(7 Weeks) 10 Weeks: Kumquat

What the heck is a kumquat? Poppy- you aren't one, okay? You are just the size of one.

Poppy is about an inch long from head to rump, and has finished the most critical time of development. Some vital organs — including kidneys, intestines, brain, and liver are in place and starting to function. Also, the arms and legs can bend now, and the hands are curled up over the chest. Cute! Poppy's tiny fingernails are starting to grow too! Watch out-- those things get sharp, as I recently discovered!

I have been feeling really great this week! Again, the only indication of pregnancy is my constant fatigue. I just get tired so fast! I have slowly been unpacking and settling into our new home at Gary's. I want to create a nice, comfy home for my family, so I have been working for hours everyday getting things put away. All that organizing robs me of precious energy too!

(6 Weeks) 9 Weeks: Grape

Poppy, you are growing SO much this week! The changes are abundant! You are nearly an inch long, about the size of a grape! You weigh just a fraction of an ounce. All of your essential body parts are accounted for, though they'll grow much more over the coming months. Your heart will finish dividing into four chambers this week, and the valves start to form. (I am praying that all the chambers are closed at birth!) Your tiny little teeth are forming too! Your eyes are fully formed, but your eyelids are fused shut and won't open for a long time. Your tiny earlobes, mouth, nose, and nostrils are more distinct now too. (Babycenter.com)

I can't believe how much God continues to bless me with easy pregnancies. I really don't feel like I am pregnant at all, except for the growing love I have for Poppy. I have found myself daydreaming about his or her arrival and how fun life will be with two young kiddos. I am sure it will be quite a challenge at times, but a fun challenge nonetheless. I have been feeling very tired this week, but then again I have been up several times a night with Sophia, packing like crazy, moving boxes around, cleaning, unpacking, cooking, and of course, blogging. My pregnancy appetite has returned as well! I am able to eat a normal sized meal and within three hours I am ready for another! :)

First prenatal visit (@ Woodwinds again!!): March 3rd

(5 Weeks) 8 Weeks: Kidney Bean

(finally caught up)

"This week, webbed fingers and toes are poking out from your hands and feet, your eyelids practically cover your eyes, breathing tubes extend from your throat to the branches of your developing lungs, and your "tail" is just about gone. In your brain, nerve cells are branching out to connect with one another, forming primitive neural pathways. You are about the size of a kidney bean now, and constantly moving and shifting, though I still can't feel it." (Babycenter.com)

We were able to tell all of our friends and family our exciting news within a few days of finding out ourselves. I think some of them were more surprised this time around than when we told them Sophia was coming! We used the "big sister" shirt to tell most people.

Honorable Mention:
To tell Erin and Richard, we put this photo in a stack of other photos for them to look through...

...Erin was holding the stack of photos with this one on top. She smiled and said it was cute and then went on. The next two photos in the stack were ones of Sophia in her "big sister" shirt. She thought those were cute too. After she went through all the photos and came back to this one, she looked at it a little longer. All of the sudden, words came stumbing out of her mouth, so fast that they all got jumbled up and didn't make sense (duh? wha? uh?...) Finally she managed "What's this!?" She showed it to Richard. He looked at the photo for a minute, then slowly shifted his gaze to Jared and started shaking his head, shocked. I think he had a shocked look on his face for a full five minutes before he said anything! It was fantastic!


I have been feeling a little crampy and slightly nauseous this week. Nothing serious, but I have been trying to take it easy. The other thing that has been knockin' at my door is sleep, it wants to take over my body. I would willingly give in, but sadly sleep and Sophia are not friends. Sigh.

Sophia Helped Us Tell

Mommy: "Sophia! You are going to be a big sister!"
Sophia: "What?"



Daddy: "You are going to have a little brother or sister!"
Sophia: "Ooooooh! Yipee! I am going to be a big sister!"


