Week 7

Emile took this photo of me on Friday, July 29th, when I was 7 weeks pregnant.  We have been in Carolina Beach for our first family vacation and I didn't have internet access to upload my photo.  (Great vacation!).

Last week, my nausea subsided a lot.  I didn't really have many days in which I didn't feel well thankfully.  I haven't been experiencing as much of the achy pelvic feeling anymore either.  Mostly I've just been very moody which Emile is not enjoying.  I'm looking forward to our first ultra sound on the 9th so we can see this little one's heartbeat and confirm everything looks good and on track.  I leave for California for work tomorrow so hopefully this week will go much faster.

Our baby is about 1/3 inches, or about the size of a grain of rice - so tiny!  Development of the arms and legs continue although the fingers and toes haven't yet formed. The brain is growing as well as the lenses of the eyes, nostrils, intestines, pancreas and bronchi.

Week 6

I had my first appointment with the OB coordinator at Blue Ridge OB/Gyn today.  It was fairly uneventful.  She went over my health history and we went over the things to avoid again (e.g. sushi).  I had to give a urine sample (as I will every time I go in for the next 36 weeks) and five vials of blood.  My next appointment is with Dr. Gaines.  I'll get to have my first ultra sound to see our baby.  I can't wait till August 9th but it seems so far from now.

My nausea has been better towards the end of this week.  Last week was so far the worst but it was so far it was just a sick feeling most of the day.  Thankfully no throwing up yet.  I'm hopeful that I'll still avoid that stage.  Other than the occasional nausea, I'm mostly just bloated.  Once in a while, I get an achy pelvic feeling again but not consistently.

Our baby is now an embryo and is about 1/17 of an inch long or about the size of a BB pellet.  His/her eyes and limb buds are starting to form and around this time, the heart will begin to beat!  The umbilical cord is developing and most of the organs are under construction.  The eyes and ears begin to form as well as an opening for the mouth.

Week 5

I don't think I'll be escaping morning sickness this time around.  I didn't have it with my first two pregnancies but the last two days I've felt horrible and it's only getting worse.  My stomach at first didn't start to feel upset until mid afternoon through the evening but today it started mid morning and has been with me all day.  On top of the upset stomach, I have a constant watery sensation in my mouth like I'm about to throw-up.  I think it's only a matter of when.  Food is starting to seem very unappealing.  I am not looking forward to this part of my pregnancy.

Other things have been a little different than my first two pregnancies.  The achy pelvic feeling seemed to only last about two weeks since ovulation and isn't really noticeable anymore (maybe it's because all I notice is the sick feeling).  I also didn't have implantation spotting this time around.

My family has a theory that morning sickness indicates we're having a boy.  Both my mom and sister only had morning sickness when they had a boy and since I didn't have morning sickness with Natalie or Claire, I'm following suit so far.  This is contradictory from the Old Wives Tale that morning sickness indicates a girl.  But I have a 50:50 chance of either!  And of course, we're excited for either!

By this point, a plate that will later become the heart has developed.  The central nervous system (brain and spinal cord), and muscle and bone formation are beginning to take shape.  During this time, our little one's skeleton is also starting to form!  The embryo is about 0.05 inches long - pretty tiny!

Week 4 - Month 1

Baby #3 is on his or her way!  We're thrilled.  We had hoped I would get pregnant this last month so that our next one is born in March.  Natalie will be almost 4 years old and Claire will be a little over 2 years old.  I think this will be perfect spacing for them. 

I tested this morning and got a faint second line.  I wanted to make sure that it wasn't an evaporation line so I retested with a digital test later in the afternoon.  The second test confirmed the first!  I had been charting my temperature for the last six months.  I was concerned that my luteal phase had gotten too short but it looks like everything worked out and I was worrying unnecessarily.  This time around I'll fall into the "Advanced Maternal Age" category since I'll be 35 next month.

I waited until the evening to tell Emile after I had taken the second test and confirmed the first.  I had gotten Claire a t-shirt to wear to get the message across.  She was excited to show of her shirt.  Similar to Natalie wearing a T-shirt to tell our family via webcam, we plan to tell our family this weekend by having Claire wear the T-shirt this time.  I know everyone is going to be very excited!

I'm a little overwhelmed although very excited.  As with getting pregnant with Claire, the unknown of having another can be scary but as with Natalie and Claire, I know that once he or she is born, we won't be able to imagine life without our third little one!

According to my last menstrual cycle (LMP), I am due on March 16, 2012, making me 4 weeks pregnant today.  I think this date may change like it did with Clarie, though, because my temperatures showed I probably ovulated more around cycle day (CD) 18 vs. CD 14. 

I'll now be taking my weekly belly photos.  Unfortunately, I'm already feeling bloated.  I also have the achy pelvic area feeling I had with my two previous pregnancies (one reason I knew I was pregnant before taking the test).