14 Weeks

WOW.... Little Turkey is the size of a lemon this week! It is absolutely amazing me how fast this little miracle is growing. Not too add how astonished I am that time is starting to go so quickly. The time was going SO slow in the first few weeks, and now I can feel it speeding up with each week. But each day is one day closer to holding my sweet little baby in my arms!

I'm thrilled to be able to say that I have finally started feeling the baby move! We were sitting at a park yesterday afternoon and I suddenly felt this distinct "thump". I don't even know that I can describe it as a thump, but it was definitely noticeable and 100% different from my normal gas bubbles. Ever since yesterday, I've felt it quite a few times.... it's such a miraculous feeling. To know that it's my baby moving inside of me and I can FEEL it is indescribable. I can't wait until Eric will be able to feel it from the outside. Those are some of my favorite memories from when I was pregnant with Jackson. We would literally lay in bed for an hour with his hand on my belly and watch our son wiggle around.... nothing short of AMAZING.

I've decided to start walking every single day. The weather has gotten so beautiful, it's an easy decision for me! I'm going to make a routine... when Eric gets home from work each evening, him and Jackson can have some Daddy/Son time and I'll take Lucy for a 30 minute walk. That way I'll get a little break to myself and also be getting good exercise each day! I learned my lesson with my pregnancy with Jackson that I MUST get exercise every day... not only is it good for me and the baby, but I feel SO wonderful emotionally afterwards.

We have a doctor's appointment on Thursday morning. I'm super excited about it, even though I know it'll probably just be a standard appointment! We'll probably get to hear the baby with the doppler (which I get to do at home, hee hee!) and he'll measure my uterus and just talk with us about any questions or concerns. I do plan on talking with him more about my VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean).... we talked a lot about it at my first appointment with him last year, but I definitely have some more questions that I'd like answered. So hopefully it'll be a great appointment!

I also contacted the very first doula that I'd like to interview! She e-mailed me back the same day with her cell phone number, so I plan on calling her in the next few days. I'm so excited about this for some reason! I wish so much that I had a doula with Jackson's birth.... I feel like it possibly could have changed the outcome of the whole thing. But either way, I know it'll be VERY beneficial for me with this labor and delivery. So I can't wait to chat with her!

Here's some fun facts about Little Turkey this week!

The Fourteenth Week

• Thyroid gland has matured and your baby begins producing hormones which will be used throughout his or her life.
• In boys, the prostate gland develops
• In girls, the ovaries move from the abdomen to the pelvis
• Your little one may have learned to suck his thumb by this point!
• Your child's bones are getting harder and stronger by the day!
• Your baby's skin is very transparent still
• Lanugo (very fine hair) covers the baby's body and will continue to grow until 26 weeks gestational age - Generally this will be shed prior to birth. Its purpose is to help protect baby's skin while in all that water!
• Your baby is 3.42 inches (8.7cm) long and weighs about 1.52 ounces (43 grams) - approximately the weight of a letter!

Sweet and cold...

I just sent Eric to the grocery store at 9:00 PM to get some popsicles. It's going to be a long, long summer....

13 Weeks

Little Turkey is the size of a peach this week! Needless to say, it's going to be a little difficult for me to consume any peaches for the next seven days. It truly blows my mind how fast this little one is growing. Only two months ago, it was the size of the period following this sentence. And it's only going to grow faster and faster! The other big milestone this week? I've FINALLY made it to the second trimester, woo hoo!

One of the most amazing things that has happened over the last few days is listening to the baby with the doppler. Not only can I listen to its heartbeat, but now I can hear it moving around! This one definitely likes to move EVERYWHERE.... sometimes I have to chase it with the doppler probe. I also heard it have the hiccups the other day! That was pretty amazing! It was just this steady "bloop" sound every couple seconds. I remember Jackson used to get the hiccups ALL the time when I was pregnant with him. I'm wondering if this one will be the same. I think it's very possible that I might have felt little movements here and there. It's so hard to tell at times! Sometimes I'll feel some little bubbles, but then I proceed to have some crazy gas a couple minutes later, ha ha! But there have been maybe two or three distinct times that it has felt different. Regardless, it'll only be a few more weeks before I'll start feeling it for sure! I believe I started feeling Jackson move around 15 weeks.... it felt like popcorn popping in my lower tummy. I can't WAIT to feel big strong movements with this one.... that's one of my favorite parts of being pregnant.

