Eight Weeks

Your baby -- now comparable to the size of a kidney bean (just over 1/2 inch long) -- is constantly moving and shifting.

Week 8 Journal

How far along? 8 weeks.
Total weight gain/loss: I think the same as last week. I need to start writing these numbers down.
TP test: Still at 9 squares.
Maternity Clothes: Nope. Not yet.
Food cravings/ aversions: Still liking the greasy/ fried foods, but trying to resist a bit and eat at least a little healthier.
"Morning" Sickness: Horrible. Almost constant queasiness. Really ready for this part of pregnancy to be over. Brushing my teeth seems to be difficult. Some times it starts to make me gag.
Signs of Pregnancy: Tired. Still. A co-worker has commented on different days how I look tired. Wish I could tell her why, but we're still waiting a bit to share the news with everyone.
Stretch Marks: Nope.
Sleep: Could be better, but overall not all that bad.
Big things this week: Told one of our friends at Game Night on Saturday and made her promise that if she felt the need to tell her husband that he COULDN'T share it with his co-workers who are other friends of ours. Would have resisted telling her, but she would have guessed it anyway. She was asking pointed questions.
Gender prediction: WAY too early to tell.
Movement: Nothing yet.
Labor Pains: Nothing yet.
Belly Button in or out? Definitely in.
Wedding rings on or off? On. And a little loose.
Weekly Wisdom: Don't dwell on feeling miserable. It won't last forever.
Milestones/Fun Moments: We went to a Baby Expo on Sunday. Not as large as I thought it might be, but still overwhelming. Got a number of free samples though, so altogether not bad.

8 Weeks- Development

Your Baby This Coming Week

Your baby measures about 0.9 to 1.2 inches (2.2 to 3cm) from crown to rump.

Your baby's arms and legs are longer and her hands are flexed at the wrist. The head is growing more erect and the neck is more developed. On an ultrasound, you may see your baby moving, though you still can not feel this.

The organs are forming. Ears are developed and the eyelids have begun to cover up your baby's eyes. Hands and feet appear as well as small buds which will become fingers and toes. The paddles of your baby's hands have clearly defined finger ridges now, with the tissue between them (which previously made them look webbed) reducing to leave separate fingers.

Your baby's back has started to straighten slightly and the tail is now shrinking. The head still seems large and is curved forwards on her chest. Your baby is starting to look like a tiny person!

Your Body This Coming Week

Your uterus is enlarged and your waistline may have increased slightly by now. The pregnancy hormones in your system have increased the volume of blood in your body.

Your skin may have improved (the famous "glow" of pregnancy) or you may be experiencing skin problems. Your gums may be softer. The thyroid gland in your neck may be more prominent. Your hair may also be less oily. Your breasts may feel fuller and more tender. You may notice increased creamy vaginal secretions.

Week 7 Journal- Redux

How far along? 7 weeks... again. This is because my estimated due date got changed.
Total weight gain/loss: Up 3 pounds at the moment.
TP test: 9 squares.
Maternity Clothes: Nope. Not yet.
Food cravings/ aversions: Love me some greasy good. Burgers, fries, etc. Grilled cheese seems to be my staple. I can barely stand the thought of soup, which had been my daily lunch staple.
"Morning" Sickness: Got sick once. Otherwise feeling lots of queasiness. This used to hit me especially in the afternoons, but the past couple of days I've felt this way in the morning as well.
Signs of Pregnancy: Tired. A lot. Going to bed ridiculously early and still wanting an afternoon nap. Also the nausea.
Stretch Marks: Nope.
Sleep: Keep waking up in the middle of the night. Weird dream last night about someone from my church announcing loudly that I was pregnant and me getting very upset since the info wasn't public yet.
Big things this week: Ultrasound! Got to see the blob and also heard the heartbeat.
Gender prediction: WAY too early to tell.
Movement: Nothing yet.
Labor Pains: Nothing yet.
Belly Button in or out? Definitely in.
Wedding rings on or off? On. And a little loose.
Weekly Wisdom: Try to relax and make the most of it.
Milestones/Fun Moments: Got to see the little blueberry during the ultrasound.

