What’s happening with baby this week: S/he may be learning to suck his/her thumb, and also making faces: squinting, frowning, and grimacing. The scalp hair pattern is developing, and the hair follicles begin to produce pigment. Eyebrows may also appear. The heart is pumping about 25 quarts of blood a day (by birth, it will be about 300). Baby can bend elbows and wrists, and make a fist. Baby is now much better proportioned, with legs now longer than the arms and the body longer than the head. Bones continue to get harder every day, and baby continues to practice breathing by inhaling and exhaling amniotic fluid. Lanugo (soft, downy hair) covers most of baby’s body, but will likely be gone by birth. It is thought that this hair protects and insulates the skin from the fluid.
Interesting fact: If the baby continued to grow at the same rate as s/he does in the second trimester, s/he would be thirteen feet tall at one month of age.
Baby is about 4 inches long, and weighs 1.75 ounces.
Random Food Item to describe baby's size: an orange.
Symptoms to expect: Abdominal pain, leaking breasts, nosebleeds, hair changes, skin changes. All the websites say I should be able to feel my uterus as it has now risen above my pubic bone, but I don’t know what I’m feeling for, so I’m going to ask the midwife on Tuesday.
The accepted wisdom about an increase in libido in the second trimester seems to be true. Thank God.
Symptoms I’m having: No nosebleeds as yet, but my sinuses do seem do be having some issues, as evidenced by my new charming habit of snoring and sometimes snorting myself awake. Despite the snoring, snorting, and the addition of a gigantic pillow to our bed, Chris continues to sleep with me every night – the trooper. I am experiencing some of the sharp abdominal pains, which I believe are related to the growth of the uterus and the stretching of the muscle at this time. I have definitely noticed my hair getting thicker and my nails growing faster.
Other than that, feeling pretty good. Enjoying my new exercise program of 2x yoga + 2x walking/elliptical every week. Trying to get back on good terms with my body. No migraines for one week, and no vomiting for 10 days (knock on wood).
Emotional stuff: I’m continually blown away by the fact that I’m still pregnant, and that for the most part the weeks are going by so quickly. I really didn’t think ahead much about what would happen past week Eleven as I was just so focused on getting past that point. I am having difficulty truly letting go of the dual-mindset I had prior to then, which was: If I’m still pregnant by date x then I’ll do y; if I’m no longer pregnant by date x then I’ll do z. I’m going to keep being pregnant, and then after I’m done being pregnant there’s going to be a baby. I know this rationally, but I haven’t internalized it yet.
That all sounds like I’m unhappy or not coping well, but that’s not really the case. In fact I am very happy, and with every week that goes by I experience a very real thrill: “Can you believe we’re FIFTEEN WEEKS PREGNANT?”
Coming soon: Our next midwife appointment is on Tuesday, and I hope to learn more about home vs. hospital births as well as hearing the baby’s heartbeat.
Things I’m looking forward to: Baby-related shopping. I’ve promised myself no shopping until after Christmas, which is when my sister is bringing me a van-load full of hand-me-downs including high chair, baby swing, carseat, etc. But come January, the serious baby prep will begin!
1 comment:
Keep posting it is nice information for women like me who are pregnant. I am now 15 weeks pregnant and taken the photos of my belly. Got an appointment to meet my doctor tomorrow. Hope everything goes smooth.
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