2nd Trimester!

Now that we've completed the 1st Trimester, it seems that there is so much to start thinking about.  Unlike my nature, I've been basically going with the flow up until this point, but I thought it might be good to start reading up on all of the changes that are soon going to be obvious! I ordered a few books and started to purchase a few basic on-sale maternity items.  If the 1st trimester is any indication, Trimester #3 will be here before we know it!  We thought it might be good to start keeping a more regular belly update, so here are a few from this morning...

Things to look forward to this Trimester (in order of date):
1) Driving to Blacksburg for Easter
2) Feeling the Baby Move
3) Flying to Hawaii for our Anniversary and Babymoon
4) Celebrating our 5 Year Anniversary
5) Finding out of our little one is a BOY or a GIRL
6) Attending Brian & Matia's Wedding in LA
7) Having my parents visit with Rishee for Sam & Alice's Wedding
8) Celebrating My Birthday

It's going to be a busy few months with a lot of travel, but I'm looking forward to all of it!! Happy Holi & Happy Easter! <3

13 Weeks!

Our 1st Trimester is now complete!

This week has been great for both Deven and me.  We had our ERA appointment on Friday, and learned a lot about how they assess the baby's risk for chromosomal abnormalities. 

The doctors use a combination of physical measurements (via ultrasound) and blood work to assess the baby's risk factor for Downs Syndrome, Trisomy 18, and Trisomy 13.  Each of these are characterized by an extra chromosome at chromosome pair 21, 18, or 13, respectively, which would mean issues with development. 

The bloodwork results indicate that the baby has a 1/5,458 chance of having Downs Syndrome and a 1/>10,000 chance of Trisomy 18 or 13. To put this in perspective, based on my age, the ratios were 1/505 and 1/919, respectively, so the risk factors here are similar to those that a 20 year-old might have - excellent news!

Through the ultrasound, they look for the presence of a nasal bone and measure the thickness of the fold at the neck - an absense in bone or a thickness greater than 0.3 mm would mean a higher risk.  As you can see in the pictures below, the nasal bone is definitely visible, and the fold at the back of the neck measured < 0.18 mm.  An overachiever already :)

We really enjoyed the opportunity to see our little "Wiggles" in action.  It was certainly very active -tumbling and posing to give us all kinds of views....we saw both halves of the brain, kidneys, fingers, toes, and a nice view of it's little butt as well :).  We also saw the baby hiccup, which looked much like coughing, but were told that this is normal since the diaphragm is still forming. These images captured what seemed to be it's favorite pose - feet up in the "air" - which were wiggling around as well - maybe a dancer in training???

I can't really feel anything moving around at this point, so seeing all of this on the screen was fairly surreal, but it was still so incredible to observe all of the action going on inside of me!!  We can't wait until the next ultrasound in ~ 6 weeks!

Other than our visit for the ERA, Deven attended his first training session for the 1/2 Marathon he'll be running with Team Challenge for CCFA in July. http://www.active.com/donate/napaNE13/TCNE_Napa13DRaj

And, I got to catch up with some friends and some much-needed TLC.  Pregnancy "symptoms" seem to be on a downward trend, and I'm looking forward to everything coming up in Trimester 2!

Here's what our little one has been doing this week:
"At this point, baby is about 3" long and weighs nearly an ounce - about the size of a peach or a medium sized shrimp.  Tiny bones are continuing to form in her arms and legs, and fingerprints have formed at the tips of his or her fingers!! Her intestines are beginning to move from the umbilical cord to the abdomen, and the vocal cords are well under construction."  I'm sure we'll hear those is heavy in action in about 6 months!

12 Weeks

I can't believe we're already approaching the end of our 1st Trimester!  The time seems to have passed so quickly, although, in the moment, it feels like the days drag on - probably because I've been so tired.  Yes, I'm still tired, but I will take this over extreme nausea anyday!

