Pregnancy at 16 weeks

This week I'm feeling fabulous, which is a wonderful thing because David and I had a housewarming party last night, along with my parents coming to town for two weeks!

I went to a Prenatal Yoga class this morning and was semi-disappointed to see that I'm the smallest of the 16 week-ers. I'd rather have a bit more of a belly, but this small pot will have to do.

Here's what the Internet says about this week:

Get ready for a growth spurt. In the next few weeks, your baby will double his weight and add inches to his length. Right now, he's about the size of an avocado: 4 1/2 inches long (head to rump) and 3 1/2 ounces. His legs are much more developed, his head is more erect than it has been, and his eyes have moved closer to the front of his head. His ears are close to their final position, too. The patterning of his scalp has begun, though his locks aren't recognizable yet. He's even started growing toenails. And there's a lot happening inside as well. For example, his heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day, and this amount will continue to increase as your baby continues to develop. See the baby size at 16 weeks >>

The Money Shot

Girls show three white lines. Boys show a "turtle" shape.

So after I asked the sonographer the 2nd time, "How SURE are you?" David was wondering if I wanted her to sign an affidavit or something. He said later, he could tell it was a girl too.

I just knew.

2nd Ultrasound

Today David and I went to the Anschutz Medical Campus to get the 2nd ultrasound, and here are a few images from our session. She said the baby looked great, and the spine looked "very good" for it's age, which is now at 15.5 weeks.


In these first photos baby the baby is in 3D, which we thought was just amazing. The statics don't show how SHE was kicking and moving her arms about... Yes, it's a girl! The sonographer checked, measured and checked the sex again. She sounded pretty sure of the sex.


But the really good news is that (and this part really haunted me the last few days) no Down's, Spina Bifida, or Cleft lip she could see. She looks very skinny, but her legs are growing fast!


We will tell Sam and Link tonite! David told me the boys were arguing over what they wanted: Sam wants a girl, and Link wants a boy! Maybe she'll be a very tough little sister...:)

It's Official...

All of my jeans - the $20 pair from Ross and the $120 pair from Macy's - non of them fit me at the moment. I swore I wasn't going to go to the other side and spend MONEY on maternity clothes...

I'm still not going to. Even though there are some very cute things at Japanese Weekend.

Yoga pants and dresses it is then! Watch for my stubborn a#$ in the fall when it's freezing out...

Your Pregnancy: 14 weeks

Welcome to the second trimester! 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.

We've got a heartbeat!

David surprised me today with a Doppler fetal monitor, borrowed from one of his coworkers.

We got a heartbeat immediately. I was stunned! We were both speechless for a good 5 minutes listening to baby pump away. So fast and so little! David sat right there with the same silly grin as we listened to this racing little beat for the next 15 minutes. He recorded it, so here it is:

Baby's heartbeat

At a consistent 162 beats per minute, we followed the little one 'round my belly for a good while. S/he was movin' all over! Baby's heartbeat is easy to distinguish from mine, which sounds incredibly slow in comparison - mine is 72 bpm.

I'm in love...:)

Your pregnancy: 12 weeks

See the big picture

How your baby's growing:

The most dramatic development this week: Reflexes. Your baby's fingers will soon begin to open and close, his toes will curl, his eye muscles will clench, and his mouth will make sucking movements. In fact, if you prod your abdomen, your baby will squirm in response, although you won't be able to feel it. His intestines, which have grown so fast that they protrude into the umbilical cord, will start to move into his abdominal cavity about now, and his kidneys will begin excreting urine into his bladder.

Meanwhile, nerve cells are multiplying rapidly, and in your baby's brain, synapses are forming furiously. His face looks unquestionably human: His eyes have moved from the sides to the front of his head, and his ears are right where they should be. From crown to rump, your baby-to-be is just over two inches long (about the size of a lime) and weighs half an ounce.

Telling the boys

We finally let our friends know the news yesterday. Our parents have known for weeks! We also told Sam and Link - on David's birthday!

"So, here's the news: We're going to have a baby!"

They said: "We know."

Then I said: "I am pregnant right now, and the baby is about the size of a lime!"

Only then, their eyes lit up and Link looked under the table to try to see a belly.

"You don't look pregnant!" he chirped.