16 Weels

"By week 16, your baby-to-be's body is doing more to support itself. Her kidneys function and produce urine that then passes through the umbilical cord. Within her stomach, bile is secreted, although she relies on you for all of her nutrients. Her appearance changes as her scalp hair grows and may even have color. Her developing facial muscles make it possible for her to open and close her mouth, maybe even give you a smile or two. "

"Get ready for a growth spurt. In the next few weeks, your baby will double his weight and add inches to his length. Right now, he's about the size of an avocado; 4 1/2 inches long (head to rump) and 3 1/2 ounces. His legs are much more developed, his head is more erect than it has been, and his eyes have moved closer to the front of his head. His ears are close to their final position, too. The patterning of his scalp has begun, though his locks aren't recognizable yet. He's even started growing toenails. And there's a lot happening inside as well. For example, his heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day, and this amount will continue to increase as your baby continues to develop."

The Graduate

Friday night we watched Tavi receive her high school diploma. What a night. She looked amazing and we were thrilled, proud and terribly sad. I can't believe she is going off to college. I will always remember her very pink 13th birthday. My how time flies. We are really going to miss her but we know she's moving on to bigger and better things and we can't wait to see what the future holds for her.

We had a party for her Friday night and enjoyed celebrating this special occasion with those we love. It was a great night and we are very excited for Tavi.

Doctor's Appointment

My appointment yesterday went well. My blood pressure was up a little bit which the nurse told me to watch but the doctor told me not to worry about. I remembered later that I had taken Sudafed so that may have had something to do with it.

Everything else looked good and the baby's heart was beating in the 150's this time. I talked to her a little about deliveries and I did feel much better by the time I left.

I scheduled the big ultrasound for June 18th - my birthday! I'm excited. I am very much looking forward to making sure that everything looks healthy.

I can tell that I haven't been sleeping as well lately. I have been having weird pregnancy dreams. One recurring dream is that I'm drunk (sorry Grandma) and forgot that I was pregnant. I remember only after I have ingested a large amount of alcohol and then - panic. No, this hasn't actually happened but it is a weird recurring dream to have.

I woke up today and feel like I did one of Martin's ab workouts yesterday. I assure you, I did nothing at all. I guess you'd call that growing pains. It's pretty uncomfortable. Every time I breathe I can feel those muscles aching. I knew that would happen as the abdominal wall stretches but I didn't expect to just wake up with it one day. Pretty weird.

This has been a seriously long week and I'm looking forward to Tavi's graduation and graduation party this weekend!

Taking A Poll

What do you think we are having? Make your pick on the poll to your right!

Looks like we are set to meet Martin's friend for an early ultrasound on the evening of June 3rd. I'm not sure I can wait that long!!

15 Weeks

"Your growing baby now measures about 4 inches long, crown to rump, and weighs in at about 2 1/2 ounces (about the size of an apple). She's busy moving amniotic fluid through her nose and upper respiratory tract, which helps the primitive air sacs in her lungs begin to develop. Her legs are growing longer than her arms now, and she can move all of her joints and limbs. Although her eyelids are still fused shut, she can sense light. If you shine a flashlight at your tummy, for instance, she's likely to move away from the beam. There's not much for your baby to taste at this point, but she is forming taste buds. Finally, if you have an ultrasound this week, you may be able to find out whether your baby's a boy or a girl! (Don't be too disappointed if it remains a mystery, though. Nailing down your baby's sex depends on the clarity of the picture and on your baby's position. He or she may be modestly curled up or turned in such a way as to "hide the goods.")"

I am still hoping that Martin's friend can do an ultrasound next week. I'm not going to get too excited in case baby Juarez ends up being modest and doesn't want to let us see "the goods". Even if we aren't able to find out the sex, I would just love to get a good look at the little one. We haven't had an ultrasound since 7 weeks so I would like to see how much peanut has grown and make sure everything looks healthy!

I go back to the doctor tomorrow for blood pressure/weight check. Gotta love that scale! At least I will get to hear the heartbeat.

14 Weeks

I didn't get to post last week but here is what happened to our little peanut last week:

"Welcome to the second trimester! This week's big developments: Your baby can now squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly suck his thumb. Thanks to brain impulses, his facial muscles are getting a workout as his tiny features form one expression after another. His kidneys are producing urine, which he releases into the amniotic fluid around him — a process he'll keep up until birth. He can grasp, too, and if you're having an ultrasound now, you may even catch him sucking his thumb. In other news: Your baby's stretching out. From head to bottom, he measures 3 1/2 inches — about the size of a lemon — and he weighs 1 1/2 ounces. "

I'm so glad to be out of the first trimester!

13 Weeks - Last Week of the First Trimester

"How your baby's growing:Fingerprints have formed on your baby's tiny fingertips, her veins and organs are clearly visible through her still-thin skin, and her body is starting to catch up with her head — which makes up just a third of her body size now. If you're having a girl, she now has more than 2 million eggs in her ovaries. Your baby is almost 3 inches long (the size of a medium shrimp) and weighs nearly an ounce."

I'm confused. Wasn't the baby just a plum? Isn't a shrimp smaller than a plum?

I can tell the second trimester is coming. The nausea is much better, almost completely gone. I have energy again - not back to 100% but much improved. I actually did grocery shopping, cooked dinner and stayed up until 10 pm last night. That's a huge difference from a couple of weeks ago.

I'm excited to see what the second trimester brings. We are hoping to find out the sex of the baby in 3 weeks - if we can work that out. We'll see!