17 Weeks Today ~

Your baby weighs about 5 ounces now, and they're around 5 inches long — about the size of a large onion. They can move their joints, and their skeleton — until now rubbery cartilage — is starting to harden to bone. Their sense of hearing is also developing. The umbilical cord, their lifeline to the placenta, is growing stronger and thicker. Your baby is more flexible with ability to move head, mouth, lips, arms, wrists, hands, legs, feet, and toes. Fingerprints are forming now.

Things are going pretty good. I have been busy this past week with training in Aurora (AAA Chicago Headquarters) to be a certified Child Passenger Seat Technician. Another co-worker and I have taken the course and we passed yesterday. This is something that I will have to do Continuing Education for every two years so I don' t have to take the four day class again. I didn't realize there was so much to know about your vehicle's seat belts, air bags and child restraints. I know I will feel better putting our baby in our vehicles, so watch out those of you who might be transporting our little one someday. Don't be offended if I check out your vehicle someday.

16 Weeks Today ~

At 4 1/2 inches long (head to bottom) and 3 1/2 ounces, your baby is about the size of an avocado. In the next three weeks, they'll go through a tremendous growth spurt, though, doubling their weight and adding inches to their length. Their lower limbs are much more developed now. Their head is more erect than it has been, and their eyes have moved toward the front of their head. Your baby's ears are close to their final position, too. Some of their more advanced body systems are working, including their circulatory system and urinary tract. Their heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day, circulating their total blood volume through their body many times. (By the end of your pregnancy, this will increase to about 190 quarts.) The patterning of their scalp has begun, though their hair isn't recognizable yet. Although closed, their eyes are moving (slowly), and they've even started growing toenails.

Things are continuing to go well. I have still had some problems with my hips from having to sleep on my sides, but Aunt Julie (Jared's sister) has adjusted me and we are going to do that once a week. That should help me sleep better and help with delivery later.

15 Weeks Today ~

At around 4 inches long, crown to rump, your baby now weighs about 2 1/2 ounces. They're busy inhaling and exhaling amniotic fluid, which will help develop the air sacs in their lungs. Their legs are growing longer than their arms now, and they can move all their joints and limbs. That means their hands are more functional, too. Sweat glands are appearing, and although their eyelids are fused shut, they can sense light. If you shine a flashlight at your tummy, they are likely to move away from the beam. There's not much for your baby to taste at this point, but their taste buds are beginning to form. Many of their major organ systems are increasing in capacity—particularly that amazing tiny heart and complex circulation system, which is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood per day, and will increase to a very impressive 200 quarts per day by the end of the pregnancy. As far as hair goes, we’ve got some new scalp patterns beginning to develop on the head, although actual head hair is not yet present.

I have been feeling pretty good these days. I do get some sore hips from sleeping on my sides, but it's nice to have a Chiro in the family. It is a busy weekend for us, I am in a wedding and Jared is in a golf tournament. Then we should have some free weekends to do some things around the house. Just 5 more weeks and we will be half way there already. That is so hard to believe.

Monthly Dr. Appointment ~

We went to the Doctor today. Everything is good. The baby's heartbeat was at 158bpm. They said that the normal rate for 2nd trimester is between 110 and 160.

14 Weeks Today ~

This is what the baby's leg looks like now.

Head to bottom, your baby's 3 1/2 inches long — about the length of a lemon — and weighs about 1 1/2 ounces. Their body's growing faster than their head, which now sits upon a more well-defined neck. By the end of this week, their arms will have lengthened and will be in proportion to the rest of their body. (Their legs still have some growing to do, though.) They're starting to develop an ultra-fine, downy covering of hair all over their body (called lanugo). Their liver starts secreting bile this week, a sign that it's already functioning properly, and their spleen starts contributing to the production of red blood cells. They're also producing and discharging urine into the amniotic fluid, a normal process that they'll keep up until birth. You still can't feel your baby's movements, but their hands and feet (which are now half an inch long) are more flexible and active. Thanks to brain impulses, their little facial muscles are getting a workout as they squint, frown, and grimace. They can grasp now, too, and they may be able to suck their thumb.

So far second trimester has proven to be quite nice. The nausea that I used to get after eating has subsided, but I do get a little nauseous still in the morning if I don't eat right away. We have a doctor's appointment Monday, so I will post with the results of that.

Jared and I celebrated our 4th Wedding Anniversary yesterday. We went to Bass Street Chop House for dinner. I had won a free dinner for two at a Chamber event that I had attended. We got to order anything we wanted. If anyone has been there you know that it is not very cheap. It was really nice. I think I have leftovers for the next two days.

13 Weeks Today ~

Here is the update on the baby this week:

The baby is only about 3 inches long crown to rump — roughly the size of a jumbo shrimp — and weighs just about an ounce. Fetal growth is amazing from now through about the 24th week of pregnancy. Despite the small proportions, there's a fully formed baby inside your womb now. Much more proportional than it was a few weeks ago, their head is now only about a third the size of their body. Their tiny, unique fingerprints are already in place. Their kidneys and urinary tract are functional, and they are starting to urinate out the amniotic fluid they have been swallowing. As you start your second trimester, most of your baby's critical development will be completed. Their cozy little amniotic sac is also increasing in size and mass, as it continues to fill with more fluid. There is a milky membrane that surrounds your baby. It is pierced by the umbilical cord and is made up of two layers, which are fused together. Your placenta provides most of the nutrients and oxygen that your baby needs. Tissue that will form your baby's bones is being laid down, especially around the head and limbs. The nose and chin are becoming more prominent. Your baby's eyelids meet and fuse together and they will not open again for nearly four months. The eyes started out on the side of your baby's head and they are now moving closer together on the face. The ears come to lie in their normal position on the sides of the head. If examined outside of the womb, you will be able to distinguish male from female at this time. The sockets for all twenty teeth are formed in the gums, and vocal cords are beginning to form.

I am still doing pretty good. I had to be home from work yesterday, but I think it was a result of the baby not liking what we had for dinner the night before. That was the first time we had Genghis Grill since we found out we were pregnant.