First Ultrasound

We had our first ultrasound this morning. The purpose was to pinpoint my due date more accurately. When I went in she asked how far along I thought I was. I said between 7 weeks and 7 weeks, 4 days.

Based on her calculations, I am 6 weeks, 6 days- which I also would believe (I had been leaning more towards only being 7 weeks, and this is just 1 day away). Not a big difference either way, but more important later on, especially if I'm late.

So we got three pictures. None of them really look like anything. The smaller blob next to the baby (love how she labeled that since it's so hard to tell) is the yolk sac. It still somehow doesn't seem all that real to me. Maybe because it doesn't look like anything yet. The part Chris really liked though was when we got to listen to the heart beat. He started grinning when he heard that.

I guess I'll be redoing my week 7 journal since I now have more accurate dates.

It was bound to happen...

For the past week or so I've had many queasy moments. Nothing too bad, but just not feeling right. And then yesterday it got worse. All day long I felt horrible. And there were a couple of times where I thought I was going to throw up. Like walking through the grocery store and smelling the meat/ seafood counters.

I thought I had made it through the day, but then after dinner it happened. My first bout of "morning" sickness. I hope this doesn't last too long.

Seven Weeks

Your baby, having doubled in size since last week, is as big as a blueberry (about 1/2 inch in length).

Shopping

So it wasn't my intent, but when I passed Old Navy today and saw that all of their clearance merchandise was an additional 50% off, I had to check it out.

I bought 10 items, a mix of 0-3 and 3-6 month items. My grand total was $20.59. The most expensive item was a jacket for $4.74. I tried to get gender neutral items. There are a couple of items that may be slightly more masculine or feminine, but overall I don't think they were that bad. (I hate that the baby industry really doesn't support gender neutral items.)

I added up what they would have cost if I had bought them at regular price. Not all of the items had original tags on them, but based on similar items, I'm guessing it would have cost around $130. I love deals like this!

If you wish, you can click on the image to see it larger.

Week 7 Journal

How far along? 7 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: Up 3 pounds at the moment.
TP test: Same as last week- 8 squares.
Maternity Clothes: Nope. Not yet.
Food cravings/ aversions: I've been craving greasy foods a bit- grilled cheese, Burger King, etc. I used to have soup for lunch every day, but later this week just the thought of it wasn't sitting well with me.
"Morning" Sickness: Haven't gotten sick yet, but feeling a bit queasy throughout the day.
Signs of Pregnancy: Tired. A lot. Going to bed ridiculously early and still wanting an afternoon nap.
Stretch Marks: Nope.
Sleep: Sleep is ok. Trying to get into the habit of sleeping on my left side. This is difficult for me.
Big things this week: Had my first doctor appointment, although it was only with the nurse.
Gender prediction: WAY too early to tell.
Movement: Nothing yet.
Labor Pains: Nothing yet.
Belly Button in or out? Definitely in.
Wedding rings on or off? On. And a little loose.
Weekly Wisdom: I've heard there are two kinds of women- those who enjoy being pregnant and those who hate it. I'm starting to think that I'm one of the latter. So far I'm not liking how it makes me feel.
Milestones/Fun Moments: First appointment.

7 Weeks- development

Your Baby This Coming Week

Your baby's crown to rump measurement is about 0.56 to 0.8 inches (14 to 20mm).

Your baby's face has a recognizable shape with eyelids and the tip of a nose with formed nostrils, though his head is still very large compared to the rest of his body.

All major organs are now formed and in place, though they still need to mature.

A tongue has already formed. The ears are forming both internally and externally.

The arms and legs extend forward and shoulders, elbows, hips and knees are detectable. Knees and elbows have begun to form on the limbs. Tiny fingers and toes are starting to appear at the tips of your baby's developing limbs and the arms may be slightly flexed at the elbows and wrists. All major organs are in place.

Your baby is moving around a lot, moving his legs and flexing his spine, but you are unable to feel it at this point.

Your baby's genitals have begun development, though they are still difficult to identify.

Your Body This Coming Week

You may feel some cramping as your uterus expands. You are still not showing, but you may have noticed that some of your clothes are beginning to feel tight.

