10 weeks

How your baby's growing:

Though he's barely the size of a kumquat — a little over an inch or so long, crown to bottom — and weighs less than a quarter of an ounce, your baby has now completed the most critical portion of his development. This is the beginning of the so-called fetal period, a time when the tissues and organs in his body rapidly grow and mature.

He's swallowing fluid and kicking up a storm. Vital organs — including his kidneys, intestines, brain, and liver (now making red blood cells in place of the disappearing yolk sac) — are in place and starting to function, though they'll continue to develop throughout your pregnancy.

If you could take a peek inside your womb, you'd spot minute details, like tiny nails forming on fingers and toes (no more webbing) and peach-fuzz hair beginning to grow on tender skin.

In other developments: Your baby's limbs can bend now. His hands are flexed at the wrist and meet over his heart, and his feet may be long enough to meet in front of his body. The outline of his spine is clearly visible through translucent skin, and spinal nerves are beginning to stretch out from his spinal cord. Your baby's forehead temporarily bulges with his developing brain and sits very high on his head, which measures half the length of his body. From crown to rump, he's about 1 1/4 inches long. In the coming weeks, your baby will again double in size — to nearly 3 inches.

At your next prenatal visit, you may be able to hear your baby's rapid heartbeat with the help of a Doppler stethoscope, a handheld ultrasound device that your practitioner places on your belly. Many women say that the beating of their baby's tiny heart sounded like the thunder of galloping horses and hearing it for the first time was very moving.

Before you got pregnant, your uterus was the size of a small pear. By this week, it's as big as a grapefruit. You may or may not be ready for maternity wear now. Even if you're not there yet, your regular clothes are probably feeling uncomfortably tight and your blossoming breasts are straining the seams of your bra. The thickening in your midsection is most likely due to slight weight gain and bloating. If you're between regular and maternity clothes, pants and skirts with forgiving elastic waistbands (or low-rise waistlines that sit below your belly) will provide some much-needed comfort.

Depending on your level of fitness, you can most likely participate in a wide range of activities during pregnancy. Swimming and walking are excellent choices for the whole nine months. Exercise promotes muscle tone, strength, and endurance — three qualities that can help you carry the weight you gain during pregnancy, prepare you for the physical stress of labor, and make it easier to get back into shape after your baby is born. (Unfortunately, there's no evidence that regular exercise shortens labor.)

H is for...

Previous weeks: A, B, C, D, E, F, G

Week of Feb 19-25

G is for...

Previous weeks: A, B, C, D, E, F

Week of Feb 12-18

Updated our story

Here's what I added:

SUMMARY OF THE BEGINNING OF LIFE FROM THE BEGINNING OF THIS BLOG UNTIL THE END OF FEB 2012

We got our first BFP on April 7 and it was a surprise. We were preventing with condoms but not hormonal birth control. The baby was a result of one single night of no protection. Yes, ladies, it can happen. I miscarried a few weeks later before hitting 8 weeks gestation. I struggled for a long time with it. My cycle was very irregular and went from a 28 day cycle before I got pregnant to a random all over the place cycle after. My first cycle lasted 107 days, the next one 76 days and the third 42 days. Those three cycles combined were about 8 months. On my fourth cycle, about 40 days in, I got my second BFP.

I'm currently writing this at almost 10 weeks along with this baby. We have heard the heart beat on our home doppler and seen it on an ultrasound. I'm very worried that I'll miscarry again but I'm trying to stay positive for stress' sake. I keep telling myself, we're past the point we miscarried last time and we've seen/heard the heartbeat and our chance of miscarriage are less than 5% right now. All the stories we read on BBC and faces of loss are women who's experienced it coming together to grieve together and that's why there seems to be more losses on sites like those.

Baby Wearing Food for Thought

Name change?

I wanna change my blog name now that I've seen and heard the heartbeat of the baby (heard it yesterday morning with the doppler at 9w3d).

Any ideas?

