Talk about 'pregnancy brain'! I have forgotten to update this in almost 2 weeks...oops! Honestly though, there's not much new going on. I'm still having the same 'wonderful' symptoms I was last time I wrote, and honestly, I think the nausea is getting worse :-/ I am definitely tired ALL the time, and still constipated (I think that is the worst of them all!). I have started to show though, so that's fun! I'm still in that 'is she pregnant, or just fat?' stage though, so I'm ready to get over that hump! I had to go shopping for maternity pants since none of my regular pants fit me anymore! I love reasons to go shopping (not that I really needed any before!).
I've also discovered that parties aren't as much fun as they used to be! We had some friends over for a cookout this past weekend and I kept up with the fun for about two hours. I just wasn't getting as much fun out of my water as they were out of their beverages! But, I think a baby is well worth skipping 9 months of boozin', so I'll more than willing to deal with my drunk friends! ;-)
So the last time I updated I was 9 weeks, and by this upcoming Friday (24th) I'll be 12 weeks...wooohoo!! I honestly thought when all this started I wouldn't be seeing this week. I don't know if it's because of the hard work it took to get here, but I just didn't think it'd happen and 'stick'. I'm still catching myself referring to the baby in terms of 'if' rather than 'when' (only in my head, not in conversations...that'd be kind of weird I suppose; "If the baby is born..."...yeah.), so I'm not totally over that hump of worry. But I don't think I honestly ever will be. My mother had a pretty normal pregnancy when I was in third grade (other than being very, very sick all 9 months), and she found out she lost him on the due date. So until I am holding that baby in my arms, nothing is guaranteed (this is also part of the reason I told everyone I knew that we were pregnant withing hours of getting the doctor's call confirming it; reaching 12 weeks doesn't really mean much to me because I know from person experience you're not 'out of the woods' then). And even after he/she is born I'll be worrying about him/her reaching all their developmental milestones and if they don't, I'll convince myself they have some obscure disease or syndrome. I just recently took a course to get my Special Education endorsement (I'm an elementary teacher, in case you didn't know that!), and parts of the course were about syndromes and diseases that don't appear for years, or something that happens beyond your control because it's genetic. I'm now freaking out about all the genetic testing that will be coming up in my next few appointments because of this. I know it's super rare for things like that to happen, and the majority of babies are born happy and healthy, but I'm sure the parents of those children with rare conditions didn't think it would happen to them either. Ugh...this parenting thing is scary stuff!
Anyways, let's move on to the food comparisons that I've missed! :-)
With bones and cartilage starting to form and vital organs beginning to function, baby is making major progress. Body length will almost double in the next three weeks, and arm joints are now working. (Soon, legs will too.)
Your fetus currently enjoys a 1:1 ratio between body and head, and has skin so transparent that blood vessels show right through. But, fingers and toes are no longer webbed, and hair follicles, tooth buds and nail beds are forming -- setting up a significantly more attractive future.
As you move into the second trimester, baby shifts into the growth and maturation stage. After weeks in the critical development stage, almost all of baby's systems are fully formed.
The lime reminds me of the party we had this weekend - as I was getting my water out of the fridge one of my friends was grabbing a lime for their beer, and I blurted out, "That's how big the baby is this week!"...everyone kind of looked at me like, "oooo...ok". Guess they're not as excited as I am about my little lime! ;-)