This past week was quite busy.  I went shopping with some friends after work for another friend's upcoming baby shower. I still cannot get over how many things there are for babies and how many options there are for each one of them...overwhelming to say the least, but understanding my procrastinating nature, I'm sure we'll square it all away perfectly at some point - thank you Georgia Tech :)

Saturday was generally uneventful, but we did finish our taxes!  Hopefully the baby will bring us more fortune during this season next year :).  On Sunday, St. Patrick's Day, I met up with some of the girls from work for brunch, who I'm slowly starting to reveal our exciting news to! And, then we watched another one of our coworker's take the stage in "Annie".  Afterwards, we had great dinner with some friends, and called it a night.  As I put it to them, I really get to celebrate the holiday this year! - as I am currently 1/16th Irish, being that the baby is 1/8th - or as Rishee puts it, I'm not Irish at all, but at least I can say that I have 1/8th of an Irish in me :).

With such a busy Sunday, Monday morning was rough, but fortunately we had a "snow day" on Tuesday - thanks to almost a foot of snow, so I was able to have a bit of downtime during the day to recouperate!

The baby has also had a busy week!
"At this point, the baby weighs about one half of an ounce and is approximately the size of a large plum.  Most of his or her systems are now in place and will undergo a good bit of maturing over the next several weeks - his fetal digestive system is beginning to practice contraction movements necessary for eating, his kidneys will begin excreting urine into his bladder, his bone marrow is busy making white blood cells, his pituitary gland (at the base of the brain) has started producing the hormones that'll enable him (or her) to make babies of his (or her) own in a couple of decades or so, and most dramatically, his reflexes have started to form. Meanwhile, nerve cells are multiplying rapidly, and synapses in baby's brain are forming furiously. From crown to rump, he or she is just over 2 inches long."

Coming up Next:  Friday is our scheduled Early Risk Assessment.  We'll have an ultrasound (!) where the technician will take measurements of the baby to confirm that it's growing according to plan.  At this point, since the majority of all of the baby's parts are developed, they can also assess if the baby is at risk for Downs Syndrome or any other physical birth defects.  I'm both nervous and excited. I guess every parent-to-be is worried about all of the potential complications that could arise during this critical time period, but this will be the first time we'll see full image of the baby!  Pictures hopefully to come soon :)

11 Weeks

Another week, another fruit - this week our baby is about the size of a fig, or a kiwi, depending on which source you consult.

Deven and I decided to take one last trip up to Sunday River this past weekend.  I had organized an outing of sorts for ARCADIS people and their families - though, it turned into a pretty small, but good group of people. 

I had planned to take it easy and meander down the green (easy/beginner) slopes, but anyone who knows me, knows how excited and engaged I can get into things and push myself to my limits...I ended up running with the rest of the group - skiing mostly blue (intermediate) runs instead.  The conditions were great, but fast, so I felt like I was working extra hard to keep in control and avoid being the target of a collision with all the people on the mountain - including a porcupine who decided to mozy across one of the runs, stopping traffic in all directions.  All in all, it was a great day, but certainly MY end to ski-season. I was DONE at the end of the day :). 

After snacking at a co-worker's mountain cabin for Apres' Ski, Deven and I ended up at Fore Street (his favorite in Portland), which did not disappoint (including his bacon creme brulee)! The drive home wasn't bad, but longer for Deven, as I napped most of the way home (baby was tired!), and Sunday was all about resting - I can't remember ever being sooo tired!!

Tuesday, we had another doctor's appointment.  This time we met with my actual OB, who ran quite a bit behind schedule (note to self...choose a morning appointment instead of the last appointment of the day!). Though we didn't have another ultrasound, we DID get to hear the baby's heart beating for the first time!!!  Apparently, you're supposed to be able to hear the heartbeat around 11 weeks, and I think we're running about 1/2 a week behind their predictions.  Still, after some searching by the nurse AND the doctor, they finally found it (he or she must have been cozy, or hiding, and didn't want to be proded - not sure where it gets that from :)).  How crazy to hear that something so small is so alive, and I'm still unable to really feel anything, aside from these peripheral symptoms.  It certainly made it more real for us, and I guess a good first confirmation for the doctor who said, "well, you're definitely pregnant!" Good to know that we're all on the same page :).

