Eleven Weeks

Your baby, just over 1 1/2 inches long and about the size of a fig, is now almost fully formed. Her hands will soon open and close into fists, tiny tooth buds are beginning to appear under her gums, and some of her bones are beginning to harden.She's already busy kicking and stretching, and her tiny movements are so effortless they look like water ballet. These movements will become more frequent as her body grows and becomes more developed and functional. You won't feel your baby's acrobatics for another month or two — nor will you notice the hiccupping that may be happening now that her diaphragm is forming.

I’m so glad that I’m almost done with this awful first trimester. I know it only gets worse in the last few months, but this has been tough. The constant nausea has been a huge challenge and then just the past few days, lets just say things haven’t been moving as well I we’d like. When you haven’t gone in almost a week, you get desperate. I called out all the troops, self medicated, and ate way more fiber than I though humanly possible. I think constipation is a crewel joke Mother Nature plays on us pregnant women – like this is part of our training for pushing the baby out. Not funny. Not funny at all. In “Belly Laughs” Jenny McCarthy describes this lovely side effect of pregnancy as “Passing Stonehenge” and that is exactly what it was like. Glad to report things are clear sailing for now. And I have learned my lesson about eating the right types of foods to avoid this predicament again.

We head in for our first trimester screening on Monday at Saint Barnabas. I always like reassurance that things are going well and the little baby is growing on schedule. And of course we all hope the baby’s measurements are well within the normal range. It’ll be nice too to see the hospital and check out the possibilities for delivering there. We can decide between Overlook and Saint Barnabas. Overlook is much smaller and often that plays a huge role in patient care, but Saint Barnabas has a much better PICU and recently renovated their L&D floor. It’ll be a tough one – especially since I’ve worked in and out of hospitals for almost 10 years. I can be quite picky and I know exactly what to look for!

Did you know Frank and I were featured in JFK Medical Center’s promotional video? I being the young and cute PR assistant was asked if I would stand in as the new mom and they asked Frank to be the proud new papa. It was so funny. I think we were barely 22/23. I went out and bought the frilliest-old lady night gown I could find and hopped up into the bed with our fake baby. We had so much fun. And I really don’t think we were dating all that long – so Frank was a real trouper for going a long with it. I wish we had a copy of that video! And we can compare the fiction to the real life!