I am 14 weeks Pregnant!

Week 14

How Big is the Baby at Fourteen Weeks Pregnant?
Your baby is 3.4 inches long by pregnancy week 14, and likely weighs close to 1.5 ounces! Every day of your pregnancy week by week your baby is growing more and more proportional.

Your Baby's Growth and Development
By pregnancy 14 weeks your baby's body is growing quite rapidly. During pregnancy week 14 his length is catching up with his slightly larger head. The ears have started their move to the sides of the head, and the eyes continue to get closer and closer together.

During pregnancy week 14 your baby's neck will elongate, and the chin will start to rise up off the chest. Your baby's reflexes will also continue to develop this week. By pregnancy 14 weeks your baby should be receiving their nutrition directly from the placenta. Remember that everything you put into your body can cross the placental wall and impact your fetus. This includes not only things you eat such as food preservatives, but also things that may come into contact your skin, such as house sprays or other cleaning agents. Remember that lotions penetrate the skin, so why wouldn't household cleaners? At this time more than any other time in your life it is important that you make safe and healthy choices with regard to your health and well being.

Anything you eat or inhale could directly or indirectly affect the health and well being of your baby. Eating a healthy diet is vital to the well being of your child. Avoiding alcohol during pregnancy as well as avoiding certain foods is important to ensure a happy, healthy environment for your unborn baby. If you are smoking during your pregnancy please stop now.

One thing that you should never do when pregnant is change a cat's litter box. Doing so could put you at risk for contracting a disease called Toxoplasmosis. This is an infection that can occur via contact with the stool of an infected cat. The risk to your baby is substantial. Cats are often infected from outside sources including rodents. Most pet owners that have had cats for a long time have likely already been exposed to the disease at some time or another in their life, and this will not necessarily result in an increased risk for your baby. However during pregnancy, you do have an excuse to have someone else change the litter pan for the time being. You should also avoid gardening to some extent, as outdoor cats sometimes prefer to leave their stools in the soil of a garden.

If you absolutely must garden or change a cat box, be sure you wear gloves and a mask, and carefully wash your hands after performing any of these higher risk activities.

YUM!!

I have now been Gluten free for a year and a 1/2! I have found an alternative to just about everything but we are always open to new recipes! I have been on the julesglutenfree.com mailing list for a long time and thats where I found the recipe for this beauty!





A homemade gluten free mushroom and black olive pizza! Oh you better believe I PIGGED OUT! It was totally worth the discomfort after eating so much!

2nd Doctor Apt

We had our 2nd doctors appointment last Wednesday! I am 13 weeks and everything is moving along just fine. I'm healthy and the baby looks good. I'm still 1lb under my pre-pregnancy weight but the Doctor said that normal and as long as the baby is growing my weight doesn't really matter. We got to meet our Doctor and she is Super nice! I'm really happy with everyone at the clinic, they are all so very sweet. We got to hear the heartbeat for the first time! It was really neat. The nurse found it on the first try which for some reason impressed me. :-) We opted to do the first trimester screening for chromosomal abnormalities (basically looking for down syndrome and the like) We went back and forth on the testing because we would NEVER terminate the pregnancy so I didn't know what the benefit of the testing would be but our Doctor said it would mentally prepare us if something were wrong and we would be more careful when it came to labor and delivery because a sick baby won't have as many reserves. Made sense to me so we went for it. Part of that testing is an ultrasound. What a pleasant surprise. I got to see my baby!!! Now everyone told me that hearing the heartbeat would make it feel real and would probably make me cry. I thought it was cool but I didn't feel the earth move. The ultrasound is where it hit home for me. Not just seeing the picture but seeing it move and kick inside of me was really amazing.



I'm still feeling really great all things considered. Little symptoms here and there but overall I've been blessed with an easy pregnancy so far. Our next apt will be at 20 weeks and we will do a 3D ultrasound to find out the sex!!! Seven weeks seems like a long time to wait but I'm sure I can make it.

