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!!