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"Woohoo! You've got one whole inch of baby inside of you! Your little embryo has finally reached the one-inch mark (30mm). And if it were possible to take a peek, you could actually see your tiny baby without a microscope! What’s more, your baby is finally starting to take on some very distinct human features. For starters, their little tail (really just the spinal cord) has disappeared completely. It’s nice to know your baby can no longer be mistaken for a sea creature! Their eyes and ears are the most visible features on their head. Additionally, both their toes and fingers are prominent with very little, if any, webbing. Upper and lower limbs all show recognizable joints (elbows and knees) and the lower limb bones are starting to ossify. But don’t expect your baby to resemble either parent quite yet. You also have some variation on a boy or a girl at this point, although their genitals won’t be visible enough to determine which color cigars you’re going to buy until around the 16th week. Right now, your baby’s head is disproportionately larger than the rest of their body--making up almost half of your little one’s height and weight!"
Three weeks of morning sickness down, probably about 4-5 weeks to go. Morning sickness gets a reputation for causing daily barfing episodes, but that is actually the minority of cases. As many as 20-50% of women don't experience morning sickness at all (yeah, I know that's a big range, I don't know who thought it could be as high as 50%, because my experience leads me to think that it's probably more like 10-20%, but whatever!). In any case, some women feel queasy for two weeks, and some are on bedrest with IVs for 8 months. All things considered, I guess I get a pretty mild version of morning sickness.
In my first few pregnancies I lost a meal or two, but with the last one (and this one so far) everything that goes down stays down...it's just that I feel like I'm going to barf all the time. If I believed that it were inevitable, I'm sure I'd have made a few rushed trips to the bathroom by now, but I really really hate throwing up, so I do my darndest to avoid it...and so far so good. The thing about morning sickness is that it's not like having a stomach bug. When you have a stomach bug, and you barf, there is some relief...when you are morning sick, and you barf, you still feel just as sick as ever, only now you have to try to eat again because otherwise you'll feel all the sicker. It's a crazy vicious cycle. I'll have to post about morning sickness helps. ☺
So, the littlest wild thing is an inch long now. Some people are able to hear the heartbeat at this stage, but I know better than to try. I have a retroverted or 'tilted' uterus (10+% of women do) and it simply means that my uterus tips back rather than forward. So if you're trying to listen through my belly, well, the baby is deeper in there than on the majority of women who tilt forward, so it's harder to hear. Most women can hear their baby's heartbeat around 10 weeks, but for me it's at least 12...this was deeply distressing to me when I didn't understand the reason, but now that I know it's no big deal. (I'm actually contemplating avoiding the doppler altogether this time. By the time I get to my first prenatal visit, I should already be feeling movement, so what's the point, you know?)
Meanwhile my belly has a distinct 'personal bubble.' I can't stand to have anything snug around my middle, so I sag my jammie pants like a rapper and two weeks ago I stopped zipping up my jeans (even though I technically still could) and have been wearing them unbuttoned and held up with a homemade bella band instead. A lot of charts and books suggest that I might have gained a pound by this point, but I haven't--I didn't gain any weight until 22wks last time though, and I'm not in the least bit worried. The pounds will come when they are ready to come. I was starting to wear some of my smallest maternity clothing at 9wks last time, and I'm more than a little relieved that Hubby was able to pick up my stuff while he was stuck in Salt Lake this week, because while I may not need it at 9 weeks, I am not going to make it till May!
5 comments:
Oh, this is so exciting! I just love pregnancy. I understand the whole morning sickness thing. With Bug, I was "sick" until (it seemed) the very first day of my second trimester. Then, all the sudden, I felt great again! I only barfed twice throughout my whole pregnancy. But I felt continuously sick in the first trimester. It was like I was starving, but I didn't want to eat anything. That's the worst!
Congratulations so much! I'm so envious of all my pregnant friends. Yet, I am SO happy for them, because I know how great it is!
I just reminded myself constantly that the hormones making me have that feeling are the same hormones that make my babies arms and legs grow.
I must admit I am envious of you right now, but my day will come when it's time. I just wish it would hurry up...but like you I don't want a Christmas time baby so I guess I'll have to wait another month or two.
I had the same kind of morning sickness as you do, and I found relief with sea bands. They work through acupressure and they are amazing.
We had an u/s at 6 weeks and we couldn't hear the heartbeat but we could see her and at that point the baby looks like a fish. very cool!
My best solution this last time was to eat constantly - protein and fruit were the best. I did eat half a loaf of homemade bread all by myself at one point, though.
My midwife made an interesting comment at my first appointment this pregnancy. She said that my uterus was actually tilted forward more than usual which was probably caused by the stretching from previous pregnancy. Perhaps your pregnancy with Bear will have changed the tilt of your uterus?
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