The other news is I have officially "popped." I tried on one of my new maternity shirts yesterday and almost fell over when I saw myself in the mirror. I guess when you see yourself every single day, it's hard to notice subtle differences. But once that shirt went on.... holy moly! My lower tummy is also getting hard.... I can feel the top of my uterus easily now. I definitely need to go get some maternity pants.... all of my normal jeans are getting pretty uncomfortable now! I'll post some belly pictures soon!

Here's some fun facts about Little Turkey this week!

The Thirteenth Week

• Your infant is about 2.91 inches (7.4cm) and weighs around 0.81 ounce (23gm) - This is about the same weight as 4 quarters.
• If you could peek in again you may spot your baby as he begins to practice inhaling and exhaling movements
• Eyes and ears continue to move and develop
• Baby's neck is getting longer, and the chin no longer is resting on his chest
• Her hands are becoming more functional - Your baby may find it comforting to start playing with her fist.
• At this point all nourishment is received from the placenta
• On your next doctor visit you should be able to hear heartbeat with a Doppler by now - (Don't worry though if you can't, the heartbeat can be confirmed through U/S). Your baby's heartbeat is much rapider than your own and may remind you of the race towards birth that he is running!

Our 11 week ultrasound!

I'm really late in posting this, but here's a short video that we took during our 10 week ultrasound a few weeks ago! It was so amazing to see our little one moving around!!!

12 Weeks

Little Turkey is the size of a plum this week! I feel like I've REALLY been slacking on the journal and picture taking so far in this pregnancy! I think it's because I spent the first few weeks just trying to get through each day that passed, praying that my baby was still doing well! Once I hit nine weeks (when we discovered we lost our first angel), and we saw on the ultrasound that Turkey was still doing good, it started to get a little easier. And of course, my doppler keeps my sanity on a daily basis!

I'm finding it hard to comprehend that I'm almost done with the first trimester. It seems like time has gone SO slow, yet so quick at the same time. I know that time is truly going to fly by and this baby will be with us before we can blink an eye! If I have calculated it right, I believe we'll be finding out the gender in late June/early July. So in reality, that's not much longer!! I've had major girl vibes this whole pregnancy, but I truly don't care what we're having. I just want a healthy baby.... that's been my dream for SO long now. Jackson is SO excited to be a big brother.... we talk about the baby every day and he loves listening to it on the doppler. He's going to be an AMAZING brother, I can't wait.

I thought I was starting to feel better, but the last few days have been pretty rotten. I thought it was allergies, but I'm pretty sure I've come down with yet ANOTHER cold. Jackson has it too, so this is a really fun household to be in right now. This is my THIRD cold since I found out I was pregnant.... seriously?!? My fatigue is still awful and I've had another bout of horrible nausea today. I'm crossing my fingers it all goes away within the next couple weeks!

Here's some fun facts about Little Turkey this week!

The Twelfth Week

• Vocal cords begin to form - While perhaps not quite ready to be introduced to the nearest opera stage, your infant will use these immediately following the moment of birth. Bet you can't wait to hear that first cry!
• Those precious eyes begin to move closer together - Are you wondering if he will have mommy's crystal green eyes, daddy's laughing brown ones, or maybe out of the gene pool will emerge grandma's clear blue!
• Ears shift to their normal place on the side of the head
• Intestines move farther in to your child's body
• His or her liver begins to function - Responsible for cleansing the blood, storing nutrients, and providing needed chemicals, this is an important event!
• The pancreas begins to produce insulin
• Guess what? Your baby's average size is now at a whopping length: 2.13 inches (5.4cm) and weight: 0.49 ounce (14gm)