Embryology 101: 8 weeks

As we turn the corner on 8 weeks, we mark the end of the embryo stage and the beginning of the fetal stage according to this site (which is crazy cool if you're interested in human development). Right now, we're at stage 23 in the chart above. Baby CanCan (as we've loving dubbed him/her over the past week) is beginning to look less like an alien and more like the cute baby we'll welcome in 7 months, which is very exciting!

Our next doctor's appointment is slated for Oct 9th. By then, we'll be approaching 10 weeks, which will make the ultrasound very interesting, as we should be able to see more of tiny CanCan's features! Here's to ten fingers and ten toes!!!!

Quote Book

After trying on several different pairs of pants, Allison decides she wants to break out into song...
(To the tune of "Deep and Wide")

"Fat and wide, fat and wide
There's a baby growing deep inside.
Fat and wide, fat and wide
My butt is growing fat and wide."

(Applause)

When are the next America Idol try-outs? I think we have a serious contender here.

7 weeks!

The big news this week: Hands and feet are emerging from developing arms and legs — although they look more like paddles at this point than the tiny, pudgy extremities you're daydreaming about holding and tickling. Technically, your baby is still considered an embryo and has something of a small tail, which is an extension of her tailbone. The tail will disappear within a few weeks, but that's the only thing getting smaller. Your baby has doubled in size since last week and now measures half an inch long, about the size of a blueberry.

If you could see inside the womb, you'd spot eyelid folds partially covering her peepers, which already have some color, as well as the tip of her nose and tiny veins beneath parchment-thin skin. Both hemispheres of your baby's brain are growing, and her liver is churning out red blood cells until her bone marrow forms and takes over this role. She also has an appendix and a pancreas, which will eventually produce the hormone insulin to aid in digestion. A loop in your baby's growing intestines is bulging into her umbilical cord, which now has distinct blood vessels to carry oxygen and nutrients to and from her tiny body.

Quote Book

Allison: "Ahhh! It's a snake!!!"
Jamie: "Move....!"
Allison: "Where are you going?!"
Jamie: "To get my SWORD."
Allison: "You are not gonna be the crazy neighbor with the sword!!"
Jamie: "Then what are we gonna use to kill it?!"
Allison: "I don't know, but you're not running around out here with a stinking sword!"

We instead decided to use the hand saw. Crisis averted, 8 unknowing neighbors saved from the wrath of a not-so-happy-'cause-he-was-being-chopped-in-half-pilot-snake. Thanks to my wonderful hubby for saving the world tonight.

6 Weeks and counting!

After my first week of morning sickness, I have to say it is all worth it!!! Today we got to see the baby!!!! This morning the doctor was able to find the fetal pole and it was breathtaking to see the tiny heart fluttering on the ultrasound monitor. The little one's heart is beating at 113 beats per minute, which is normal for this stage. The rate will increase to around 150 as the weeks progress and then slow a bit as we get closer to the due date. According to the crown-to-rump measurements today, we are actually about 6 weeks along instead of the original time we had figured of 7 weeks. We also confirmed that we are not having twins, thankfully there's only one baby in there! They have not moved the due date yet, because it is still too early to really tell, but if they do, it may put us closer to a Mother's Day baby!!! (For those of you who don't know, I was born on Mother's Day!)

I stand amazed that God would trust us with such an important role and we are both humbled at the thought of all that is going on and everything we must prepare for. Please continue to pray for a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby boy or girl!!! And an extra prayer for the morning sickness to subside would be greatly appreciated - haha. :)

6 weeks

How your baby's growing: This week's major developments: The nose, mouth, and ears that you'll spend so much time kissing in eight months are beginning to take shape. You'd find an oversize head and dark spots where your baby's eyes and nostrils are starting to form. His emerging ears are marked by small depressions on the sides of the head, and his arms and legs by protruding buds. His heart is beating about 100 to 160 times a minute — almost twice as fast as yours — and blood is beginning to course through his body. His intestines are developing, and the bud of tissue that will give rise to his lungs has appeared. His pituitary gland is forming, as are the rest of his brain, muscles, and bones. Right now, your baby is a quarter of an inch long, about the size of a lentil bean.