I had my first doctor's appointment this week. I lost 6lbs from all that nausea but I don't think it's too bad. We heard the baby's heartbeat for the first time. It was an awesome thing to hear. It made me feel that at this time I have a lesser chance of getting a miscarriage but then again, it might just be too early to tell. I'm really just hoping for the best. The baby's heartrate is 168. We brought the kids with us and AJ was thrilled to hear his baby brother's/sister's heartbeat. Aiden is still too young to know what's going on. He was crying when the doctor did my pap smear. Poor thing. I told them, I'll go alone in my next appointment but the nurses love to see them there and they want us to bring them again next month. My boys get too much attention from those girls and they love it, lol! I also got blood drawn from me, which was not so good. In my opinion, they took too much blood from me because I was actually feeling dizzy as we walked through the parking lot going home. The doctor asked me if I wanted medication for the nausea but I refused. I think I can handle a few more weeks and as much as I can, I'll do things without medication. I still don't have cravings at this time. I do think that the guy who played Smallville's Green Arrow, Justin Hartley is cute, lol! Hubby didn't like that.
How my baby's growing:
Your baby is no longer an embryo! Though she's barely the size of a kumquat — just an inch or so long, crown to bottom — and weighs less than a quarter of an ounce, she now has completed the most critical portion of her development. This is the beginning of the so-called fetal period, a time when the tissues and organs in her body rapidly grow and mature. Her vital organs — the liver, kidney, intestines, brain, and lungs — are now in place and starting to function (although they'll continue to develop throughout your pregnancy). Her liver continues to make blood cells, and the yolk sac, which previously supplied these cells, is no longer needed and begins to disappear.
During the next three weeks, your baby's length will more than double to nearly 3 inches. Her head is proportionately smaller now than it was a few weeks ago, but it's still almost half the length of her entire body. Her forehead temporarily bulges with her developing brain and sits high on her head; it will later recede to give her a more human appearance. Each day, more minute details — including tiny fingernails, toenails, and peach-fuzz hair — start to appear on her body. Her fingers are now completely separated; her arms bend at the elbow and curve slightly; her hands are flexed at the wrist and meet over her heart; her legs are lengthening; and her feet may be long enough to meet in front of her body. She is busily swallowing amniotic fluid and kicking her legs.
If you could take a peek at your baby this week, you'd be able to clearly see the outline of her spine through her parchment-thin skin. Spinal nerves are beginning to stretch out from her spinal cord.
Credits: frame by Nancy Comelab and staple by Michelle Coleman
