(11 Weeks) 14 Weeks: Lemon

Baby can now squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly suck his thumb! 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. From head to bottom, he measures 3 1/2 inches, and he weighs 1 1/2 ounces. His body's growing faster than his head. By the end of this week, his arms will have grown to a length that's in proportion to the rest of his body. He's starting to develop an ultra-fine, downy covering of hair, called lanugo, all over his body. 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. (Babycenter.com)

I am offically in the second trimester now! One down, two to go before we meet little Poppy. I can hardly believe how quickly the time is flying by. I suppose that is partially due to the fact that I have a precious little girly now to distract me. First time around, I was just waiting and waiting with no distractions, which obviously drags things out. I have been feeling great this week. No queasiness! I definately get tired pretty fast though, and have been lucky enough to take naps with Sophia several days a week.


Poppy has been on my mind a lot this week. I just witnessed three of my friends having babies (ok, not literally) in the last month. Seeing how tiny and precious their little ones are reminds me that I will soon have another one too! Last night, Jared and I came across a photo of Sophia when she was about a week old. We both let out an "awwww" in unison. We immediatly jumped on the computer and scrolled through about 200 pictures from right after Soph was born. It makes me so happy and excited to know we are going to do it all again in a few months. Jared is thrilled too.


Because of my excitement (and growing waistline), I have started searching for some maternity clothes. I will be able to use most my collection from last time of course, but there are a few more things I need to make it a more comfortable summer. Ebay has proved to be full of nice maternity clothing lots. I love it, because I can look up very specific criteria (such as summer maternity clothing in M), and they have it. Several of the listings are from women who go out an buy new maternity clothes and arrange them into outfits, then sell them on ebay. Takes all the work out of mixing an matching for me! And boy are there some CUTE, trendy maternity clothes out there these days! It actually makes me excited to wear them again.

I will start posting the weekly belly pictures next week.

(10 Weeks) 13 Weeks: Shrimp

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 (Wow! Isn't that amazing?!). Your baby is almost 3 inches long and weighs nearly an ounce. (babycenter.com)

The past few weeks have been especially hard when it comes to food. Nearly everything we had was making me gag. So my amazing husband brought me shopping and let me wander the aisles for 45 minutes, grabbing anything that looked appealing to me. This week has been a dream. Everything I eat is sitting really well, and I am actually enjoying mealtime again. Jared has been very protective of my food too, not letting anyone else feast upon it.

I only have one more week in this first trimester! That means that next week the chance of miscarriage reduces significantly. Hopefully, the second trimester will bring an end to my food aversons and queasiness too.

Pregnancy is such a long road. Honestly, I have been trying to think about it as little as possible, because I am a very impatient person, and dwelling on it would only make it seem longer. I am very excited for the coming weeks when Poppy starts to make movements strong enough for me to feel. I think once I begin to feel those tiny kicks again, it will seem more real to me, and then I will start to get really excited. At this point, it is still hard for me to believe there is another little miracle growing inside of me. We have not even heard the heartbeat yet, so it doesn't seem quite real to me yet. I believe the next few weeks will solidify this miracle in my mind, and open the doors of anticipation.

Crazy Cravings

As I was telling my family this week, my pregnancy symptoms have really been magnified this time around. I have been feeling a lot more queasy and have a very sensitive nose.

But now let's talk about the cravings...

EVERY SINGLE DAY I see some certain food on TV that strikes my fancy, and then cannot get it out of my head until I have some. Last night, I was watching "Everybody Loves Raymond" and saw a disgusting, lopsided white-frosted cake. That was enough to trigger my erratic hormones, and suddenly I needed to have some gooey, chocolate cake. Weird thing? I normally hate cake, AND it was 10:30pm. But, if I do not take action and eat whatever I am craving, I cannot stop thinking about it. I have tried to ignore these stupid cravings before, but then they just bounce around in my head all day until I go crazy. So now, I just try to find a way to get my hands on whatever crazy craving I am having asap.

So last night I set to work on my fudgy chocolate cake and finished it around 11:45pm. I was so eager to dig in that I didn't wait long enough before frosting it and the frosting melted a little. No problem! I enjoyed a big plateful of warm, drippy, gooey chocolate decadance. It was fabulous. Then the cake when in the fridge to harden up a little. Yum!

