From http://www.babycenter.com/

My comments about this week are in orange!


How your baby's growing:

This week's big developments: Your baby can now squint, frown, grimace, pee (ew!), 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 (like, my bladder? Is he/she grasping my bladder with those fully developed fingers? I think so.), and if you're having an ultrasound now, you may even catch him sucking his thumb (Cut it out kid! That's a bad habit that can cause your teeth to get all screwed up later!).

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 (Did babycenter.com just call my baby a piglet?) hands and feet (which now measure about 1/2 inch long) are more flexible and active.


How your life's changing:

Welcome to your second trimester! (So, this is like the 3rd time I've been told it's my 2nd trimester. Different sources say different things. 13 weeks, 14 weeks, 13 weeks and 3 days. This is IT for me. I'm done. I'm in my 2nd trimester damn it!) Your energy is likely returning, your breasts may be feeling less tender, and your queasiness may have completely abated by now. (Yep, yep and yep!) If not, hang on — chances are good it will soon be behind you (although an unlucky few will still feel nauseated months from now).

The top of your uterus is a bit above your pubic bone, which may be enough to push your tummy out a tad. (We're right on schedule. My tummy is definitely sticking out a tad although I could probably still pass for a chubby chick.) Starting to show can be quite a thrill, giving you and your partner visible evidence of the baby you've been waiting for. Take some time to plan, daydream, and enjoy this amazing time. It's normal to worry a bit now and then (I'm just really NOT worried. Does that make me a bad Mom? I hope not because I'm not worried and I refuse to pretend I am...I'm just hungry.), but try to focus on taking care of yourself and your baby, and having faith that you're well equipped for what's ahead.

Last night I had dinner at my dear friend Katie's house. We both thought it was a cute coincidence that the dish she planned on making was Lemon Chicken. So I ate my lemon chicken in honor of my lemon sized baby. It felt really neat to hold the lemon and realized that there is a little alien baby growing inside me that is so teeny tiny!