20 April 2008

2cd Trimester- YEAH!!!!

It is hard to believe that we are 14 1/2 weeks into this! We had a dr appt on Friday and heard the heartbeat again- 160 beats per min (last time it was 161). We are all- including both the girls- pretty sure that we are having another girl. Other than that everything was good, I have gained 4 pounds which the dr said was right on track. I go in next Friday to have my AFP labs drawn- this is the lab that can indicate an open defect so we are very anxious to get this done. It will take a week for those results so Im sure we will be on pins and needles during that time. Our BIG U/S is on May 14th!!

It seems to me that I was showing alot more at this point in previous pregnancies- right now I have a little bump but it could just be questionable pudge lol. Maybe this will actually be a NORMAL size baby and not a gargantuan like Lily was (8 pds 15 oz)! I haven't gotten the burst of energy that everyone says happens in the 2cd trimester yet, but I don't think I have been quite as tired either. Still trying to get in some exercise here and there but I havent really been able to run the past couple of weeks- just haven't has the energy! Here is what is going on with the bean right now:

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. Though you can't feel his tiny punches and kicks yet, your little pugilist's hands and feet (which now measure about 1/2 inch long) are more flexible and active.

The Belly Progression, Week 14