14 Weeks...

SO HAPPY! :)

I'm so pleased to have entered the 2nd Trimester!! It feels as if a thick mental and physical fog has lifted & I finally have some energy back! ...I have the odd moment of feeling quite nauseous, but otherwise feel much better!!

We have a midwife appointment with Sandy on Monday & we've found a good antenatal class to attend (with Mama Bamba - we'll be attending in May with Sean & Aline) :)
2 weeks until we leave for Argentina...so exciting!!

Baby Center Says:

How your baby's growing:

This week's big developments: Your baby can now squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly suck his thumb! Thanks to brain impulses, his facial muscles are getting a workout as his tiny features form one expression after another. His kidneys are producing urine, which he releases into the amniotic fluid around him — a process he'll keep up until birth. He can grasp, too, and if you're having an ultrasound now, you may even catch him sucking his thumb.

In other news: Your baby's stretching out. From head to bottom, he measures 3 1/2 inches — about the size of a lemon — and he weighs 1 1/2 ounces. His body's growing faster than his head, which now sits upon a more distinct neck. By the end of this week, his arms will have grown to a length that's in proportion to the rest of his body. (His legs still have some lengthening to do.) He's starting to develop an ultra-fine, downy covering of hair, called lanugo, all over his body. Your baby's liver starts making bile this week — a sign that it's doing its job right — and his spleen starts helping in the production of red blood cells. Though you can't feel his tiny punches and kicks yet, your little pugilist's hands and feet (which now measure about 1/2 inch long) are more flexible and active.

How your life's changing:

Welcome to your second trimester! Your energy is likely returning, your breasts may be feeling less tender, and your queasiness may have completely abated by now. If not, hang on — chances are good it will soon be behind you (although an unlucky few will still feel nauseated months from now).

The top of your uterus is a bit above your pubic bone, which may be enough to push your tummy out a tad. Starting to show can be quite a thrill, giving you and your partner visible evidence of the baby you've been waiting for. Take some time to plan, daydream, and enjoy this amazing time. It's normal to worry a bit now and then, but try to focus on taking care of yourself and your baby, and having faith that you're well equipped for what's ahead.

13 Weeks...& its a GIRL!

We had our very important Fetal Assessment Clinic scan yesterday & everything looks PERFECT....we also learned that we're going to have a little daughter! :)

I'm feeling quite a lot better sickness wise this week....but I'm still feeling really tired (and quite irritable a lot of the time)...

I've had a few cravings so far:
Rice -- with Cape Malay Rice Spice
Rice Cakes
Thai Green Veg curry
Veg Sushi (sushi rice!)
Naan bread & Indian foods
(Spicy stuff in general actually)
Bobotie (I made some for lunch today)
Orange Juice
Plain Croissants
Milk

I've pretty much gone off sweet stuff (never thought I'd see they day!)

We like the name 'Stella Maria Ross' but both our moms have a problem with it! Geoff's mom says it reminds her too much of her nightmare mother in law who was called Stella. My mom thinks its too 'hard'. Oh well...they must come up with better alternatives for our consideration if they don't like our name!!

How your baby's growing:

Fingerprints have formed on your baby's tiny fingertips, her veins and organs are clearly visible through her still-thin skin, and her body is starting to catch up with her head — which makes up just a third of her body size now. If you're having a girl, she now has more than 2 million eggs in her ovaries. Your baby is almost 3 inches long (the size of a medium shrimp) and weighs nearly an ounce.
See what your baby looks like this week.
Note: Every baby develops a little differently — even in the womb. Our information is designed to give you a general idea of your baby's development.

How your life's changing:

This is the last week of your first trimester, and your risk of miscarriage is now much lower than earlier in pregnancy. Next week marks the beginning of your second trimester, a time of relative comfort for many women who see early pregnancy symptoms such as morning sickness and fatigue subside. More good news: Many couples also notice a distinct libido lift around this time. Birth is still months away, but your breasts may have already started making colostrum, the nutrient-rich fluid that feeds your baby for the first few days after birth, before your milk starts to flow

11 Weeks

It is week 11 for baby Ross & I am feeling a bit more like a sloth than someone who is about to enter into the seriously responsible roll of being a mother. At least I have 6 more months to get used to the idea.

T'Neal sent me this:

"To be Queen Elizabeth within a definite area, deciding sales, banquets, labours, and holidays; to be Whitely within a certain area, providing toys, boots, cakes and books; to be Aristotle within a certain area, teaching morals, manners, theology, and hygiene; I can imagine how this can exhaust the mind, but I cannot imagine how it could narrow it. How can it be a large career to tell other people about the Rule of Three, and a small career to tell one's own children about the universe? How can it be broad to be the same thing to everyone and narrow to be everything to someone? No, a woman's function is laborious, but because it is gigantic, not because it is minute."

