11 Weeks

Where does the time go???  I can't believe I'm already at 11 weeks :).  It's very exciting to me, except the past few days I've been feeling more nauseous and tired than I was before.  I still haven't thrown up, but there have definitely been times I wish I had because I think I would've felt better.  Ugh.  I hate that feeling.  I took yesterday off and stayed home.  I spent 90% of the day on the couch and 90% of that time sleeping.  I don't know if I've ever slept that much in my life!  Sleeping at night has been difficult, though, because of hip and back pain.  I can't seem to get comfortable.  I'm hoping that I'll get a full body pillow for my birthday next month.  I'll beg for it if I have to!

Along with the basic 1st trimester symptoms, I've also contracted "pregnant brain" or also known as "placenta brain".  I can't seem to form complete sentences or thoughts, I get lost in the grocery store or I completely forget what I'm there to buy in the first place... and I'm basically just zoned out most of the time.  I still crave hamburgers and this week I've been craving eggs and other breakfast foods for every meal.  I also started craving tater tots, so I bought a big bag of them, even though I'll probably just eat a few and be done with them.  My stomach can't seem to make up its mind :P.  My next appointment is next Thursday afternoon and I'm excited to see how things are progressing.  I told Jason last night that I'm over 1/4 of the way through and we both agreed that it's pretty crazy how fast it has gone!  Only 203 days left! :)

I'm starting to get excited about buying baby furniture and picking baby names.  So far, the crib I like most is this one from Target.  It reminds me of a sleigh bed, which I have wanted FOREVER.   As for names, I'm completely lost, so if you have any recommendations, please leave it as a comment! :)

Here is the most recent update on MiniSnooks.  I'm taking facts from a few different newsletters, but hopefully there won't be much repetition:

• Baby's now the size of a lime!  Your baby currently enjoys a 1:1 ratio between body and head, and has skin so transparent that blood vessels show right through it. 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. (theBump.com)
• Your baby, about the size of a fig, is now almost fully formed. Her hands will soon open and close into fists and some of her bones are beginning to harden. She's already busy kicking and stretching, and her tiny movements are so effortless they look like water ballet. These movements will become more frequent as her body grows and becomes more developed and functional. You won't feel your baby's acrobatics for another month or two -- nor will you notice the hiccupping that may be happening now that her diaphragm is forming. (babycenter.com)

I keep thinking that I need to start buying the fruit for each week and take a picture of it in front of my belly as it grows :).  Not sure I'll be so excited when it gets to be a watermelon, but I'll tackle that one when the time comes ;).  Anyway, things are still going well and I'm looking forward to week 13 when I'll be in the 2nd trimester (and hopefully away from all the morning sickness/nausea).  Thanks for reading and don't forget to vote in the poll in the right sidebar! :)

10 Weeks

**EDIT** I wanted to include the fruits from the other emails I received so that you can get a better picture of the size.  The baby was described as being the size of a kumquat, a prune, and a kiwi... apparently a very small kiwi, but it sounded better than 'prune' and I'm not very familiar with kumquats.  Next week's fruit seems to be a bit smaller than a kiwi, so I just wanted to put it into perspective for you :).**

Holy Snapnsnap!  I'm in the double digits now!  It's so exciting (and honestly kind-of scary) that since we first found out that I'm pregnant, the time has doubled.  Craziness!  Anyway, it was bound to happen, but it's yet another reality check for me :).  Also, I'm just starting my 3rd month of pregnancy, which means I'm *that much* closer to being in my 2nd trimester.  So exciting!  You can probably tell that I'm a little bit stoked about this... just a little ;).

Ok, moving on :).  I'm feeling pretty good. Still tired and nauseous at times, but it seems to be slowly subsiding.  Sleeping at night is another story.  I really want to get a full-body boppy pillow because my hips have been hurting a lot at night.  I've been using a regular pillow in-between my legs, but I've heard that the boppy pillows really help.  My appetite continues to fluctuate like crazy and my taste preferences change every 30 minutes.  A couple weeks ago, all I wanted to eat was Chick-fil-a's milkshakes... yum!  But yesterday I thought about them and it seriously grossed me out, which is pretty much blasphemy.  I seem to be eating a lot of bland foods again and I'm hoping to eat more 'normal' foods again soon.  I've been doing pretty good about eating lots of fruits, but vegetables just aren't very appealing to me now.  I have a baby belly showing, so I might as well enjoy the food and just let it grow ;).  I haven't had any belly pictures taken yet because I'm a little self-conscious about that, but once I get one taken, I'll post it here :).

