Baby Shower!

The school I work for included me (at the last minute) in today's baby shower, for two other women who are much farther along then me, but last week I spilled the beans about Baby Clough at work and they decided to include me today.  My position is being cut, so it is likely that I will not be reassigned for the 2010-2011 school year, so my principal wanted to celebrate baby before I left.  It was sad because I REALLLLLLY don't want to leave, but really awesome because I got some great stuff.  It was a "book" baby shower, so I got a TON of books to add to the already big collection in baby's room.  I also got some blankets and a gift card to Babies R Us.  On top of that, we had a wonderful, yummy breakfast made for us mommies-to-be!

14 weeks!

If you could peek inside yourself now, you'd see a baby the size of your clenched fist (and come to think of it, at 14 weeks of fetal development, your little one can clench his or her own fist!). As fetal development continues, your baby also has the coordination, strength, and smarts to wiggle his or her fingers and toes and even suck a thumb (how cute is that?).

At 14 Weeks Pregnant, Your Baby is a Mover (But Not a Shaker Yet)



Growing by leaps and bounds, by week 14 of pregnancy, your baby is leaping and bounding. He or she is on the move almost constantly — and those movements are a far cry from those jerky twitches of last trimester (though you won't feel any of them for weeks to come). They are now ballet-like, smooth and fluid.



Your Baby at 14 Weeks: Developing Perfect Posture (or Better Posture, at Least)



Speaking of ballet, it'll be years before you'll start nagging your offspring to stand up straight — but unbelievably, he or she is doing it right now, without any prodding! No slouch anymore, your baby's neck is getting longer, helping his or her head stand more erect. This gives your 14-week-old fetus a more straightened-out appearance.



Your Little Bigfoot — A Hairy Baby at 14 Weeks



Growth is happening on top of the head as well — by 14 weeks pregnant, your baby could be sprouting some hair (though the final color may not be determined until birth) and the eyebrows are filling in, too.



Hair growth isn't limited to the baby's head, though. He or she is also covered with a downy coating of hair called lanugo, largely there for warmth. As fat accumulates later on in your pregnancy (the baby's fat, not yours — though that will accumulate, too), most of the lanugo will shed — though some babies, especially those born early, still have a fuzzy coating at delivery (it sheds soon afterward).

SECOND TRIMESTER HERE WE GO!

Today marks a very special and important day in Baby Clough's life!  We are now officially in the second trimester! Wooooooooo hoooooooo!  27 weeks to go until we get to meet our little one!  Here are the stats on baby this week:

Week 13 of Pregnancy: Fetal Growth Rates

Your fetus is now about three inches long, the size of a peach — and half of that length is head. By the time your baby is ready to make his or her entrance into the world, the head will be only one-fourth as large as the body.

Your fetus is about three inches long and the size of a peach at 13 weeks pregnant. But don't compare your fetus with the fetus next door. Starting about now, babies begin growing at different paces, some faster than others, some more slowly, though they all follow the same developmental path. Growing at a universally breakneck speed now is your baby's body as it tries to catch up to the head in terms of size. Though your baby's head is about half the size of its body now, by the time your baby is ready to make his or her entrance into the world, the head will be only one-fourth as large as the body.



Your baby's intestines are also in for some big changes right now. Up till this point, they've been growing in a cavity inside the umbilical cord; but now they're moving to their permanent (and more conveniently located) address, in your baby's abdomen. And to serve your growing baby's needs, the placenta is also growing. It weighs about an ounce now and will weigh one to two pounds at birth (something else you'll soon be able to blame your weight gain on!).



Also developing this week: your baby's vocal chords. Because sound can't travel through your uterus (your baby's current habitat), you won't be able to hear any sounds or cries just yet, but oh boy (or girl) — those vocal chords will get a good workout once that baby is born.

12 weeks 4 days

Chris and I happened to go into a Babies R Us this weekend only to discover that they were having a HUGE Nursery sale!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  We ended up buying a discontinued glider that was 289.88 for only 232.88!  We also put the dresser we picked out on layaway.  It costs $549 and we got it for $439 and still got to put it on layaway.  We plan to go back this week to purchase the crib in order to get the sale price.  We know it's really early, but we couldn't pass up this sale...since we never know when it will come back!

I also started a Babies R Us registry.  I've only added a few things I've had on a list for a while, that I know I want.  We haven't gone to the store to register yet, just added things online.  Want to check it out?

Chris and Kate's Baby Registry

12 weeks!!!!

