10 Weeks...

By the end of Week 10, your baby graduates from embryo to fetus, which literally means "little one." It also translates to "I'm just going to keep getting bigger and bigger and so are you!" Other highlights this week:

Your baby has finally morphed from a little tadpole into, well, a baby. Not only is the face more human-like, but that unflattering "tail" (really just the developing spinal cord) has disappeared, fusing into the spinal column.

Your baby now has discernible fingers and toes, which will explain the steady stream of kicks and punches you'll feel down the line.

Junior's skeleton is starting to grow and harden. The ears are beginning to take shape and the eyelids are no longer transparent. Tooth buds are forming, although your baby won't get any teeth until six or seven (or eight or nine or 10) months after birth.

Baby's brain will make an incredible 25,000 new neurons every minute this week. While you may feel like you're losing as many as he's gaining, we can assure you it's not permanent. "Pregnancy brain," like nausea and bloating, is a temporary symptom that soon shall pass. (And then you'll get "Mommy brain," but we won't go there now.)

If you're baby is a boy, he's started producing that macho hormone testosterone. And whether your baby is a boy or a girl, the kidneys are creating copious amounts of urine. Lucky for you, you won't have to change a diaper for another 30 weeks.

Baby weighs only 4 grams and measures 1½ inches, about the size of a mondo Brazil nut or small plum (which I think is a much cuter reference than a brazil nut!).

**3D Pregnancy


Pic above is of a 10Wk fetus from www.i-am-pregnant.com. Awesome!

10 Week Fun Facts (and still no pic, but no bump either so...)

How far along? 10 weeks!
Total weight gain/loss: Still on +2. Woot! That's not to shabby, but honestly I think it may be a result of a lack of muscle tone in addition to a bit of fat gain that's all just evening out to make me think I'm only +2. Got to love the flab!
Maternity clothes? I wore my elastic waistband jean capris from Old Navy over the weekend and they were wonderful! I love not having to readjust my unbuttoned pants every time I stand up!
Stretch marks? Um, no. Thank you, Lord!
Sleep: Still peeing. And now my hips have started hurting in the middle of the night...urgh! I woke up at 3:30am this morning and couldn't fall asleep til about 5:30am and then Mike's alarm went off at 6am. Thankfully, I slept til 8:30am once he left!
Best moment this week: Heard the baby's heartbeat on the at-home fetal doppler. So cool!
Movement: Apparently it's started, but I just can't feel it yet. Can't wait.
Food cravings: Still have a serious lack of desire to eat, but soy sauce is sounding super yummy.
Gender: I still think it's a girl. Mike thinks it's a boy. We'd both be happy with either. :)
Labor Signs: Um, nope. And hopefully not for another 27+ weeks!
Belly Button in or out? Still in, of course.
What I miss: Being able to wear absolutely anything in my closet.
What I am looking forward to: My next doc appt (1 week from yesterday) and u/s (1 week from Friday)!
Weekly Wisdom: Go with the flow -- if you try and do too much in one day and don't succeed it's much worse than if you never told yourself you were going to do everything in the first place. Ha ha -- I'm too exhausted!
Milestones: No more sore boobs for the most part -- this could be because I've resorted to wearing my loosest sports bra 24/7 even though I'm getting a bit of a rash from sleeping in it. I don't care!

The Nursery

If you know me, then it's not hard to believe that I've already started considering baby furniture, have drawn a room diagram (not to scale) of how I plan to set up the nursery and have been perusing bedding sets since week 6. In fact, last night I even dreamt up the most perfect gender neutral baby bedding that, if I just knew of someone who could flawlessly create it for me, I'd have custom made in a second. Problem is -- my dream was quite complicated. Reds, sages, plums, ivories with a forest and alphabet motif. And it was quilted. Very complex. It even had matching quilted, stuffed forest animals (think deers and squirrels) to place lovingly around the room. I woke up and had to tell Mike right away. He was less thrilled than me...hmmm.

Anyway, so the bedding aside...we have found our baby's bedroom furniture! This is after much online searching, a trip to Babies R Us after church a few weeks ago and a trip to Belfort Furniture in Sterling, VA yesterday. Although we'd initially found a set at Babies R Us that we could be happy with, we both realized that it wasn't necessarily the greatest quality considering we were hoping that Baby H would have this furniture til we send him/her off to college. So after much consideration we decided furniture was not a bad place to splurge a little in order to ensure better quality.



I really liked a set by Young America called "genAmerica" that I saw online (that's the crib above). After getting Mike's online sign off, it was this set that we initially went to go look at yesterday. This was after several conversations with Mike where he'd convinced me he'd never like a sleigh-style crib for the baby. Well, hello Belfort furniture and HELLO "4 Seasons" by Young America.

It was love at first site. Surprisingly, for both of us. In fact, I had to convince Mike that we had to look at the other options on the floor and the other YA options in the catalog. But nope..."4 Seasons" it is. We'll be buying the sleigh crib (with the conversion sets to go to toddler bed and then a full size sleigh bed -- this is a seriously cool option that, if you've never seen, you should look at online), the large dresser (with removeable changing table top) and the door chest. All in cinnamon. Beautiful. Pics below.



Apparently it can take up to 90 days for the furniture to come in (although this is on the long end assuming they still have to make the furniture in the workshop somewhere in VA), so we're ordering it early June. My plan is to have the nursery done by mid-September so that the last month is worry free in case the pumpkin decides to show him/herself earlier than expected.