Due to the hormones associated with pregnancy, the follicles in the ovaries stop maturing. Your uterus has begun to swell and its lining has thickened considerably.

You may have cravings for certain foods and find others completely unappealing. The smell of cigarette smoke and the taste of alcohol may make you nauseous.

Some women experience sciatic nerve pain which is an occasional severe pain in the buttocks, back or side of the legs. If you experience sciatic nerve pain, lying on your opposite side may relieve the pressure on the nerve.

First Appointment

Today I had my first appointment. It was with the nurse and they refer to is as a "teaching" appointment. Basically getting all my family/medical history and then giving me various brochures and pamphlets with dos and don'ts. And then I got sent to the lab to have 4 vials of blood drawn. I ended up having to be stuck twice because the first one wasn't really flowing. Not sure if this is because I was stuck by an intern or since I hadn't had much to drink yet. Whatever, no big deal.

The exciting news though, is that since my cycles had been all over the place (27-40 days long) and I think I ovulated at a date different than what is "normal", the nurse asked me if I wanted to have an early ultrasound done for dating purposes. Um, ok. Go ahead and twist my arm. So next week I get to have an early look at my little lentil. Yay!

Six Weeks

Your baby is as long as a lentil (about 1/4 inch).

Week 6 journal

How far along? 6 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: no change
TP test: 8 squares
Maternity Clothes: Nope. Not yet.
"Morning" Sickness: The pain my my abdomen (felt like I had done 100s of crunches) is finally getting better!
Signs of Pregnancy: Tired. A lot.
Stretch Marks: Nope.
Sleep: Sleep is ok. Trying to get into the habit of sleeping on my left side. This is difficult for me.
Best moment this week: We told the family last weekend and that was pretty good.
Worst moment this week: The sudden and instant hunger. One minute I'm fine, the next I'm starving.
Gender prediction: WAY too early to tell. I did take a Chinese gender prediction test (that said its results are 50/50) which said boy.
Movement: Nothing yet.
Labor Pains: Nothing yet.
Belly Button in or out? Definitely in.
Wedding rings on or off? On. And a little loose.
What I'm going to miss/What I can't wait for: Excited about my first appointment on Tuesday- with the nurse.
Weekly Wisdom: Enjoy it.
Milestones/Fun Moments: We went to Babies R Us last night to just sort of get the lay of the land with what products are out there and what we like/dislike. Hopefully this will make the registering process a little easier when we get to that point.
What we need to do: We've started kind of looking at various products to try to gleam what we'll want to register for.
Chris reminded me that at one point I agreed that I can pick out whatever I want (in terms of colors, patterns, etc) as long as I let Chris put everything together.

6 Weeks

Your Baby This Coming Week

Your baby is 0.16 to 0.2 inches long (4-5mm) when measured from crown to rump. It is now identifiable as a human baby.

The limb buds are growing rapidly, developing into little fins with nodules at the ends which will eventually become fingers and toes. The arms have already differentiated into hand and shoulder segments.

The cerebral hemispheres of the brain are growing, and the eyes and nostrils are appearing. Your baby's heart bulges from its body and the heart chambers are divided and formed. Blood vessels now circulate blood throughout the whole body. The head looks large and is bent on the chest.

Your baby's face is forming, but its eyes are on the sides of its head and are still sealed. The discs that will become your baby's eyes will move over to the front of the face over the course of the next few months.

Bone cells are beginning to develop and the outline of the baby's nervous system is complete. The pigment in your baby's eyes can be seen under the skin overlaying them. By this point there is also a pancreas and an appendix. The tail is still visible, but it will soon fade. The umbilical cord is growing and the placenta is maturing as well.

Your Body This Coming Week

Your nipples may feel sensitive. Small nodules, called Montgomery's tubercles, may appear on the areolae.

Your blood pressure is lowered by pregnancy hormones, and as a result you may sometimes feel dizzy or faint when you stand for a long time.

Morning sickness may continue.

Cervical mucous coagulates to form a plug in your cervical canal to keep it closed and protected throughout your pregnancy. It will be expelled prior to giving birth.