18 Weeks

Well, we made it almost half way without any bugs and illnesses.... until this week. Mummy had a cold, not a bad cold but a cold all the same! We also had a nasty abdominal pain experience Thursday night/all day Friday. I saw the doc yesterday for peace of mind, baby is perfectly fine, it seems that something I ate had irritated my bowel... lovely!!

Wednesday evening just after dinner, I *thought* I was feeling baby movements, but was unsure. But with the help of the doppler to confirm the movements, I decided I had felt baby. Felt it again Thursday and Friday... baby has been VERY busy this afternoon and evening

And for jellybaby?

We have two more ounces! Your "getting bigger-n-better by the minute baby" is already up to 7 ounces and 6 inches! This is a big week for their baby skin. There are now two distinct layers—the epidermis (or the surface skin) and dermis. Currently, their skin is covered with a greasy, waxy, cheese-like substance, known as vernix caseosa. Sure, it sounds pretty nasty, but this mixture of fatty secretions covering your little swimmer from head to toe is the best way to protect their oh-so-thin skin from bruising and abrasions as well as chapping caused by amniotic fluid exposure (and your little one is swimming in that stuff!). Still don’t like the fact your little darling is currently slathered in fatty cream like a greased pig? Well, you know the birthing process? Where you have to push something the size of a watermelon out a hole the size of a grape? That adorable little greased piglet would have a lot harder time getting through the birth canal without the vernix caseosa. Fun fact for momma’s with baby girls: it’s a uterus within a uterus! Your little girl will have developed a uterus and vagina canal by the end of this week.

Poor little mite... this week he/she is compared to a grotesque sweet potato!

17 weeks!

Not very much to report this week, although I am glad I read the "what about mum" section on baby-gaga.com: "This week, or in the coming weeks, you may be privy to the uncommon joys of “round ligament pain.” These not-so-lovely symptoms can include bellyaches, pain in the lower abdomen and sharp shooting and/or stabbing pains, most often expressed at the end of the day. Your suffering is due to stretched ligaments and muscles that support your ever-growing uterus. This is to be expected and is perfectly normal." As I have been feeling these types of pains on my left side and wasn't too sure what it was. So that gives me peace of mind!

Baby moved up into my tum on Wed/Thurs, however I obviously have more fat content there as it's really difficult to get a good listen to the heartbeat with the doppler now I'm not worried though as I am able to catch snippets of it so I know baby is just fine, snug as a bug in a rug

Midwife appointment went well, had my bloods taken for the Downs Syndrome screening, not sure how long the results take to come back. Then she offered to try to listen to the heartbeat, but said "it's very early to hear it at this stage so don't be alarmed if I can't find it, ok?" She popped the doppler on my tum and voila, there it was... clever baby!!!

So, how is jellybaby doing?

Don't be too shocked but... your baby is EVEN bigger than it was last week, not to mention getting cuter, and smarter every day! As you’ve come to expect, there’s no shortage of growth and development this week: your fantastic little bean stalk has added yet another half inch to their overall height-- making them nearly half a foot long! Their little limbs have reached (or are within one week of) their relative proportions, and will continue to grow evenly with the rest of the body after this week. Reactive listening has begun for your baby, even though their ears are not yet structurally complete or fully functional. Meanwhile, different parts of their astonishingly complex brain are developing to process your little one’s hearing and other senses, (you know, sight, smell, taste and touch). Mind boggling factoid of the week: if you’re having going to have a little girl, her ovaries have already produced millions of primordial egg cells, which, within a few weeks, will develop into actual eggs! Phew… just wait till she’s a teenager eh?

And our baby is as big as an onion!!

Ordered the travel system today!

Yes, we ordered our travel system today, complete with infant carrier car seat. It's the Silver Cross 3d pram system. I love it!! Here's some pics:

The pram mode:



Buggy mode:



Car seat:

gosh all these visitors!

The site has reached over 10,000 visitors!!

16 weeks (a little late!)

I hadn’t realised I’d forgotten to update this! I was home at my parents for the weekend, and by the time I got back yesterday (Sunday), we had a disaster with our washing machine. It decided to stop mid-cycle… half full of water… with the ONLY two pairs of maternity trousers I own… inside it!!! What a nightmare!!! We had to open the door, which let all the water out onto the kitchen floor… and we’re left with a washer which refuses to work at all. Needless to say, I’m just glad I got my trousers out!!

