If you are surprised, so were we! We feel incredibly blessed and are so excited about our baby boy or girl that is due on January 20, 2011. So that means James and his baby brother or sister will be almost 21 months apart. I am 12 weeks today and besides having to take a few afternoon naps and the occasional nauseousness, I feel great. This sonogram picture is from our first appointment on June 10th. We saw our little gummy bear moving around and his/her heartbeat. Our second appointment was on June 29th and we heard the heartbeat (168-170 bmp) for the very first time, which was so amazing!Our next appointment is on Tuesday July 20th for the Nuchal Translucency test (The Nuchal Translucency Test, performed between 11 and 14 weeks of pregnancy, uses ultrasound to measure the clear space in the folds of tissue behind a developing baby's neck. (Babies with Down Syndrome and other chromosomal abnormalities tend to accumulate fluid there, making the space appear larger.) This measurement, taken together with the mother's age and the baby's gestational age, can be used to calculate the odds that the baby has DS. Nuchal translucency testing is usually performed along with a maternal blood test.) Dr. Matthews, my regular OBGYN, is getting certified to perform the Nuchal Translucency test so he asked if he could use my ultrasound pictures as one of his test cases and the ultrasound and test would be done for free. I said of course since we were going to have the test done anyway. The test is elective and not covered by our insurance so it was a nice surprise! We are hoping Dr. Matthews will be able to tell us if James is going to have a baby brother or sister since we found out around 13 weeks at the NT ultrasound the first time around!
Our baby boy or girl is the size of a lime this week. Below is what babycenter.com says about how he/she is developing:
Our baby boy or girl is the size of a lime this week. Below is what babycenter.com says about how he/she is developing:
The most dramatic development this week: reflexes. Your baby's fingers will soon begin to open and close, his toes will curl, his eye muscles will clench, and his mouth will make sucking movements. In fact, if you prod your abdomen, your baby will squirm in response, although you won't be able to feel it. His intestines, which have grown so fast that they protrude into the umbilical cord, will start to move into his abdominal cavity about now, and his kidneys will begin excreting urine into his bladder. Meanwhile, nerve cells are multiplying rapidly, and in your baby's brain, synapses are forming furiously. His face looks unquestionably human: His eyes have moved from the sides to the front of his head, and his ears are right where they should be. From crown to rump, your baby-to-be is just over 2 inches long (about the size of a lime) and weighs half an ounce.
I love going back and looking at the weekly posts from when I was pregnant with James so I will be updating the blog weekly again. Thank you so much to our family and friends for your love and support!
Love,
Tiffany