And for those wondering, the nursery will be the bigger of our two extra bedrooms (the one currently acting as a guest room) and the guest room will now be the smaller room. I'm getting rid of my never-used elliptical, and we realized that with two laptops and wireless internet in the house, there is really no need for a separate "study".

Anyway, off to go hang out with the other Husband before all of this fabulous Sunday is behind us.

xoxo -
Vicky

9 Week Fun Facts (still with no belly pic...blah!)

How far along? 9 weeks!
Total weight gain/loss: Okay, I risked it yesterday and I'm still +2. Not bad. Although it absolutely appears like I've gained more.
Maternity clothes? The bella band I bought last week is a miracle worker. It makes wearing my jeans so much easier right now -- yay!
Stretch marks? Um, no.
Sleep: I am now officially dreaming of constantly having to pee. So annoying and doesn't exactly lend itself to a good night sleep. Can't wait til 2nd tri -- I hear the sensation goes away for awhile after the uterus moves out from behind the pelvic bone. We'll see.
Best moment this week: This weekend was just very nice and relaxing...although poor Mike had to do reserve duty both Sat and Sun. But I really enjoyed the lovely weather and taking Sierra out for walks.
Movement: Apparenlty it's started, but I just can't feel it yet. Can't wait.
Food cravings: Yeah for fruit! That being said, I've sort of lost my desire to eat, which stinks (since I love food) and I'm having to make myself consume all the necessary nutrients in every meal.
Gender: I still think it's a girl. Mike thinks it's a boy. We'd both be happy with either. :)
Labor Signs: Um, nope. And hopefully not for another 30 weeks!
Belly Button in or out? Still in, of course.
What I miss: Being able to wear absolutely anything in my closet.
What I am looking forward to: My next doc appt (2 weeks from yesterday) and u/s (2 weeks from Friday)!
Weekly Wisdom: Big meals for dinner can lead to constipation.
Milestones: Nausea in the morning -- does that count as morning sickness? It's moved from nighttime to morning now...great.

2 Cool 9 Week Development Pics...

9 Weeks...

I can't believe we're already at 9 weeks, and I can't decide if timing is flying by or going very slowly. While I'm cherishing every single day of this process, I think I'm really just looking forward to our 1st Tri Screening, telling everyone who doesn't know yet (the vast majority of people) and then being out of 1st tri on April 24th (that's 13 weeks, 3 days).

Anyway, this week for baby...

Big news! You may be able to hear the heartbeat this week with the help of a Doppler, an ultrasound device that captures the chug-a-chug sound of baby's heart. The first time you hear baby's heart, your own heart may skip a beat—it's the first real evidence that there's someone growing inside you! If you can't hear the heartbeat, no worries, your doc will just check again in a few weeks. Other amazing developments this week:

Baby is beginning to move, but you won't be able to feel anything for some time.

Baby is growing nipples and hair follicles (although there's still a chance you'll be giving birth to a baldy!) His pancreas, gallbladder, bile ducts and anus are all in place, ready to poop and pee a dozen times a day when he's born. Your baby's head is half the size of his body and his little chin is tucked into his chest. His tiny tail is beginning to shrink away, giving Junior a more human and less amphibious look.

Until now, all pre-babies look the same "down there." This week, however, your baby will begin to develop either male or female genitalia. In layman terms, your baby is beginning to develop her hoo-ha or his wee-wee. While you won't be able to find out the gender of your baby for several more weeks, the version you'll give birth to is being developed right now.

At this stage, your developing fetus is 1-inch in length, about the size of a martini olive (you remember martinis, don't you?) and weighs a mere 2 grams—a little less than a penny.
**3D Pregnancy

Back to School...

No joke. With Baby H on the way, I quickly realized that we have a lot to learn. I want to make sure that everything from childbirth to initial parenting is as good as it can be for our little pumpkin, so that means...we're going back to school!

I spent a few hours today reviewing different childbirth and parenting class options available in the DC area. So many! Instead of getting overwhelmed by the options, I decided to narrow my initial search to classes relevant right now...not once the kid enters preschool.

Thankfully, Inova Alexandria (our hospital) has a lot of options, and I've already marked our calendar for the Baby Care, Breastfeeding for Success (think this one is all me!) and Heartsaver Pediatric First Aid with Infant and Child CPR classes. We'll start taking these classes in early Sept to late October (although I'm waiting to officially sign up and pay the $$ til after our 1st Tri Screening (u/s) on April 10th). Prior to that time though (the classes, not April 10th), we need to get ready for the actual childbirth...

Since I've decided I want to do this au natural (if possible), I've been looking into options such as Bradley Method (BM) and hypnobirthing. Since I want Mike to be as involved as possible in the process, BM seemed like a better idea than hypnobirthing. BM is considered a husband-coached birthing but essentially any one can be the coach (the idea is one person who's gone through the training with you and will be your support during the actual process). The class is 12 weeks long, so we're actually starting on July 9th and going once per week through Sept 24th. They like you to finish about a month out from your due date in case you go early. The place we're going to has a website, so if you want to take a look at all the class entails. :) I'm excited! I think it will be great preparation, and it will also make the whole "baby on the way" realization sink in all the quicker. I think.

So between Mike starting grad school in April and us going to all these baby classes starting in July, we're officially hitting the books in the Husband household again. It's been awhile! And I can't wait!

xoxo
V