12 Weeks (July 13 - 19)

I spent days thinking if I should buy those outfits or not and decided for the latter. I found out that they've added more stuff at the store right now and I'm just so glad that I got more choices. I realized I wouldn't be showing till the late fall anyway, so I think I should wait a little bit longer. I just couldn't resist those beautiful colors and I picked pinks 4/5. With my previous pregnancies, I just always get blues and blacks and right now those colors don't sound so good to me. I'm a natural pink person and I always wonder why I end up buying blues before. It's one of the biggest signs I missed when I was pregnant with my 2nd child. Hubby was always wondering why I'd pick blue over pink when we both knew I wanted and hoped for a girl. Of course I still can't say that it might be girl this time around. All I know is that I am crazy about pink lately especially the softest pink around like that Yoplait commercial.

So, for this week I'm still sleepy as always but I have a lot of trouble going to sleep at night. I'm just in a crazy cycle is all. I haven't had bananas lately 'coz it's making me puke. Sometimes, I really force myself to eat one because I know I need it especially now that I noticed it's been wet when I go #2. I stopped taking my prenatal vitamins this time too because each time I take it, I get nauseated immediately. It's probably the smell and the size. Too big to swallow! So, I'll ask my doctor on my next appointment if she can change the brand or something.

How's my baby growing:

Your baby's hit the 2-inch mark (about the size of a lime) and weighs half an ounce. Her face is beginning to look more human. Her eyes, which started out on the sides of her head, have moved closer together on her face, and her ears are near their final positions on the sides of her head. Your baby's intestines, which have grown so rapidly that they protrude into the umbilical cord, will start to move into her abdominal cavity about now. Her kidneys are secreting urine into her bladder. Her nerve cells have been multiplying rapidly, and synapses (neurological pathways in the brain) are forming. Your baby may have acquired more reflexes by now, including sucking, and she'll even squirm if you prod your abdomen, though you still won't be able to feel her movement for several weeks.

11 Weeks (July 6 - 12)

This week I'm still getting sick as usual but I am able to get on the computer a little bit better now. For the past few days, I have been browsing through Motherhood and already picked like 5 outfits I'm ready to buy, haha! Who am I kidding here? I don't even look pregnant yet but I am so excited to buy those big clothes already? I kept asking hubby to pay for it but he seemed to be hesitant so I might just go ahead and get them myself this weekend. How about that? I'm so bad. At least that's not final though. I am going to think about it over again. I still don't have any cravings at this time but then again, I never had any on my previous pregnancies. I'm still in a constant hunt for foods that I can handle. So, that's it for now. I'll be back next week for more.

How my baby's growing:

Your fig-sized baby is now fully formed — measuring 1 1/2 inches long and weighing in at a quarter of an ounce. His skin is still transparent, allowing many of his blood vessels to show through. Some of his bones are beginning to harden, and tiny toothbuds are starting to appear under his gums. His fingers and toes have separated, and he may soon be able to open and close his fists. He's already busy kicking and stretching, and his tiny movements are so fluid they look like water ballet. These movements will increase as his body grows and becomes more developed and functional. As his diaphragm develops, your tiny tenant may also start to get the hiccups. Because he's still so small, though, you won't feel any of his workouts or intrauterine gulps until sometime between weeks 16 and 20.

10weeks (June 29 - July 5)

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

9weeks (June 22 - 28)

What's new? I still got nausea and vomiting (at least nothing comes out though). I made an appointment with my OB-GYN and they scheduled me for next week July 3rd. I'm still taking my old pre-natal vitamins which are supposed to expire on August 2007. So, I should get a new prescription for that. I'm thinking of asking them to change the brand because it seemed to make me sicker. I take it during the night and as soon as I'm done taking it, I get nauseated immediately. My sense of smell is getting strong as well. I hate the smell of onion and garlic, chicken soup, greasy foods, body odors and other normal stinky stuffs. Somehow I still find it strange that only those things irritate me. You see with my pregnancy with AJ, everything smells horrible to me even perfumes and make-up. That right there gave me enough clue that he was going to be a boy, lol! I still don't know if this one is going to be another boy. I didn't get the feelings yet and based on the signs I'm getting, I can never be too sure. I don't want to ignore the signs this time. I want to be prepared emotionally. I admit I am hoping for a girl this time but I have no control over God's will. I already have some people telling me I'm going to get a complete set of the 3 Muskeeters, so I know there is a greater chance that it will be another boy. I have noticed that I get a lot of colored dreams lately. I still don't know what they mean but they're kinda interesting. Still no cravings this time. Just trying to find foods that my stomach can handle.

How my baby's growing:

Your new resident is nearly an inch long — barely the size of a grape — and weighs just a fraction of an ounce, but he's poised for rapid weight gain now that his basic physical structure is in place. He's also starting to look more and more human. His embryonic "tail" is now completely gone and his body parts — including organs, muscles, and nerves — are kicking into gear.

His eyelids are fused shut and won't open until 27 weeks. He has earlobes, and by week's end, the inner workings of his ears will be complete. His upper lip is fully formed, too, and his mouth, nose, and nostrils are more distinct. The tips of his fingers are slightly enlarged where his touch pads are developing. All major joints — his shoulders, elbows, wrists, knees, and ankles — are working, enabling your baby to move his limbs. As for his heart, it has divided into four chambers now, and the valves have started to develop. External sex organs are there, but won't be distinguishable as male or female for another few weeks.

8weeks (June 15 - 21)

The nausea intensifies. I can't watch tv for a long time, or be on the computer for so long, which means I can't scrap for the meantime since it takes me a lot of hours to finish a layout. Blogging from time to time will be fine. I had to tell Nancy about the pregnancy because I'm suppose to be on her CT (creative team). I don't plan to stop scrapbooking. I just need a little time out while the nausea and vomiting are still bugging me. It usually stops after the first trimester, so I'm hoping by the 14th week, my life will be back to normal again. I can't seem to do the things I normally do anymore. I get dizzy, nauseated and throwing up nothing for 3-4x a day. I don't like to see clutter. It makes me sicker to see any clutter. There are times that I just start cleaning up something and then all of a sudden I act like I'm kind of possessed that I can't seem to stop. I do think it's a good thing. Who doesn't want a clean place anyway?

How's my baby growing:

Your baby is now 5/8 of an inch long, about the size of a kidney bean. She's constantly moving and shifting, although you won't be able to feel these womb wiggles for several weeks yet. Her embryonic tail is disappearing, and her eyelids practically cover her eyes. Still slightly webbed, her fingers and toes are growing longer. Her arms have lengthened, too, and her hands are now flexed at the wrist and meet over her heart. Her knee joints have formed, and her feet may be long enough to meet in front of her body. With her trunk straightening out, her head is more erect. Breathing tubes extend from her throat to the branches of her developing lungs. The nerve cells in her brain are also branching out to connect with one another, forming primitive neural pathways. Though you may be daydreaming about your baby as one gender or another, the external genitals still haven't developed enough to reveal whether you're having a boy or a girl.