Sunday, February 3, 2008

14 weeks

How your baby's growing: 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. 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 pugilist's hands and feet (which now measure about 1/2 inch long) are more flexible and active.

Wahoo! Second trimester here I come! It feels good to have made it to trimester number two. I'm feeling quite good. I definitely count myself as landing on the luckier end of the sickness spectrum. It hasn't been too bad. Now my pants are just getting tighter. I've been unbuttoning the top button on some. I also had Jared take pictures of my now growing belly for the first time. Nicki, this is for you:

I mostly just look fat unless you know I'm pregnant. And at the end of day (when this was taken) I do feel like my belly needs more room. It feels so good to let it hang out there. I can totally stick it out far too. This picture is just me trying to remain neutral.

As all you moms out there know, when you are pregnant it's really wonderful to have friends going through pregnancy with you. I have been quite blessed to have 3 friends all due within days of myself. Rachel, my dear college friend/cousin-in-law, is due July 31st. Emily, who I've known since age four, is due August 2nd. I am due August 3rd. And Katie, another college friend, is due August 4th. Any takers for August 1st? Apparently November was a very fertile month.

11 comments:

  1. oh, hurrah! and btw, your hair looks fab. i was always envious of how fast your hair would grow!

    has anybody told you about the hair elastic to fasten your pants trick? it's a nice segue for those in-between weeks.

    and i am so with you on the feeling bigger at the end of the day. i think there really is something to it...probably our poor exhausted stomach muscles throwing in the towel.

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  2. Rach, I actually did my hair for the first time in about 3 months. Unfortunately it doesn't look this good all the time. I can't wait to cut it!

    Also, yes I know about the elastic trick. It just hasn't quite seemed necessary because when I get dressed I button the pants but soon thereafter deem them too uncomfortable and must unbutton them. I think I'll try the elastic soon.

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  3. I was going to say how great your hair looks too...fabulous...gorgeous. I love your cute little belly. Just wait...it won't be long before it pops.

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  4. Happy belated birthday. You're looking great, and I agree with everyone that you have fab hair. I actually remember clicking on your blog for the first time from Emily's blog and thinking "that is the most naturally beautiful woman I have ever seen." That red hair is to die for (this coming from a dishwater blonde..what a nice descriptor.."dishwater"!)

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  5. Oh my goodness, Tia, you know how to make a girl feel good! Thank you!

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  6. i love coming here and reading your pregnancy updates...reminds me how far along I am...I cannot remember for the life of me what week i'm in. Glad you're keeping tabs for both of us. ditto to everyones comments about your hair -- it is gorgeous! i got my first, "oh, you're pregnant? I thought you were just getting fat" last night. I actually thought it was kind of a tacky thing to say...but oh well! things are definitely getting pudgier in the midsection for me, too!

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  7. Seriously you could be a Pantene model with that hair!

    I know pretty much nothing about being pregnant, but you look great! can't wait until you find out what you're having

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  8. Oh! It's so exciting when you start finally showing! You look awesome! Good luck with the hair cut! I'm loving it! It's so much easier!

    I totally agree that your hair now is amazing though!

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  9. So nice to have friends going through pregnancy at the same time!! I so enjoyed being pregnant - each and every time - I loved looking at the books at seeing the stages the baby was at. It is so exciting - I'm so excited for you!! You look beautiful. Take care - Kellan

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  10. Congratulations! You look great. It's fun when you have friends going through it with you. I came over by way of LDS Blogging Women.

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