Anyway, this week, our "baby is almost 2 inches long, weighing about a third of an ounce, and is now almost fully formed. At this point, her head is about equal in length to the rest of her body, and little hair follicles are forming. 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."

10 Weeks

I can't believe we're at 10 weeks already!!  For those with analytical backgrounds, you can appreciate that we're already 25% through this process...and it's really just starting to sink in.

We were finally able to get the news out to all of our immediate family this week, and have slowly started sharing our impending arrival with some of our closest friends.  It's been so difficult to try to keep my ever-changing appetite, moods, and thoughts concealed.  It's been an interesting balance - we want to make sure we're passed the most critical stages, but containing the excitement about something, which I didn't even think was possible for the most recent few years of my life, has certainly been a challenge :).

The last week was spent trying to finalize our car purchase in PA - yes, Pennsylvania.  I would highly recommend the no-hassle Costco Auto Program; I just hope that you have a dealership that participates who is closer to where you live.

Deven got back from Japan at the beginning of the week, and then spent the next day running around town to finalize all of the paperwork - including a 1.5 hours stop at the ever-efficient RMV.  Plates in hand, we headed down to PA on the train Saturday morning, and finalized the paperwork that afternoon.  We were able to meet our cousin, Uday, for wonderful dinner with Silas at the White Dog Cafe, and then spent the night in Princeton, NJ.  After a nice brunch with Krystle & Jeremy, we started our trip back up to MA - stopping at Wegman's and Rein's NY Deli along the way.  Though the trip was relatively relaxed, I felt all of that fatigue creep up on Monday morning.  I would have to say that the exhaustion has really been the most noticeable symptom at this point - I can't remember ever being so tired - including when I pulled all-nighters in school!!

This weekend was the first time that I noticed a very slight "bump" beginning to form.  I attribute it to all of the food I've been eating (all healthy, I promise!), and the apparently longer digestion process.  Although, I suppose the fact that I'm actually pregnant, now is the time that the little bump is supposed to start appearing :).  He's a picture we took (maybe more of a baseline), but here's what I look like at this point.

I hope to start posting pictures of the bump's progress each week, so we can see the evolution along the way!

Here's what's been going on with the baby this week:
"Our baby is now the size of a prune - a little over an inch long or so, crown to bottom, and weighs less than 1/4 of an ounce.  At this point, the baby has completed the most critical portion of his development and is embarking upon the fetal period, when tissues and organs are rapidly growing and maturing. He has small indentations on his legs (soon to be knees and ankles!), and his tiny arms even have elbows that bend. Inside that little mouth, tiny buds of baby teeth are forming under the gums. Tiny nails are also forming on fingers and toes, and peach-fuzz hairs are beginning to grow on his tender skin. His stomach and kidneys are kicking into gear, producing digestive juices and urine, and if our little peanut is a boy, his testes are already beginning to make testosterone."

9 Weeks

With Deven away, week 9 has seemed pretty exhausting.  I just can't get enough sleep....who knew making a baby was such hard work!

We were expecting a large snow storm over the weekend, so thought it made sense to line up a snow plow driver so I didn't have to use the snow blower on the 8-12" of snow - fortunately it fizzled to just a couple of inches.  I spent most of the weekend resting on the sofa and catching up on movies.  Although, I threw in a run to the grocery store.  I have to say that was the least crowded I've ever seen Market Basket, and on a weekend at that.  Though I was so winded after my 1 hour trek through the market that I came home and "napped" my way through the end of the weekend :).

All stocked up on snacks, keeping myself from being consumed with nausea at work, has been manageable.  And, my Crohn's symptoms have started to dissipate somewhat, so it's a give and take.

Here's what's been going on with the baby this week:
"The baby is now the size of a green olive and has grown about an inch since last week. Tiny muscles are beginning to form, so while he might not be ready to pump iron, he's gearing up to move his arms and legs."

Our little olive has also had it's first milestone this week.  It's not graduated from an embryo to a fetus.  So much is changing so fast.  While it feels like things are progressing slowly at this point (at least externally), I can't believe how much this little bean has already changed in such a short period of time!