This was Sophia's special "big sister" shirt that she wore to dinner with Papa Nourse, Papar and Grandma, Auntie Anna and Uncle Nay Nay. After an hour and a half, and no one had said anything about her shirt, I had to step in. I told Sophia to show everyone her pretty shirt that I made for her. Grandma read it aloud with confusion, "Big sister?" and then looked up at us. Then her eyes got wide. Papar jumped in, "Is this one of those prego things again?"


I said, "Maybe!" with a wry smile. Then everyone laughed and got very excited!

(4 Weeks) 7 Weeks: Blueberry

Dear Poppy,
Tonight mommy and daddy finally found out you are on the way. It came as quite a shock, but there is no better surprise than a baby. We already love you. Your big sister, Sophia, is only four months old right now, and she can't wait to meet you. I can hardly believe how much you have grown without my knowledge. You are already the size of a blueberry! I even read that you are starting to grow your arms and legs this week. I can't wait until those precious little arms can wrap themselves around my neck.

After daddy and I found out about you, we sat on the kitchen floor for a long time and talked about you. We decided we are not going to find out if you are a boy or girl. We want you to surprise us on your birthday! We talked and laughed about how to tell everyone you are coming. We both love you very much. I am excited to track your progress as you grow inside of me. We are so excited to meet you, little one.

Love,

Daddy and Mommy

"Big news this week! Your hands and feet are emerging from your arms and legs — although they look more like paddles at this point than the tiny, pudgy extremities we're daydreaming about holding and tickling. You have doubled in size since last week and now measure half an inch long, about the size of a blueberry!" (Babycenter.com)

6 Weeks: Lentil

"Your nose, mouth, and ears that I'll spend so much time kissing in eight months are beginning to take shape. If I could see you right now, I'd find an oversize head and dark spots where your eyes and nostrils are starting to form. Your emerging ears are marked by small depressions on the sides of the head, and your arms and legs by protruding buds. Your heart is beating about 100 to 160 times a minute — almost twice as fast as mine — and blood is beginning to course through your body. Your intestines are developing, and the bud of tissue that will give rise to your lungs has appeared. Your pituitary gland is forming, as are the rest of the brain, muscles, and bones. Right now, you are a quarter of an inch long, about the size of a lentil bean." (Babycenter.com)


I started to feel a little more tired than normal this week and made daddy promise to take care of Sophia for one night so I could get a good night's sleep. I, of course, attributed my drowsiness to the fact that Sophia was having a rough week transitioning into her crib and I was not getting much sleep. I am sure that contributed to my fatigue. Little did I know that both of my children were helping in that aspect!

5 Weeks: Sesame Seed

Poppy has grown so much in a week! I am told baby looks like a tiny tadpole right now! I think it was about this point that I started getting ferociously hungry all the time. It was such a big difference from my normal appetite that I even told Jared about my gnawing hunger. We both assumed it was because I was breastfeeding Sophia still. In the back of my mind the thought of pregnancy sprung up though I did not seriously think it was true. I just increased my food intake and went on my way, never the wiser.



"You are now made up of three layers — the ectoderm, the mesoderm, and the endoderm — which will later form all of your organs and tissues." (Babycenter.com)

4 Weeks: Poppy Seed

"You are an embryo the size of a poppy seed, consisting of two layers: the epiblast and the hypoblast, from which all of your organs and body parts will develop." (Babycenter.com) Also present is the amniotic sac and primitive placenta.

All of this is happening deep within my womb, and I don't even have a clue that you are growing inside of me, my little poppy seed! But you are beautiful and so intricate, and so very tiny. I love you already, even when I don't know you are there.

Surprise!!

Yes, it's true! Papooska number two is on the way!! I can hardly believe it myself. I now officially have an uneasy fear of Christmas break. Want to know why? Apparently I am abundantly fertile during the holiday season. I was due with Sophia September 30, 2007. I am due with this little peanut September 25, 2008. You getting this? It all leads back to Christmas week ;)
I think I am going to blame this on my Grandma Edie. My dad and his brother are 53 weeks apart. Sophia and her sib will be about 52.