Thursday, April 30, 2009

10 Weeks Pregnant

How my baby's growing:  Though the baby's barely the size of a kumquat - a little over an inch or so long, crown to bottom - and weighs less than a quarter of an ounce, the baby has now completed the most critical portion of the development.  This is the beginning of the so-called fetal period, a time when the tissues and organs in the body rapidly grow and mature.  

The baby is swallowing fluid and kicking up a storm.  Vital organs - including the 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.

If you could take a peek inside my womb, you'd spot minute details, like tiny nails forming on fingers and toes (no more webbing) and peach-fuzz hair beginning to grow on tender skin.

In other developments:  My baby's limbs can bend now.  The 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.  My baby's forehead temporarily bulges with the developing brain and sits very high on the head, which measures half the length of the body.  From crown to rump, the baby is about 1 1/4 inches long.  In the coming weeks, my baby will again double in size - to nearly 3 inches.

How my life's changing:  Before I got pregnant, my uterus was the size of a small pear.  By this week, it's as big as a grapefruit.  However, I still don't have much to show for.  I have a small "baby bump" but considering I was a bit over my normal weight to begin with it doesn't look like much has changed.  Clothes still fit but some are beginning to be more uncomfortable than others.  

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