Week 14

Again I'm off by a few days. Baby D is the size of a lemon this week.



Baby
This week's big developments: Your baby can now squint, frown, grimace, pee, 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, and if you're having an ultrasound now, you may even catch him sucking his thumb.

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 hands and feet (which now measure about 1/2 inch long) are more flexible and active.

Symptoms
Overall I'm feeling great. I could not have asked for a better pregnancy so far. This has been unbelievable. I'm so excited to be in my 2nd trimester, and from what everyone tells me, it's the best trimester.

I'm still going to the gym 4 times a week for an hour at a time. I do 30 minutes on the elliptical machine and 30 minutes on the treadmill. My OB is always emphasizing how important exercise is during pregnancy, and I'm totally following his orders. I feel great when I leave their and it definitely helps me sleep better.

I still don't think I have much of a belly bump. I went to my cousin's birthday party yesterday and no one could tell I was pregnant. I guess my bump is still very small. I can't wait to get a bigger bump where people know I'm pregnant.

Last week my mom and I went shopping for maternity clothes and we had so much fun. I bought a few items. I've been wearing maternity jeans all week and love them. I love how you just pull them up. There is no button or zipper. They are very comfortable although they keep falling off my butt. I guess my belly is not big enough to hold them up. So you see me constantly pulling them up so they don't fall.

I'm going to take a belly shot tomorrow morning so stay tune.