(9 Weeks) 12 Weeks: Lime

Poppy's biggest development this week is reflexes. Baby will be able to wiggle fingers and toes. Sucking motions will start now too. If mommy's abdomen is prodded, baby will squirm in response. Poppy is just over 2 inches from head to butt now. (babycenter.com)

As for me this week... I have been sick as a dog-- but not from the pregnancy. Jared brought home some horrible form of influenza and we were both pitiful invalids all week. We finally went to the doctor after being sick for four days, and got some medication. Unfortunately, this medication had no pain reliever in it, and I was not allowed to take Tylenol as it can interfere with the prescription. So I had one horrible night, but by the following day I was feeling much better. I have just about made a full recovery at this point. Praise the Lord!

My stomach has been fairly sensitive lately. I can never predict was is going to send me into a fit of overwhelming naseau. Tonight, for example, I made parmesan red potatoes thinking they sounded good with meatballs! Um, wrong. One bite of potatoes later, my stomach was in upheaval and my bowl was handed imediately to Jared. Ah, the joys of pregnancy. This is really the only "symptom" I have had this week. I feel really great in all other areas.

Just starting to get a little fuller in the waist now. My pants are fitting a little tighter and I can see my belly beginning to show a little, though I'm not sure anyone else would notice yet.

Favorite pregnancy treat this week: Creamy Coconut Fruit Bars from Edy's (OH MY GOSH, to die for!!)

(8 Weeks) 11 Weeks: Fig

Poppy is just over 1 1/2 inches long (about the size of a fig), and is now almost fully formed. Hands will soon open and close into fists, tiny tooth buds are beginning to appear under the gums, and some of the bones are beginning to harden. Baby is already busy kicking and stretching. These movements will become more frequent as the body grows and becomes more developed and functional. I won't be able to feel Poppy's acrobatics for several more weeks. (Babycenter.com)

I have noticed a few things that happen to me during pregnancy. The first time around, I didn't make the connection that it was the pregnancy causing these occurances. But now that they are happening again, it finally clicked. For one, I shed. I loose so much hair that one would think I am going bald. In the shower, I run my fingers through my hair and come out with handfuls of hair. Not just once- every single time I run my fingers through my hair. Every morning, my pillow is so covered with hair that it looks like Delilah snuck in with her strength-robbing shears... which would also explain why I am so tired al the time. My strength has been robbed.

Second, I go through a phase of incurable unattractiveness. This is the phase that comes before the miraculous pregnancy glow. In this first stage, nothing can be done to make me feel attractive. I mean nothing. No amount of make-up. It doesn't matter how long I spend on my hair. Not even my favorite, most flattering outfit. It is all in vain. But I know the clouds will soon part, and the sun will shine down on me causing me to glow. In this second stage, nothing can be done to make me feel unattractive. During this special time, I often feel more attractive than I ever did before I was pregnant! It is wonderful. Knowing that this second stage is on the horizen is what gets me through this horrible first one.

The "normal" pregnancy feelings I have been experiencing are fatigue, queasiness, dizziness, food aversions, and sensitivity to smells. The queasiness is more prevalent this time around. Most food does not sound appealing whatsoever, and I generally have to force myself to eat. I feel queasy when I don't eat. Then after I force something down, I feel queasy from the food. Yuck. So far, I have not been so sick to my stomach that I need to vomit. That's a blessing! I would still say that God has blessed me with easy pregnancies. I feel very lucky, and for the most part am feeling really good.

Week 10 Check-Up

I had my first appointment yesterday. It was quite amusing. The nurse that works with the midwives was so surprised and happy to see me again! She told me that before my appointment, she had looked at the schedule for the day, and saw my name. She knew that name sounded really familiar, and when I walked in, she started laughing. Anyways, we really like her and were happy to see her again too.

Here's the lowdown:
Blood pressure: 92/50
Weight gain: 0
We tried to listen to the heartbeat, but couldn't find it. They said Poppy is still a little too small and tucked behind my pubic bone, so the doppler couldn't pick it up.
Then they sent me down to the lab to do some bloodwork. Overall the appointment went well. There were no surprises, and it looks like mom and baby are healthy thus far.