I've seen people go from:

• Life, Love and TTC to Life, Love and FINALLY Pregnant
• Barefoot, Trying to get Pregnant and in the Kitchen to Barefoot FINALLY Pregnant and in the Kitchen

Can't think of any others right now...

WDYT?

Ultrasound goodness

measuring 9 weeks 1 day

edd september 24

HR 167

So stoked and so thankful it was good news. My belly pics will start again on Monday/Tuesday as that's when my week changes over now.

Grammar LOLs

Some F bombs below. Reader beware.

Ultrasound

Today ended much better than Friday did. The ultrasound clinic called today and was all sweet and "oops, 14 week scan at 18 weeks, that won't work." So...  I have an u/s tomorrow. KMFX everything goes well. I'd appreciate any thoughts and prayers you can send me. I'm so nervous. My only other ultrasound experience was after my miscarriage and that wasn't a happy experience. I hope tomorrow's tears are tears of joy. I want to see a little bean dancing around inside.

DH was talking to me this morning and mentioned how excited he is to have someone in his life blood related to him. I just want to cry happy tears over everything today.

Feeling REALLY upset...

My doppler isn't here yet and it's still just 4 hours away probably stuck in customs.

I got my time for my u/s and they scheduled me for April 17. My doctor said WITHIN the next 10 days. The scan is also for someone LESS than 14 weeks and by April 17 I will be 18 weeks. I'm really pissed off and I just want to go cry. I called the u/s clinic and they only have an automated voice machine and I was so flustered and frustrated that I babbled. My doctor isn't in next week and so I don't know if the u/s clinic will believe me when it comes to having an appointment moved to before March 1 (my next appointment).

Article

http://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2012/02/16/how-target-figured-out-a-teen-girl-was-pregnant-before-her-father-did

9 weeks

How your baby's growing:

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.

How your life's changing:

You still may not look pregnant even if your waist is thickening a bit. You probably feel pregnant, though. Not only are morning sickness and other physical symptoms out in full force for most women, but you may feel like an emotional pinball as well.

Mood swings are common now — it's perfectly normal to feel alternately elated and terrified about becoming a parent. Try to cut yourself some slack. Most women find that moodiness flares up at around six to ten weeks, eases up in the second trimester, and then reappears as pregnancy winds to a close.

First appointment

History... blah blah blah...
Tried the doppler... no luck (which means I'm not 10 weeks as I would be by LMP)
Got an u/s appointment... will be called within a few days
Scheduled next Dr. appointment... 2 weeks (will hear HB and get pap... icky)
Got bloodwork done... ouch

9 weeks tomorrow :) I'm feeling better about the baby despite the fact that I couldn't hear the heartbeat. I'm hoping to borrow a doppler from a friend if she can find it :)

Wish I was further along!

Cuz I would announce tomorrow with this:

Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
Someone at work
Is pregnant, guess who?

8 weeks 5 days and all is good. Can't wait to hit 9 weeks and my doctor appointment is tomorrow. I should know soon when my u/s is.

Sticker Pictures: 8 Weeks

P.S. I know it's not a baby bump yet. It's just chub :) but if I do these same poses every 4 weeks we'll see the bump grow from chub to baby.

F is for...

Previous weeks: A, B, C, D, E

Week of Feb 5-11

So cute

How babies are delivered

8 weeks

From babycenter.com as usual:

How your baby's growing:

New this week: Webbed fingers and toes are poking out from your baby's hands and feet, his eyelids practically cover his eyes, breathing tubes extend from his throat to the branches of his developing lungs, and his "tail" is just about gone. In his brain, nerve cells are branching out to connect with one another, forming primitive neural pathways. You may be daydreaming about your baby as one sex or the other, but the external genitals still haven't developed enough to reveal whether you're having a boy or a girl. Either way, your baby — about the size of a kidney bean — is constantly moving and shifting, though you still can't feel it.

