17 week update

Baby T weighs 5 ounces now and is around 5 inches long. The baby can move the joints, and the skeleton — until now rubbery cartilage — is starting to harden to bone. The sense of hearing is also developing. The umbilical cord, the lifeline to the placenta, is growing stronger and thicker.



We are going to the doctor this Friday. Four weeks from this appointment will be our sonogram where we will find out if we are having a little boy or a little girl! :)

Special Service

Before/After

As promised here are some before and after pictures of our new carpet. It looks good. The house looks weird. We have cleaned out a lot of stuff. Storage unit is full! Pray for a fast and easy sale.

Sixteen Week Update

At 4 1/2 inches long (head to bottom) and 3 1/2 ounces, baby T is about the size of an avocado. In the next three weeks, the baby will go through a tremendous growth spurt, though, doubling her/his weight and adding inches to her/his length. This week, thanks to strengthening muscles, our little one is working on lifting the head and neck from their curved position. Being able to straighten out a bit makes sitting up a possibility. Baby T is also moving those arms and legs frequently. These workouts could even get a sweat going, since the sweat glands have already formed. Sometime between now and 20 weeks, Benita may be able to feel movement for the first time. Baby T lower limbs are much more developed now. The head is more erect than it has been, and the eyes have moved toward the front of the head. Baby T's ears are close to their final position, too. Some of the more advanced body systems are working, including the circulatory system and urinary tract. The heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day, circulating the total blood volume through the body many times. (By the end of the pregnancy, this will increase to about 190 quarts.) The patterning of the scalp has begun, though hair isn't recognizable yet. Although closed, the eyes are moving (slowly), and Baby T's even started growing toenails.

15th week update

Baby T now measures about 4 inches long, crown to rump, and weighs in at about 2 1/2 ounces (about the size of an apple). The baby is busy moving amniotic fluid through her nose and upper respiratory tract, which helps the primitive air sacs in the lungs begin to develop. The legs are growing longer than her arms now, and she/he can move all of her/his joints and limbs. Although the eyelids are still fused shut, Baby T can sense light. If I were to shine a flashlight at my tummy, for instance, Baby T would likely to move away from the beam. There's not much for the baby to taste at this point, but she/he is forming taste buds. Finally, if we were to have an ultrasound this week, we may be able to find out whether Baby T is a boy or a girl! But they are not letting me have an ultrasound until February.

Doctor Appointment Update

I got a shot! :( Other than that the appointment went fine. Well even the shot was okay. They gave me a flu shot since I have not had one yet. We were able to listen to the heartbeat of the baby and all sounds good. No concerns from the doctor. She said the heartbeat sounded good and strong. Our next appointment is 1/25/08 but our sonogram to determine the sex of the baby will not be until the February appointment. :( At the next appointment we will listen to the heartbeat of the baby again and do some routine blood work.

Fourteen Week Update

Baby T can now squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly suck his/her thumb! Thanks to brain impulses, the facial muscles are getting a workout as the tiny features form one expression after another. The kidneys are producing urine, which he/she releases into the amniotic fluid around him/her — a process that will be kept up until birth.

In other news: Baby T's stretching out. From head to bottom, he/she measures 3 1/2 inches — about the size of a lemon — and weighs 1 1/2 ounces. The body is growing faster than the head, which now sits upon a more distinct neck. By the end of this week, the arms will have grown to a length that's in proportion to the rest of the body. (The legs still have some lengthening to do.) Baby T's starting to develop an ultra-fine, downy covering of hair, called lanugo, all over the body. Though I can't feel his/her tiny punches and kicks yet, our little baby's hands and feet (which now measure about 1/2 inch long) are more flexible and active.

Benita's Family Christmas Picture

Click on picture for better quality.

Thirteen Week Update/Dr Appt

Fingerprints have formed on the baby's tiny fingertips, the veins and organs are clearly visible through the still-thin skin, and the body is starting to catch up with the head — which makes up just a third of the body size now. Baby T is almost 3 inches long and weighs nearly an ounce.

Yea done with first trimester now! Things are getting better. There are good days and bad days but so far it has been alot better than in the beginning.

We go to the doctor next week, December 31st for an appointment. No sonogram this time :( Just measurements and more test. We hope that we will get positive results from the infection we had from our last appointment. We are not sure if we will get to find out the sex of the baby at the January or February appointment. Pray for January! :)

If we don't get to see you over the holidays,
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!
~ Zach, Benita, and Baby T

Twelve Weeks Update

The most dramatic development this week: Reflexes. Baby T's fingers will soon begin to open and close, toes will curl, eye muscles will clench, and the mouth will make sucking movements. In fact, if I were to prod my abdomen, the baby will squirm in response, although I won't be able to feel it. The intestines, which have grown so fast that they protrude into the umbilical cord, will start to move into the abdominal cavity about now, and the kidneys will begin excreting urine into the bladder.

Meanwhile, nerve cells are multiplying rapidly, and in the baby's brain, synapses are forming furiously. His/Her face looks unquestionably human: Eyes have moved from the sides to the front of the head, and ears are right where they should be. From crown to rump, baby-to-be is just over two inches long (about the size of a lime) and weighs half an ounce.

Eleven Weeks Update

Baby T is, who is just over 1 1/2 inches long and about the size of a fig, is now almost fully formed. Her/His 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 T is already busy kicking and stretching, and her/his tiny movements are so effortless they look like water ballet. These movements will become more frequent as the body grows and becomes more developed and functional. I won't feel the baby's acrobatics for another month or two — nor do I notice the hiccupping that may be happening now that the diaphragm is forming.

Almost done with the first trimester! :)

Ten weeks update

Though Baby T is a little over an inch or so long, crown to bottom — and weighs less than a quarter of an ounce, he/she has now completed the most critical portion of his/her 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.

Baby T is swallowing fluid and kicking up a storm. Vital organs — including 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 the pregnancy.
There are tiny nails forming on fingers and toes (no more webbing) and peach-fuzz hair beginning to grow on tender skin.

The limbs can bend now and hands are flexed at the wrist and meet over the heart, and the feet may be long enough to meet in front of the body. The outline of the spine is clearly visible through translucent skin, and spinal nerves are beginning to stretch out from the spinal cord. Baby T's forehead temporarily bulges with the developing brain (because this baby is going to be really smart) and sits very high on the head, which measures half the length of the body. From crown to rump, Baby T is about 1 1/4 inches long. In the coming weeks, the baby will again double in size — to nearly 3 inches.

Bigger picture

ONE healthy baby!

We just got back from the doctor's office and all is well. We have one healthy baby and our due date is July 1st! YEAH!

Monday, December 3rd

We are really ready for Monday for our doctor's appointment. We will get a due date, and know how far along we are. (Since right now we are just estimating) I am feeling so much better now. Not as tired as I was and the nausea has gone away, so that's a blessing! Now we are just ready to get the sonogram pictures! :) We will put them on the website as soon as possible! :)