This week I've gotten emails that describe the baby's size as a kiwi, kumquat, and prune.  My favorite is the kiwi, so I'll post those details below:

• Your baby continues to grow steadily, gaining around half an inch in the last week! Now, about the size of a kiwi fruit, your baby has reached an important developmental milestone. Week 10 is the beginning of the fetal period, in which your baby's organs rapidly mature.
• This week, his kidneys, liver, heart and intestines are forming tissue. Toenails and hair begin to grow and add detail to your baby's body. Your baby's limbs are now able to flex. His wrists can bend and his hands can meet over his heart. His legs may be long enough for his feet to meet in front of his body. He will even start swallowing and kicking this week, but don't expect to feel anything yet, those movements are still too little.
• Your baby is also less susceptible to certain birth defects and congenital malformations by the time he has reached the fetal period.

Yay, my baby is growing so fast already!  I can't wait until I can finally feel it :).  I have my next doctor appointment in 2 weeks (the 21st), so hopefully she can tell me when we will find out the gender.  Then maybe Jason will come up with better names than "Flapjack" and "Captain Kirk" :P.

I'll be back next week with more baby fun! :)

Week 9

I'm sorry this is a few days late, but things have been keeping me busy :).  Today I'm about 9.5 weeks along and I'm feeling pretty good :).  I've been taking more walks and less naps and I've had a little more energy.  Of course, after I told someone last week that I was feeling more energetic, I could hardly keep my eyes open the next day.  I'm trying to take everything day-by-day.  If I'm tired, I take a nap; if I'm hungry, I eat a snack; if I have energy, I try to clean things up at home.  It's hard to tell how I'm going to feel each day so I try to listen to my body.

I had my first appointment on Friday the 24th and it went really well.  I had to do a bunch of tests and give about a gallon of blood, but it was all worth it because they all came out normal and we got to have the first ultrasound!  It was such a blessing to see the baby, the fluttering heart, and hearing it beat!!!  I almost started crying, partly because I was relieved to see the baby thriving and partly because it's just a beautiful miracle and I still don't understand how God makes it happen :).  It's amazing :).  Almost everyone has already seen the picture, but I'll post it here anyway:

Yay, it's baby Snooks!  The heart was beating 160 times per minute, which is great :).  The doctor measured the baby and said the it's growing on track.  It measured at 8 weeks, which is exactly how far along I was.  The due date is still May 6, 2011, so I guess we'll see how that goes :).  Now I'll post the information about the baby's growth:

• Your new resident is nearly an inch long — about the size of a grape — and weighs just a fraction of an ounce. She's starting to look more and more human. Her essential body parts are accounted for, though they'll go through plenty of fine-tuning in the coming months. Other changes abound: Your baby's heart finishes dividing into four chambers, and the valves start to form — as do her tiny teeth. The embryonic "tail" is completely gone. Your baby's organs, muscles, and nerves are kicking into gear. The external sex organs are there but won't be distinguishable as male or female for another few weeks. Her eyes are fully formed, but her eyelids are fused shut and won't open until 27 weeks. She has tiny earlobes, and her mouth, nose, and nostrils are more distinct. The placenta is developed enough now to take over most of the critical job of producing hormones. Now that your baby's basic physiology is in place, she's poised for rapid weight gain.

So far, I've been craving "American" food, such as cheeseburgers, fries, etc.  I guess the burgers aren't too bad (especially the homemade ones), but I need to be careful with the fries.  I haven't had any huge aversions, but I don't feel like eating a lot of stuff I used to.  I haven't been interested in sugary foods for the most part and I've been eating fruit instead (yay :)).

I guess that's all for now.  I could keep rambling, but I'll save some of it for my week 10 post :).  Thanks for stopping by!