Twelve Weeks

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.

Today I'm battling fatigue. I have a very busy day at work today and here I am fighting to stay awake. I'm happy to report the nausea is getting better. It's coming in waves - instead of constant sickness. But when it comes, it hits full force. I am still taking the Zofran when needed. I'm just waiting for the second trimester energy to kick in. I still have another week before I'm officially in my second trimester.

We see the nurse practitioner on Monday for our monthly check in. I'm sure they'll take my weight, blood pressure and discuss all the results from the blood work and tests.

Off to the beach ball for work! It's a big party they have once a year on the beach down in Long Branch at a really swanky resort. We get a steel on the price, and it's so much fun. I'm just praying the weather holds off. Our department puts it all together - so it's a lot of work. Perfect for a day when I can hardly keep my eyes open! I swear all these side effects are just training for when the baby comes and we have to function on an hour's sleep. I just have to keep thinking- I'm in training, I'm in training...

First Trimester Screening

So we went in for our first trimester ultrasound screening on Monday and everything looks a-okay. The ultrasound tech was really great, very sweet and explained everything we were seeing. She immediately measured the back of the neck, which came in at a respectable 1.21mm. Anything over 3mm is questionable. We’re still waiting for the blood work to come back, but all signs point towards good news. Frank and I both let out a huge sigh of relief when the tech said the measurements were normal.

During the scan, the baby was moving all over the place. But the tech was able to get what she needed. She even nudged the baby by jigling her scanner to see if it would move into a more favorable position.

The baby’s heart beat was healthy 154bpm – a little slower than our first reading, but still within the healthy range. Surprise to us the baby is measuring a week a head of schedule. The doc might change my due date, but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. I’m also happy to report I did not gain a pound! Not surprising since I’ve been so sick and haven’t been eating all that much.

It was so exciting to see the baby this time and it actually looked like a little baby! Our first ultrasound was at 8 weeks and the baby sort of looked like a gummy bear. This time we could clearly see a profile, arms, legs and a spine! We even saw the hemispheres of the brain – which was so cool!

I’ll never get used to actually seeing our little baby on the ultrasound screen. Knowing it’s inside of me – moving and wiggling around. It’ll become much more of a reality when I start feeling the baby move. Supposedly you’re not supposed to feel it until 20+ weeks, but I’ve been feeling flutters and all sorts of strange things. Could be the baby, but could be gas! Who knows for sure!

We see our nurse practitioner Debbie on Monday. Looking forward to getting the results of all that lab work we’ve had done. Wish us luck!

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!