— G.K. Chesterton

..and I really do feel at times like there is a ginormous task ahead of me. The lack of knowing how things are going is driving me a little crazy & I really want to know now whether we are having a little boy or a little girl... I thought of a really pretty girl's name in the last week: Stella. Geoff likes it too :) We still like Fynn best for a boy. The names Lily and Noah are too popular :(

We have our 12 week scan on Monday the 14th Feb -- on Valentines day :)

I'm so excited that Aline & Eloise are experiencing these things at the same time as me. It is also nice that Aline has experienced the process before...she's so encouraging.

Here is the news for this week's development

Your baby, just over 1 1/2 inches long and about the size of a fig, is now almost fully formed. Her hands will soon open and close into fists, tiny tooth buds are beginning to appear under her gums, 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.

9 Weeks....

I'm feeling so tearful... I went to http://www.babycentre.co.uk though and watched this vid & I must say, it made me feel a bit more excited about what I'm going through. I just don't have energy & I'm really struggling to get my work done. There seems to just be way too much to do (even though I know that there really actually isn't).

I've just messed a whole glass of water on my desk for the second time in the last week. Grr.

I had no idea what to have for lunch yesterday so I made the most delicious Banana Crêpes with Bluegum Honey. They were so unbelievably yum that I'm not sure I'm going to resist making them on a regular basis.

I really need to focus. Get some work done so I can really relax. Tuesday. 9w1d. We leave for Argentina on the 16th of March. I am looking forward to feeling better for that!

Our next appointment is on the 14th of Feb with Dr.Caro Nel at Constantiaberg. She's going to be the Gynecologist who will C-section me if necessary on Squid's birth day. We should be finding out if we have a boy or a girl squid > I'm looking forward to finding out because I am looking forward to thinking about having a boy or a girl baby instead of just thinking 'baby'. I really don't mind which: I just want to know soon.

Nina found me a pregnancy exercise class in Kommetjie. I start tomorrow at 9am & will attend the class weekly. I really hope that it will help me relax & connect with my feelings better. I am also missing getting some exercise done so that will be great.

So this is what's going on:
By the end of this week, your baby measures about 2.3cm in length and weighs less than 2g. His eyelids, now completely covering his eyes, are fused and won't open until week 26. Tiny earlobes are now visible.

Your baby's essential body parts are accounted for, though they'll go through plenty of fine-tuning in the coming months. Already he looks more like a tiny human being. His wrists are more developed, his ankles have formed, and his fingers and toes are clear to see. His arms are growing longer and bend at the elbows. Now that your baby's basic physiology is in place, he's poised for rapid weight gain.

Though it's not yet possible to tell the sex of your baby by ultrasound, his genitals have begun to form. By now the placenta has developed enough to support most of the important job of producing hormones. The placenta is also making nutrients for your baby and getting rid of his waste products.

Symptoms Kick In..

Bashful (check), Dopey (check), Grumpy (check), Happy (definitely), Sleepy (totally!), Sneezy (check): so 6 out of 7 of the dwarfs - at any given moment or all at once!

We went to see Sandy Standish yesterday in Muizenberg: she's going to be our midwife.
I'm quite excited about having her on our project as she really seems very nice! Yay.
I was supposed to make appointments with the gynecologist she works with (Caro Nel) as well as with the foetal assessment clinic. Will have to do that tomorrow.

We had a Fish Hoek surf followed by salad and pizza. I only had 3 slices but I'm not feeling brilliant. Sleepy sleepy so going to go to bed now...

8 Weeks Today!

How exciting! We're at 8 weeks today. We went to Joshua's christening yesterday. It was a bad sick-day yesterday. I really didn't feel well. We got home by midday and I slept for about 3 hours. Very excited to have completed the first 2 months of our pregnancy :)

Baby Center Says:
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.

First Scan!

We had our first scan on Wednesday! We saw squid's heartbeat & it was ascertained that he/she was 7weeks and 3days ! (This means that we can count our new weeks every Monday)

It was quite surreal to see the little one there...its a real little person, hiding inside me, feeding off its yolk and growing bigger every day (and making me sick!)

I've been really nauseous... I got some pills which the doctor prescribed called ASIC which is especially for the relief of pregnancy nausea. Trouble is, it causes drowsiness & impaired concentration. As if I need more of that!!!

I sent Licia our scan picture & she sent one back of her with her preggie tum. She's not been for any scans....She's moving to England soon so I'm sure she'll have scan(s) done there.

I phoned a lady called Sandy Standish > she's been recommended to me as a midwife by a couple of people so I'm keen to meet her & see if her philosophy on birth resonates with what our ideas are.

The strangest feeling I've been having is that so many women/couples have gone through this very thing & nobody seems to make such a big fuss of just how radical it actually is. I suppose I'll feel differently when I'm feeling less sick and tired & when I start feeling more "pregnant".

Geoff is a complete angel. He's been so helpful and understanding. He's even started talking to & rubbing squid through my tummy which is just the best thing. He's so excited :)