So, preggy update. The indigestion has settled down. From using the doppler, I can tell baby is still low down, I’m not too sure when it will move up into my tummy, but I’m guessing it wont be too long now?! I have a midwife appointment on Friday, to get blood work done. It’s the downs syndrome screening. Although I know it’s a routine test, it’s a bit scary none the less!

And now for jellybaby:

Over the past three weeks your astounding growing baby has managed to stretch yet another 2 full inches (totaling about 4.5 inches) and weighs around 3.5 ounces. Yessireee, that’s some pretty serious growth… and with it comes several physical developments! For starters, their head to body ratio is finally starting to even out a bit as the rest of the body is actually growing faster than the head at this point. Yes, your little light bulb is not so top-heavy. Their adorable little limbs have lengthened, almost reaching their normal proportions which they will have at birth. Their eyes are still closed but moving and if you had an ultrasound, which many doctors recommend you have at about this time, you may even see your little one sucking on a thumb, not to mention the necessary signifiers to let you know whether you’ve got a wee lad or lassie.

Size of baby this week:

Baby's size @ 15 weeks

I found a great website (thenest.com) which is very informative but also has these pictures which is "what size is my baby" at any given stage of pregnancy. So I thought I'd share the 15 week one:

15 weeks!!

Already?? I'm back to only having my PJ bottoms to wear at home, my joggy bottoms are uncomfy now. I'm such a slob Hey, whatever is comfy!

The indigestion has been fairly constant the past week, no matter what I eat or when. But the past day or so, it's eased up, although it's been there almost all the time, it's been a little easier. We had a roast chicken , potatoes & veg dinner last night which went down a treat, with no indigestion
Time for Jellybaby's update:

Your nearly four-inch long gymnast is happily mobile inside your womb and if you're really lucky, you’ll notice a point when your sneezing, coughing or laughing results in a little kick here or a poke there. Still, many women don't feel anything until the 17th week or later. Although the poking and kicking isn't very charming during sleeping hours, it’s a good sign as it means your baby is actually reacting to outside events. Yay! You’ve got yourself one active healthy baby! Their little elbows and knees are bending more freely this week and their little legs are finally growing longer than their arms and getting pumped up for prenatal Richard Simmons. Many of their major organ systems are increasing in capacity—particularly that amazing tiny heart and complex circulation system, which is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood per day, and will increase to a very impressive 200 quarts per day by the end of the pregnancy. As far as hair goes, we’ve got some new scalp patterns beginning to develop on the head, although actual head hair is not yet present.

14 weeks!!

OMG... 14 weeks?? well, 14 weeks 3 days to be precise, but I thought I'd keep my weekly updates to the weekends as I've been doing so far.

So I have a noticeable bump now, but I still don't think I *look* pregnant... if you didn't know I am, you probably wouldn't guess. It definately looks bigger from my looking-down point of view!! Friday & Saturday were quite tough going for me. I felt pretty awful and a general feeling of unsettledness that I couldn't quite describe. I'm unsure if it was stress related... who knows! I feel a little better today, although my tummy still has the unsettled/indigestion type feeling. At least I'm actually feeling hungry today and not nauseated.

I'm still loving the doppler! Hubby listened this morning but he says it's too freaky

And so, for baby... Can't call him/her Jellybean anymore... perhaps Jellybaby??

Isn’t it glorious? You and your little buckaroo have roped your way right into trimester numero dos! Are you ready to rock!? Okay, okay… maybe just a little rolling and poking. Needless to say, your baby will definitely be making themselves known in the upcoming weeks. At about 3.5 inches long, their little body and limber limbs are coordinated enough for loads of complicated motions. In fact, their whole body is moving right now! You're not feeling it because their current size is still a bit too small to make an impact you'd recognize. Still, their movements are recognizable on an ultrasound. Speaking of which, you shoud be scheduling one with your health care provider! Week 16 is the classic date as you can usually determine whether your little one is going to pee standing up or sitting down. Your baby is also starting to develop the ability to move their eyes this week, although the eyelids still remain fused shut. What's more, they can make all sorts of fun facial expressions as they practice squinting, frowning, and grimacing. Cute development of the week: their little hands can grasp at things and they may already be sucking their thumb!

Just heard baby's heartbeat for the first time!

I bought a fetal doppler from Ebay a few weeks ago, but unfortunately I misread the listing which said it can detect baby's heartbeat from around 20 weeks onwards

So I sold it on Ebay and bought a more sensitive one which arrived this morning. It's supposed to be able to detect the HB from about 10 weeks +. I tried it out this morning but heard nothing. So just tried it again... I heard my baby!!!! Such an amazing sound!!!