16 Weeks

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.

This is an important week for testing and you will most likely have an AFP test done. This is a harmless blood test that is done to detect abnormalities such as Down's syndrome or spina bifida. This is a non-invasive test and it carries no risk to your developing baby. Most doctors will offer the test, but in most cases it is completely optional.

Your milk glands start production at this time and this causes some tenderness and swelling in early pregnancy. Your veins will become more visible because there is an increased amount of blood flowing to the breasts.

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)

Your pregnancy: 15 weeks

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How your baby's growing:

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.")

Your pregnancy: 14 weeks

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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.

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. If this is not your first pregnancy you can more then likely feel his tiny punches and kicks, your little pugilist's hands and feet (which now measure about 1/2 inch long) are more flexible and active.

Doc Appt 09/09/09

Well today we are 13 weeks along and the baby is doing great. At today's appt we talked about sugars, stress and my BP. Told Dr S that I would feel better once I had heard the heart beat, he said well if we do not hear it we will see it. He Tried with the doppler (Ya right for 2 sec and had a huge smile on his face) before he said "Oh well guess we will have to see the baby" LOL I love my Dr he is THE BESTEST!!! Heart rate was 171 (anyone who knows about heart rates can guess what range that is in gender wise but I am not sayin nuffin hehehehehe) Life is good baby is growing at 13 cm We have switched to every two weeks now, and Dr S said yes sooner or later I will be in there at least 2x a week LOL. Jen said she hates Dr's but she loves this one :) So I guess I will be back again at the beginning of week 14 Blessed Be everyone!

Update on me

Well we are ready to start the 2nd trimester which will make me feel a lot better. I am doing OK for the most part. I am having a lot of things I never had before with any of my other children. Morning sickness is the major killer. I have been so tired, I honestly think I have slept more then I have been awake the past two weeks. Had bon fires the last 2 nights and that has made me feel somewhat normal again. It is really good to see old friends feeling much better after the hard past few months. As for my health the BP is good, sugars are good and aside from looking like a blow fish I am good LOL. I know I have a long way to go, but I still can not believe I am already one third of the way thru this.
The Daddy man and I had a long conversation over the holiday about expectations, wants, and concerns and that went really well. We were on the same page to begin with but it is good to know that what we both want is the same. One of those once you hear it, then it is real kind of things. The donors wife has been amazingly supportive from everything I hear and I thank God she is such an amazing person, I know it can not be easy to be in her place and I love her dearly.
I have an OB appt on Wed again so I will see if I can get more pictures to post... one can only hope LOL. I want to get a doppler for home but so far it has not happened. We will see what time will bring to us.
OH I have the baby bed now which is cool, it was the one I wanted except for the mobile and we can always get that separate. No biggie. Life is good and Family is even better!

2nd Trimester here we come!!!!!

Your Pregnancy: Week 13




Welcome to the last week of your first trimester.
Your Baby
Your baby can make a fist and even suck his or her thumb this week—both skills that are über-cute during infancy ... and not so much at the age of 9. If you're really lucky, you might catch a glimpse of baby's thumb sucking on an ultrasound photo. That's a framer! Other exciting developments include:

Your baby's eyelids are fused shut to protect his eyes as they develop. His bones and skull are solidifying and soon itsy-bitsy ribs may appear. (Baby ribs! How cute is that?!) Baby's intestines are finally right where you want them—in his or her belly instead of poking out into the umbilical cord. Baby's tooth sockets are all loaded and ready to pop out baby teeth six or seven months after baby is born (causing baby a lot of pain and you a lot of lost sleep).

Who's that singing? Elton John? Could be your baby: His vocal cords and larynx are completed now.

Your baby-to-be now weighs about 20 grams and is nearly 3 inches long, or about the size of a Nutter Butter, covered in chocolate. OK, it doesn't have to be covered in chocolate, but isn't everything better that way?

Your pregnancy: 12 weeks

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

See what your baby looks like this week. (Or see what fraternal twins look like in the womb this week.)