I am 13 weeks Pregnant!! (Second Trimester!!)

Week 13

How Big is the Baby at Thirteen Weeks Pregnant?
During pregnancy week 13 your baby is 2.9 inches long and weighs up to .8 ounces. Though your baby is significantly larger by pregnancy 13 weeks, he is still pretty tiny. Fortunately there is plenty of room to expand in your uterus as you follow your pregnancy week by week!

Your Baby's Growth and Development
By the end of pregnancy week 13 your baby looks like a tiny yet fully formed baby. While your baby's head is still quite large, his body is starting to catch up. Your baby's eyes are starting to move closer together by pregnancy 13 weeks. Up until this point in time they rested closely along the sides of the head. Your baby's intestines are also moving further into their body, and your baby's tiny pancreas starts producing insulin, which will be vital for regulating your baby's sugar levels later in life!

Your Growth and Development
Your uterus is continuing to grow at pregnancy week 13, and as it does you may start feeling some aching or discomfort in your abdomen. This is perfectly normal. The ligaments that surround your uterus will stretch in the upcoming weeks to accommodate your baby, and this stretching often results in what is called round ligament pain.

Round ligament pain is fairly common by 13 weeks pregnant, but can be alarming if you have never experienced it before. It usually presents as a brief but sharp or stabbing pain in your abdomen, but you may also feel a dull ache in the lower abdomen that lasts for a short time. Most often women feel this when they get up suddenly or change position. You might feel this pain as you attempt to roll over swiftly in the bed.

If you experience any pain that is accompanied by other symptoms however, such as cramping, bleeding or vomiting you should call your doctor immediately. Usually round ligament pain doesn't last more than a few minutes. If you have persistent pain something else might be going on that warrants a trip to your doctor.

In most cases simply relaxing can relieve round ligament pain. Be sure you rest comfortable and discontinue any activity that was causing you discomfort. Try to remember to get up slowly each time you get out of bed or move to the sofa. This will become more and more necessary as your uterus continues to expand and you grow larger and larger.

I am 12 weeks pregnant!

Week 12

How Big is the Baby?
At 12 weeks pregnant your baby is just about two and a half inches long and weighs up to half an ounce!

Your Baby's Growth and Development

Your baby continues to grow and develop tremendously during pregnancy week 12. You'll be amazed at the pregnancy week by week changes that start occurring within your baby in the upcoming months. Your baby's genitals will start showing signs of being either male or female soon. During pregnancy week 12, your baby's brain is starting to make hormones, and nerve cells are multiplying at a rapid rate. Your baby may be sucking as early as this week, and your baby's kidneys may even be producing urine.

By pregnancy 12 weeks if you stimulate certain points of your uterus your baby may move in response, though you won't be able to actually feel your baby moving for another few weeks!

Your Growth and Development
You are growing and expanding! By the end of pregnancy week 12 your uterus will pop out of your pelvis, and appear just above the pubic bone. It will continue to grow into your abdomen. While it may take nine months for your uterus to grow large enough to hold your baby, it will return to its pre-pregnancy size just weeks after delivery!

Your uterus will also weigh more and more as your pregnancy at 12 weeks continues to progress. By the end of your pregnancy your uterus will weigh up to 2 pounds, compared to 2.5 ounces prior to your pregnancy!

Changes in You
You might be noticing some skin changes during pregnancy 12 weeks. If you have a lot of freckles during pregnancy, they may start to darken after pregnancy week 12. Some women form a dark vertical line that runs the length of their abdomen during pregnancy. This is called the linea nigra. It usually appears sometime during the second trimester. It will gradually fade within a few weeks of delivery. The skin surrounding your nipples and areolas will likely darken as well.

Other women have patches of brown skin that form on the face and neck. These are commonly referred to as the mask of pregnancy, and usually disappear completely or become lighter after you deliver. You should always wear sunscreen during pregnancy to protect your skin, which may prove more sensitive throughout your pregnancy. There are many chemical free versions of sun block available on the market today, which are perfectly suitable during pregnancy.


