Week 17: What's Happening

Your baby's skeleton is changing from soft cartilage to bone, and the umbilical cord — her lifeline to the placenta — is growing stronger and thicker. Your baby weighs 5 ounces now (about as much as a turnip), and she's around 5 inches long from head to bottom. She can move her joints, and her sweat glands are starting to develop.

Here's me at 17 weeks!

I've noticed lately that I seem to be dreaming a lot more--almost every night, and then I read that many women report that their dream life shifts into high gear during pregnancy. What's weird is that during the second and third trimesters, you spend less sleep time in rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, the cycle in which most dreams occur. So it's probably at least in part because I'm waking up during the night a lot more for a bathroom run or to try to get in a more comfortable position. I used to sleep straight through the night, but not anymore--thanks Wiggles!

Week 16: What's Happening

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 your open hand--about 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.

Too Much Rain!

We've had so much rain lately that Gracie and Bella are going stir crazy from being inside. This is one example of what a terribly tough life they have. This morning, Mick had to work for a couple of hours, so I decided to take the girls for a walk before it started raining again. The word "walk" always gets Gracie super excited, which in turn gets Bella excited. They were exhausted when we got home, and I'm sure it was great exercise for Wiggles and me too.

Week 15: What's Happening

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 a naval orange. 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. So what keeps your baby busy all day? Mostly, she is in rehearsals — practice, practice, practicing, and getting ready for that big debut. Babies practice breathing, sucking, and swallowing so that when they leave your comfy womb and move into your comfy house, they'll have the skills necessary to survive.

Week 14: What's Happening

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 weighs 1 1/2 ounces. His body's growing faster than his head, which now sits upon a more distinct neck. By the end of this week, his arms will have grown to a length that's in proportion to the rest of his body. (His legs still have some lengthening to do.) He's starting to develop an ultra-fine, downy covering of hair, called lanugo, all over his body. Your baby's liver starts making bile this week — a sign that it's doing its job right — and his spleen starts helping in the production of red blood cells. Though you can't feel his tiny punches and kicks yet, your little one's hands and feet (which now measure about 1/2 inch long) are more flexible and active.

Another Day, Another Doctor

I had a checkup today with Dr. Graham (my regular OB/GYN, who will deliver the baby). I had to give about 8 vials of blood for different tests. No ultrasound today, but I did get to hear the heartbeat again (166 today!).
I'll go back to Dr. Graham in 3 1/2 weeks (on the 26th). It gets a little exhausting keeping up with all the appointments--I'll be glad when I'm down to seeing just one doctor, although all the extra ultrasounds have been great!

Growing Right Along!

We had a checkup today with Dr. Gomez, and everything looks great! Wigglerina is measuring at 13 weeks, 2 days (I'm 13 weeks, 3 days, but they said the measurements are never exact). The heartbeat is about 153, which is right where it should be. And the name still fits...there was lots of wiggling around, curling up and stretching.

We asked Dr. Gomez if it was too early to tell if it's a boy or a girl, and he said he could take a guess, but we couldn't go buy anything! So he took another look and said if he had to guess, he'd say it's a girl. I know we can't get excited yet, but it's a little too late! My next appointment with Dr. Gomez is in 4 weeks, which also happens to be the day after my birthday--he said we'll be able to tell then with more certainty.

So the bottom picture here is a profile--hopefully you can make out the head and face. You can't see much in the top one except for a little hand, waving at everybody! We thought that was really cool. There are 10 other pictures they gave us, but some are very hard to distinguish, so I picked out the best two.

Week 13: What's Happening

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. As you start your second trimester, most of your baby's critical development will be completed!

First Belly Pic

I'm not in maternity clothes yet, but I can't deny the fact that all of my pants are tighter, so I decided to take the first belly pic. I'm 12 1/2 weeks along here.

The most wonderful invention I've discovered is called the Bella Band (http://www.ingridandisabel.com/). It lets me keep wearing my regular clothes, but smooths out the lines so I don't have to button my pants, which is fabulous.

Week 12: What's Happening

The most dramatic development this week: reflexes. Your baby's fingers will soon begin to open and close, his toes will curl, his eye muscles will clench, and his mouth will make sucking movements. In fact, if you prod your abdomen, your baby will squirm in response, although you won't be able to feel it. His intestines, which have grown so fast that they protrude into the umbilical cord, will start to move into his abdominal cavity about now, and his kidneys will begin excreting urine into his bladder.Meanwhile, nerve cells are multiplying rapidly, and in your baby's brain, synapses are forming furiously. His face looks unquestionably human: His eyes have moved from the sides to the front of his head, and his ears are right where they should be. From crown to rump, your baby-to-be is just over 2 inches long (about the size of a lime) and weighs half an ounce.