Today marks 12 weeks for baby Clough!  Today was also the day that Chris and I went into Boston to start the Serial/Sequential Testing for Down Syndrome and to meet with a geneticist.  The ultrasound was the coolest part of the day!  The baby looked so big compared to the little blob we saw at 8 weeks.  We couldn't believe how much he/she has grown.  They counted two eye sockets, two legs, two arms, a brain, and a heart!  Baby was on his/her belly so the ultrasound technician played the drums on my abdomen to try and get him/her to flip over.  She was unsuccessful so we had to go with the internal ultrasound (not as much fun!!!!!!!!!!!! FYI).  The doctor came in and said there is almost no thickness on the baby's neck which is a positive sign.  He did say that baby's nasal bone has not calcified or is missing, which is sometimes seen in children who have Downs, but also in typical children as well.  After all that we got to leave with some awesome pictures!

Chris swears it's a girl...but I have a strong feeling it is a boy...

Next, we headed down the street to get blood work, which was pretty uneventful.  Usually they can never find a vein, but this time they got it on the first try!  yay!

Then on to the geneticist, who had a lot to say....but pretty much that there is a very low risk of our baby having any genetic diseases.  Good news!

Fetal Development This Week

Week 12 of Pregnancy: Fetal Organs and Systems

Most of your baby's systems are fully formed, and if you haven't already, it's likely that you'll finally hear your baby's heartbeat at this month's checkup! Your developing fetus now has a crown-to-rump length of about two and a half inches (the size of a large plum).

This week marks a turning point for your baby. At 12 weeks pregnant, the herculean task of developing new bodily structures is nearing an end as most of your baby's systems are fully formed. Now comes the maintenance phase, during which your fetus' systems continue to mature for the next 28 weeks and the organs get to work.



Your little fetus weighs as much as half an ounce now, and the crown-to-rump length is about two and a half inches (the size of a large plum — busily working his or her way through the whole produce department). It's hard to believe (especially from the outside, since you're probably barely showing at this point), but your baby has more than doubled in size during the past three weeks. And that's just on the outside — there's plenty going on inside too. The fetal digestive system is beginning to flex its digestive muscle — literally — as it starts practicing contraction movements, a skill your baby will need after birth to push food through the digestive tract. The pituitary gland at the base of the brain has started producing hormones. And the bone marrow is making white blood cells, which will one day help your baby fight infection (including all those germs passed around the snot-nosed playgroup).



If you haven't already had the pleasure, it's likely that at this month's checkup you'll finally hear your baby's fetal heartbeat — a sound that will make your heart race with joy!

1 week until I am in my second trimester!!!!

This is getting good!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

tigger is done!

he is completed.. i just plan to go over the orange paint again.. not sure if you can tell but i did with his head.. i love how he came out..

Update...

Here are the latest standings in the name poll!  Click the link on the bottom to vote for your favorite!

11 weeks!!!!!

Slightly more than two inches long now and weighing about a third of an ounce, your fetus is growing by leaps and bounds. And so is his or her head, which is equal in length to the rest of the body (don't worry — all fetuses are top-heavy).

Slightly more than two inches long now and weighing about a third of an ounce, your fetus is growing by leaps and bounds when you are 11 weeks pregnant. And so is his or her head, which is equal in length to the rest of the body (don't worry — all fetuses are top-heavy).



On the crown of that large head (and over the rest of the body), hair follicles are forming. Fingernail and toenail beds begin to develop this week and by next week, the nails themselves will start to grow (so don't forget to add a baby nail clipper to your to-buy list).



Your baby's body is straightening and his or her torso is lengthening (sounds like a yoga pose, doesn't it?). Other poses your baby can assume now: stretches, somersaults, and forward rolls. And while you can't tell this baby's gender by its cover yet, testes are developing if it's a boy and ovaries if it's a girl.

Update on names...

Here are the current standings for the name vote...

tigger update..

he's getting close.. just have to redraw some sections of his tail then he should be all done!! he came out good.. i think he would look even better with another coat of orange but i dont know if i have the energy to do another... we'll see..

10 weeks 4 days

We had another doctor's visit today...and...we heard the heartbeat!!!  The doctor found it right away!

We went over my gallons of blood work I had taken out of my body and....

• I don't have syphilis or hepatitis (yay)!
• I'm NOT immune to chicken pox or Rubella (so I'll need some more shots..ugh)
• My blood type is still negative (haha) so I'll need to two more shots of Rhogam.
• I'm not anemic!

The other highlights of the appointment included me finding out I've lost 10 pounds because I can barely eat and we consented to the Serial/Sequential test for Downs Syndrome, which we have to go into Boston to have done.  My doctor also wants us to see a genetic counselor because of a family history of MD, whom is also in Boston.

Next Thursday we head into Boston for a fun day of testing...our next OB appointment is June 2nd.  We also booked our July appointment...which is the ultrasound date...aka...the day the doctor will know the sex of our baby, since we won't be finding out!