Some women religiously use wrinkle creams and other skin firming lotions prior to pregnancy. If you typically use a product with high concentrations of Vitamin A, you should stop during pregnancy. Too much vitamin A can be harmful to you and your developing fetus. Vitamin A is found in prenatal vitamins up to 5,000 IUs. This is a beneficial dose for helping promote bone growth and support and strengthen the teeth. Larger doses of vitamin A however can cause liver damage and jaundice. If you aren't sure whether or not a product is safe, be sure to consult with your healthcare provider before continuing its use.

You may find that you are experiencing more heartburn than normal at 12 weeks pregnant. Heartburn is a burning sensation in the throat, chest and upper abdomen. This is a very common complaint during pregnancy at 12 weeks. It is caused by an increase in the hormone progesterone during pregnancy. Progesterone relaxes the valve between your stomach and esophagus. This relaxation allows stomach acids to enter the esophagus and cause severe irritation, which gives you the sensation of a burning feeling. Some great suggestions to relieve and prevent heartburn are as follows:

* Eat less at each meal and have six meals a day instead of three.
* Chew your food adequately and eat slowly.
* Drink liquids before and after your meals and not with them.
* For heavens sake stay away from fatty and greasy foods which will only make the problem worse.
* Stay away from fizzy drinks, citrus juices and spicy meals.
* Do not eat before going to bed.
* Raise the head of your bed or prop yourself up with pillows which will help minimize heartburn.
* Consider liquid antacids… they work much better than the tablet forms.

I'm 11 Weeks Pregnant

Week 11

How Big is the Baby at Eleven Weeks Pregnant?

Your little one is growing larger and larger as you continue your pregnancy week by week. By pregnancy week 11 your baby is big enough to hold in the palm of your hand. Between 1.75 and 2.4 inches long your little bean weighs almost .3 of an ounce, and is probably about the size of a small plum.


By pregnancy 11 weeks you can still see right through your baby's skin. In fact, your baby's skin will remain paper thin throughout much of your pregnancy, until you come closer to term. If you were to look directly at your baby during pregnancy week 11 you could see her blood vessels through the skin. By this point in time your little one should be able to open and close her fists, and is starting to form little buds that will one day pop out as teeth!

By pregnancy 11 weeks your baby's fingers and toes have lost their amphibious like resemblance, now separated instead of webbed. Your little one is taking advantage of the huge space she is floating in by pregnancy 11 weeks, by kicking and squirming about. In the next three weeks your baby will go through a tremendous growth spurt, almost doubling in size. At no other time in your baby's life will she undergo as many rapid changes as are occurring during this stage of your pregnancy.

Your Growth and Development
You may be starting to show a bit by 11 weeks pregnant at this point (but not very much unless you have already had a baby). You are almost at the end of your first trimester by pregnancy at 11 weeks but you still may not look pregnant to onlookers, which some women find frustrating. Take comfort knowing that your uterus however is now just about big enough to fill your pelvis and is probably poking up above the middle of your pubic bone. Before you know it your tummy will pronounce to the whole world that you are pregnant!

Changes in You

By 11 weeks pregnant you should be feeling pretty pregnant, even if you don't look very pregnant. You might start to notice that your hair and fingernails start growing very rapidly. For some women this doesn't happen until closer to the third trimester, but others notice it right away. However, some women also find that their hair is more unruly than normal, so don't count on thick locks during pregnancy necessarily. If you have been suffering from terrible morning sickness, take heart knowing that in just another week or two you should start to feel remarkably better. Many women start gaining weight, about a pound per week during the second trimester, as they find their nausea subsiding.

You might be continuing to have mixed emotions about your pregnancy during pregnancy at 11 weeks. Many women find themselves tuning into parenting and health channels that talk about pregnancy. Keep your spirits up as much as possible as you follow your pregnancy week by week, and remember that shedding an occasional tear is perfectly normal and healthy.