Week 11: What's Happening

Your baby, just over 1 1/2 inches long and about the size of a fig, is now almost fully formed. Her hands will soon open and close into fists, tiny tooth buds are beginning to appear under her gums, and some of her bones are beginning to harden. She's already busy kicking and stretching, and her tiny movements are so effortless they look like water ballet. These movements will become more frequent as her body grows and becomes more developed and functional. You won't feel your baby's acrobatics for another month or two — nor will you notice the hiccupping that may be happening now that her diaphragm is forming.

Looks Like a Puppy!

Just a few days after Wigglerina was named, we had an appointment with Dr. Gomez from Atlanta Perinatal Consultants (http://www.apc.med.pro/), a high risk doctor we were referred to from RBA. I had another ultrasound, and when I sent the pictures out, Julie told me the baby looked like a puppy! If it turns out as sweet as the two we already have, I'll be fine with that.

Wigglerina's First Closeup

It was after this ultrasound that we started the nickname Wigglerina--the baby was kicking and moving around so much and actually looked like a little person! It was the first time we saw arms and legs, which was pretty amazing.

Week 10: What's Happening

Though only a little over an inch or so long, crown to bottom — and weighs less than a quarter of an ounce, your baby has now completed the most critical portion of his development. This is the beginning of the so-called fetal period, a time when the tissues and organs in his body rapidly grow and mature. He's swallowing fluid and kicking up a storm. Vital organs — including his kidneys, intestines, brain, and liver (now making red blood cells in place of the disappearing yolk sac) — are in place and starting to function, though they'll continue to develop throughout your pregnancy. Tiny nails are forming on fingers and toes (no more webbing) and peach-fuzz hair is beginning to grow on tender skin. In other developments: your baby's limbs can bend now. His hands are flexed at the wrist and meet over his heart, and his feet may be long enough to meet in front of his body. The outline of his spine is clearly visible through translucent skin, and spinal nerves are beginning to stretch out from his spinal cord. Your baby's forehead temporarily bulges with his developing brain and sits very high on his head, which measures half the length of his body. From crown to rump, he's about 1 1/4 inches long. In the coming weeks, your baby will again double in size — to nearly 3 inches.

Second Ultrasound

Starting to look a little more like something growing. We heard the heartbeat and could actually see it beating--looked like a little butterfly!

First Ultrasound

Doesn't look like much yet, but this was the first real proof we had that there was a baby in there!

Two Pink Lines

Mick was out of town the week of the 20th-24th, and I had some pregnancy tests under the bathroom sink that I just didn't want to waste. The doctor told me not to use these because we might get a false positive, but I couldn't help it. I took three that week, beginning on Wednesday, and all were positive!

Day 5 Embryo Transfer

We had the embryo transfer scheduled for this morning at 9:30, and had to be there half an hour early. I had to arrive with a very full bladder (helps them see my uterus with the ultrasound for the transfer), which was honestly the worst part of this entire process! The nurse told me to drink 40-60 oz. of water before the appointment, so I did, but I didn't make it. The doctor was in a procedure and was running late, so they ended up doing the transfer with an empty bladder.

The embryologist came in and talked to us and showed us a picture of our two embryos that were ready for transfer. He told us they were beautiful, and perfectly developed. We decided to have both transferred, which was what Dr. Straub had recommended all along. We also found out today that these were the only two embryos that developed to the blastocyst stage, so out of all 8 eggs that fertilized, these were the only two that were viable.

It was a pretty emotional morning for both of us--after all these years of wanting to have a baby, and all these months of doctors and procedures, it had all come down to this! The process only took a couple of minutes, and I had to rest for 5 minutes afterwards and take it easy the rest of the day. We scheduled a visit for July 27 for the blood test that will tell us if I'm pregnant!

Embryo Transfer Update

Out of the 14 eggs retrieved, 11 were mature, and 8 of those fertilized. We were told that with IVF, the doctor will typically transfer the embryos on either Day 3 (if they don't look like they'll continue to develop in the incubator), or Day 5 (if they're developing well). Today was Day 3, and I got a call from the nurse this morning to let me know the embryos were developing as they should, so they would do the transfer on Day 5. Good news!

Egg Retrieval

After a long few weeks of daily injections, doctor visits, ultrasounds and blood tests, we went in for my egg retrieval on July 11. It was a pretty quick outpatient surgical procedure. While I was in recovery, the doctor came in and told us they retrieved 14 eggs. I guess those daily injections worked!