How your life's changing:

You may notice that your bra is getting more snug. Soon you'll likely need a larger size with better support. Rising levels of hormones cause breast growth and other tissue changes, all in preparation for lactation. Your breasts may continue to grow throughout pregnancy. Don't be surprised if you go up a cup size or two, especially if it's your first baby. Keep this in mind, and allow for room to grow when investing in a new bra.Feeling fatigued? Hormonal changes — in particular, a dramatic rise in progesterone — may be contributing to your sluggishness. Nausea and vomiting can certainly cost you energy, too. And you may be having trouble getting a good night's sleep at this point, especially if you're uncomfortable or find you need to get up to pee.

Happy 8 weeks baby! We made it past my hell week. Only 5 more to go until the 2nd trimester and then we will start buying you things.

We have our first Dr. appointment this week and he will hopefully schedule us for an u/s within the next week. I'm excited to see you and know you're in there growing!

7w6d and uncharted territory

Yesterday went well. I passed the mark where I lost my baby last time. I mean technically, my miscarriage probably started at 7w0d and I should have stopped counting but by 7w6d, I knew for sure I was miscarrying so I stopped counting then.

Here's to uncharted territory! 8 weeks today baby!

7w5d

Sick from work today. However that's a great sign. Baby and I have made it most of the way through hell week and all is good. No sign of red on the TP or anything.

This is my 200th post. I'm thrilled that my 200th post happened while I was pregnant :)

I've also blogged more about this pregnancy so far than I have about my miscarriage in the past 9 months. That makes me happy :) Only three more posts about this pregnancy and it will be (I think) the most blogged about subject on my blog.

Still can't believe it

I still can't believe that after a roller coaster 8.5 months since my last miscarriage and all the shit AF has caused me, I'm finally pregnant again. It's completely unreal.

It doesn't happen for everyone that they end up with a baby at the end of a pregnancy but I really really feel that I will get this baby. I hope and pray every day. I hope I'm deserving of something finally going right after all the crap that's gone on lately.

On a side note, my parents are flying my grandma from California up here at the end of March. I will keep it from my family until that point and just SHOW her (or tell her if I don't look pregnant at that point) and it will be so much better for her to find out in person. By that point I will be about 16 weeks pregnant as long as the baby doesn't go anywhere. I might even try push to get my anatomy scan that week so I'll have a current picture to send her home with (since we'll probably pay for a gender scan around 20 weeks anyways).

Either way, I'll try get a doppler ordered soon so that I can hear the heartbeat. Someone on my facebook group who is bigger than me, found the heartbeat at 8 weeks so I should have no problem if I order it after my first u/s (hopefully should be within a week of my appointment which is on Valentine's Day).

7w4d

3 more days until I will relax a bit... (not a lot though). I hope to order our doppler either on Wednesday or after my u/s which should hopefully be scheduled closeish to my Dr. appointment on Feb 14th. It would be nice to know baby is all well and kicking in there before I order it. I'm so nervous we'll get in there for the u/s and will have found that I've had a missed miscarriage... :( I wish my fears could be gone.

E is for...

Previous weeks: A, B, C, D

Week of Jan 29-Feb 4

7w3d

4 days of my hell week over and done and good. I'm pleased.

On a side note, I feel like hurling. A&W did NOT sit well with me tonight... the craving was so strong but then after eating... /gag

7w2d

Feeling sick, but good.

7w1d

All's clear. Another day done and gone.

7 weeks

How your baby's growing:

The big news this week: Hands and feet are emerging from developing arms and legs — although they look more like paddles at this point than the tiny, pudgy extremities you're daydreaming about holding and tickling. Technically, your baby is still considered an embryo and has something of a small tail, which is an extension of her tailbone. The tail will disappear within a few weeks, but that's the only thing getting smaller. Your baby has doubled in size since last week and now measures half an inch long, about the size of a blueberry.

