8 Week Appointment Notes

Okay! A "real" post from me. We were exactly 8 weeks from conception on Thursday 2/25/10, the day of our first appointment with our new Doctor. I cannot tell you how nervous I was. I was already nauseated all day, and upon arriving to the office I could barely finish my paperwork. Jack offered to help even, I was so hose beasted. But we got it done, and only waited about 10-15 minutes for the Doctor. We loved her immediately! The first thing she said after introductions was "I bet you are really nervous...I just read your history." I said I was extremely nervous. And she asked if we would like to go ahead and see our Baby first, before we do anything else. She had literally read my thoughts that I had expressed in the previous weeks.

This time, there was no pause. There was no looking around desperately, while a horrible silence hung from the ceiling tiles. This time our little Blob was THERE! Measuring perfectly for our conception date and even moving around a little bit! Our Doctor said "Hi Mommy! Hi Daddy!" I was crying, the Doctor was crying, Jack was grinning and squeezing my hand off! The little heartbeat was pounding away at a very strong 180 then 177 beats per minute. (Hmmmm, could it be Daddy's Girl?)

The Doctor was so pleased with all that she saw, and so happy for us, she printed off 8 pictures. She also pointed out the heartbeat, the head and rump, and the little limb buds starting to form into the arms that will someday hug our necks. And when it was time to move on, Doctor said "Bye Mommy! Bye Daddy!"

We can't say enough about our Doctor. Not just her lovely presence and personality, but her birth philosophy as well. She shares my views that childbirth should be a natural process as much as possible, and that intervention should only be in the case of a life threat to Baby or Mom. She says we can have an active birth at Rose, as the rooms are equipped with birthing balls, squat cubes, jacuzzi tubs and plenty of room to move around. I will not have to be tethered to a bed by monitors, sitting on the place I am trying to breathe a Baby out from! Yay!

There is one huge downside, as with most practices in Denver, if Yuko is not the Doc on call the day we deliver, one of her partners will attend. We will get to meet all her partners over the next 30 weeks. We are praying that God works that out, because even Jack said he would feel so much more comfortable knowing she would be the one there with us. And I am honestly a bit worried about his comfort a little more than mine! So prayers needed there...But Yuko did express genuine confidence and affection for her Group, and said that the birth philosophies are shared and will be honored.

So we got a lot of information that day. And 3 more appointments set up. We will be checking my thyroid every 4 weeks. Our 20 week appointment is May 20th....when we will learn the gender of our Bubbly Bubby. We are going to try and avoid any more ultrasounds before then.

Well, it's feeling like back to bed for me. I just finished some laundry, cleaned the kitchen and picked up, and now I feel worked! I do hope I get to feeling a lot better soon, or this will be a long 32 weeks ahead! But we are so thankful. All glory be to God through Jesus Christ forever and ever Amen! :)

Week 8!

Fetal development in pregnancy week 8:embryo in second month Woohoo! You've got one whole inch of baby inside of you! Your little embryo has finally reached the one-inch mark (30mm). And if it were possible to take a peek, you could actually see your tiny baby without a telescope! What’s more, your baby is finally starting to take on some very distinct human features. For starters, their little tail (really just the spinal cord) has disappeared completely. It’s nice to know your baby can no longer be mistaken for a sea creature! Additionally, both their toes and fingers are prominent with very little, if any, webbing. Upper and lower limbs all show recognizable joints (elbows and knees) and the lower limb bones are starting to ossify. But don’t expect your baby to resemble either parent quite yet. Right now, your baby’s head is disproportionately larger than the rest of their body--making up almost half of your little one’s height and weight!

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And how's mom doing? Your slightly-larger-than-a-cherry embryo is also starting to have a physical impact on you this week—and not just hormonally, as you may be noticing a slight bulge at your midline-- mostly from water retention. Most people won't even notice the subtle change to your belly's shape, but since you’re if you have been extra moody lately, that may start to subside this week, as the placenta is beginning to take responsibility for your baby’s hormone production tuned in to every little change in your body, it hasn’t slipped past. Good news for the hormonally tortured: if you have been extra moody lately, that may start to subside this week, as the placenta is beginning to take responsibility for your baby’s hormone production. This means your body will soon be able to relax a bit from its over-production of hormones as the placenta starts to regulate your baby’s hormones-- allowing your body to focus on producing more normal levels of hormones for yourself (see Week 10).

Week 7

Fetal development in pregnancy week 7:embryo in second month Your baby is really beginning to develop more physical definition this week – their oversized head isn’t just large and oblong anymore, it’s actually a little bit pointy. The tiny receding tail bud is now starting to be overshadowed by the growth of their legs, which are now complete with knees and the beginnings of toes. Their eyes and ears are the most visible features on their head and their miniature bones are starting to harden throughout their body. You also have some variation on a boy or a girl at this point, although their genitals won’t be visible enough to determine which color cigars you’re going to buy until around the 16th week.

Week 6

Week 6: There's nausea everywhere!

Fetal development in pregnancy week 6:embryo in second month This is going to be a busy week for your amazing little embryo. Their brain is still growing remarkably fast; miniature hand plates are starting to develop and the early formations of what will be their fingers are already visible. Also, the lower limbs do not develop quite as fast, so they’re pretty much still flippers. Up until this point, your baby has been very curled up with the head and tail in close proximity, but this week their trunk and neck are beginning to grow and straighten as their tail recedes into its resting position in the back. Even though your little miracle is only 6 weeks old, they’re already capable of demonstrating reflex responses to touch!

Week 5

Week 5: Teeny tiny baby steps

Fetal development in pregnancy week 5:embryo in second month The changes to your growing embryo are not quite as drastic this week as they've been in the last few weeks. Growth is now largely focused on their little head, which is starting to develop much more rapidly than the rest of their tiny body. This is because their amazing brain is undergoing some very crucial and rapid development in order to effectively regulate their heart rate, blood circulation, and other vital functions. As for the rest of their miniature body, what were simple limb buds last week are limb flippers this week and the tail is more expressed. Amazingly, within a mere five weeks your little miracle is already developing the rudimentary forms of their liver, pancreas, lungs, stomach and nasal pits while their little heart is already increasing its circulation. Your baby is now a whopping 4-6mm in length.