heart beating away! The face is unmistakeably human now; well defined nose and nostrils, lips and fully formed eyes that are covered by eyelids that will be fused shut for weeks to come. The ears even have tiny earlobes and are getting to the correct positioning on the side of the head. Also over the last week the placenta became developed enough to take over the task of hormone production. The external sex organs are even in place, but unfortunately undetectable on an ultrasound. In another 6 to 8 weeks or so if I were to have an ultrasound they would be able to tell if it's a boy or girl...

A 9 week fetus from an ectopic pregnancy taken by Dr. Uthman

Speaking of the whole boy/girl thing, Ross and I have officially decided on names!

If it is a girl she will be named Elle Jolie Meyer. This name means "beautiful woman." and both names are of French origin.

If it is a boy he will be named Harvey Jameson Meyer. Harvey means strong, ready for battle and James in Jameson means supplanter -- to succeed/take-over by strategem. Both names are of English origin.

We had always planned to name our son Jack if we had one, but it's just too popular these days. We have both loved the name Harvey, and it is the name of Ross' paternal grandfather. The James in Jameson is after my late Uncle James/Jamie. I love James, but we just preferred the way Harvey Jameson flowed. The name for a girl has definitely taken awhile. We both really liked the name Kaiya or Kaia and considered others, but ultimately fell in love with Elle. It's simple, elegant, and appropriate for a little girl or a woman. We looked for middle names to go with Elle for a while and when I suggested Jolie and told him the meaning, he agreed on the nice flow it had with Elle as well as the great meaning.

Now that Elle/Harvey is 10 weeks, all of the basic physiology is in place and now baby will start to grow pretty rapidly and put on some weight! Baby is now beginning the so-called Fetal Period and ending the Embryonic Period of development. Over the past week baby has gone from about the length of a grape to the length of a kumquat. While last Wednesday, baby was almost exactly 3/4 of an inch, baby will be breaking the one inch mark this week! At the 8 week mark baby started making its first movements, but by now baby can kick and bend its limbs and even swallow fluid. Baby is much too small for me to feel yet, but in the next 6 weeks or so I predict I'll start feeling movement. I first felt quickening with Aila when I was about 15 and a half weeks. Amazing things are happening with baby, as the vital organs are becoming more highly developed and starting to function. For instance, the liver is now making red blood cells as opposed to the yolk sac, which is starting to disappear. The fingers and toes are well-defined now, no more webbing -- and they are even growing tiny little nails!

OK, I have to say it...still a bit alien-like, but definitely getting there!

I have started to feel pretty darn good. The sickness is waning more and more, going from only an evening spell over the last week, to very little if at all in the past few days. I have been very concious of what I eat, fighting the cravings and making healthy choices for snacks. I do have to eat snacks because the key to not feeling sick is keeping my stomach from becoming empty. I have been cooking a lot more now that we're getting our house together and everything in its place and eating a lot of fresh fruit and veggies. I have been busy with the house so that has kept me on my feet, along with chasing Aila around of course! My body has definitely changed rapidly over the past few weeks. I'm not "showing" yet of course, but my waist is thickening and my clothes are fitting differently-not in my legs or arms though which is a good thing, only in my waist! I am determined to gain a much more healthy amount of weight this time around. Anyway, I am still peeing much of my day and night away, and getting more and more used to that again, but it's a definite con of pregnancy if you ask me! I've been "living it up" with my body while I can, bending over to touch my feet, stretching, laying on my stomach just because I can and enjoying not having a draft coming from the bottom of my t-shirt! I know that belly is going to creep up on me before I know it!

1st Ultrasound

I've got a doctor picked out and have an appointment scheduled, however I won't be able to get in for another 3 weeks. It was suggested to me that I go the ER and get blood work and an ultra sound to make sure everything is progressing OK since it will be such a long time before I can get into the doctor. Everything is going perfectly and I was exactly right on with the age and due date: 8 weeks 5 days, Due September 24th 2009. The tiny peanut has a strong heartbeat that was 167 BPM and measures only about 20 mm long. The ultrasound tech was nice enough to print out a picture for me and here it is, the first view of our little one!!!

8 weeks LMP/6 weeks Fetal Age

8 weeks...I still can't decide if time is going by fast or slow. Baby has webbed fingers and toes on his/her little hands and feet. There are breathing tubes extending from the throat to the developing lungs and that alien tail is nearly gone! Neural pathways are just beginning to form in the tiny brain-so amazing! Baby is about the size of a kidney bean, a cute little bean at that.

I have been so incredibly tired, I'm getting really tired of it! I hope this sickness only lasts through the first trimester like it did with Aila (or less, of course!) I always feel dehydrated no matter how much water I drink. I swear I could sit and do nothing but drink water and I would still feel thirsty. I don't know what the deal is with that! I just have this general queasiness all the time. I get a craving for something, I HAVE to eat it or else-and I feel OK while I eat it and then soon after I start feeling queasy again. I just rarely feel comfortable. :( Only a few more weeks of this! **Hopefully**

7 weeks LMP/5 weeks Fetal Age

This is an exciting week for development-little hands and feet are starting to emerge from the arm and leg buds! Baby still has a tail that extends from what will be the tailbone, so it still looks rather inhuman! In just a week Baby Meyer has doubled in size to about a half and inch. There are eyelid folds starting to develop over the eyes as well as color developing in the eyes already. The brain has two hemispheres that continue to grow and baby even has a liver, pancreas and appendix.

I found this spectacular picture from an ectopic pregnancy taken by a Dr. Ed Uthman. What a fantastic shot!

This week for me has been anything but exciting-I have been feeling like complete and utter crap. I'm exhausted, throwing up, nauseous, achy, and starting to develop insatiable food cravings. Last night at about midnight I started thinking about pancakes and I had to oblige myself and get out of bed and make them. (They were everything I hoped they would be and more! I even got Ross to eat some with me so I didn't feel like such a glutton.) I am kind of thinking I may have a flu going on as well as morning/all-the-time sickness because I've had a fever and chills from time-to-time. Whatever is going on, I hope it passes soon. I feel so bad not being a 100% for my Aila girl.