If you could see inside your womb, you'd spot eyelid folds partially covering her peepers, which already have some color, as well as the tip of her nose and tiny veins beneath parchment-thin skin. Both hemispheres of your baby's brain are growing, and her liver is churning out red blood cells until her bone marrow forms and takes over this role. She also has an appendix and a pancreas, which will eventually produce the hormone insulin to aid in digestion. A loop in your baby's growing intestines is bulging into her umbilical cord, which now has distinct blood vessels to carry oxygen and nutrients to and from her tiny body.

Dear non-pregnant person

Did not write this, thought it was funny and just holding it here for your amusement and also so when I tell facebook that I'm pregnant so I can MAKE SURE family reads it.

Dear Non-Pregnant Person, 

I hope you find these guidelines helpful in your interactions with pregnant women, as failing to follow them may result in serious physical harm. If you are thinking, surely she doesn’t mean me – then you should probably read this twice.

1. The appropriate response to a couple telling you they are having a baby is ‘Congratulations!’ with enthusiasm. Any other response makes you a jerk.

2. Through the wonders of science, we now know that babies are made ONLY by the mother and father – not grandparents. Unless the baby is in your uterus or you are the man that helped put it there, you may not ever use the phrase ‘my baby’.

3. On the same note, unless you made the baby as defined in 2, the pregnancy, birth, and raising of the child are not about you. You do not have input. No one wants to hear your opinion unless they ask for it…

4. The body of a pregnant woman should be treated the same as any other body. You would not randomly touch someone’s stomach if they were not pregnant, nor would you inquire into the condition of their uterus, cervix, or how they plan to use their breasts. Pregnancy does not remove all traces of privacy from a woman.

5. Likewise, no woman wants to hear comments on her weight…ever. A pregnant woman does not find it flattering that you think she is about is pop, must be having twins, looks swollen or has gained weight in her face. Telling her she looks too small only makes her worry that she is somehow starving her baby. Making such comments invite her to critique your physical appearance and you may not act offended. The only acceptable comment on appearance is ‘You look fabulous!’.

6. By the time we are 20-30 years old, most of us have picked up on the fact that the summer is hot. We are hot every summer when we are not pregnant. We don’t need you to point out that we will be miserably hot before the baby comes. Nor do we need to know how badly you will feel for us because we will be pregnant during the summer and how glad you are that YOU will not be pregnant this coming summer.

7. There is a reason that tickets to Labor & Delivery are not yet sold on Ticketmaster. Childbirth is actually not a public event. It may sound crazy, but some women really do not relish the idea of their mother, MIL, or a host of other family members seeing their bare butt and genitals. Also, some people simply feel like the birth of their child is a private and emotional moment to be shared only by the parents. You weren’t invited to be there when the baby was created, you probably won’t be invited to be there when it comes out either.

8. Like everything else in life, unless you receive an invitation, you are NOT invited. This includes doctor appointments, ultrasounds, labor, delivery, the hospital, and the parent’s home. You do not decide if you will be there for the birth or if you will move in with the new parents to ‘help out’. If your assistance is desired, rest assured that you will be asked for it.

9. If you are asked to help after the birth, this means you should clean up the house, help with cooking meals, and generally stay out of the way. Holding the baby more than the parents, interfering with breastfeeding and sleeping schedules, and making a woman who is still leaking fluid from multiple locations lift a finger in housework is not helping.

10. The only people entitled to time with the baby are the parents. Whether they choose to have you at the hospital for the birth or ask for you to wait three weeks to visit, appreciate that you are being given the privilege of seeing their child. Complaining or showing disappointment only encourages the parents to include you less.

Sincerely, 

All the Pregnant Women in the World

Guesses on the gender?

Me: girl
DH: boy
MW: boy
KW: boy

So far I'm outnumbered...

Anyone out there want to guess?

7w0d

Official 7 week post to come when I take a picture tomorrow...

I seem to have made it through 7w0d with no spotting... only 6 more days to go of "hell week" until I'm in uncharted pregnancy territory.