My house is a wreck. The dishes get when Reuben does them which bless his heart he has been doing fairly regularly (oh how i wish we had a dishwasher). We get dressed after selecting clothes from the numerous baskets of clean clothes that have been washed and dried but not yet folded and put away. Toys lay scattered from one end to the other and our blue carpet which is absolutely terrible for showing up crumbs and debris is in desperate need for a vaccum. The dining table is covered with mail and other "stuff" including Reubens PC. This is because his office is currently filled with bunk beds and mattresses for the girls (in preparation for our expanding family) and a whole lot of books/games which I have to put on Trade Me - when I get around to it... And then there is the other stuff that should be getting my attention (sigh)...
This pregnancy feels different to the girls. The differences? My sense of smell is heightened this time, the exhaustion is greater (maybe because of the girls?), no constipation this time (you all wanted to know that didn't you), nausea again but this time without vomiting (touch wood), no sweet cravings, in fact overall no junk food cravings - aside from sausage rolls last week. My favourite food at the moment is nectarines - they go down easy and keep the nausea at bay.
And what sex do I think the baby is? From before the pregnancy was confirmed I had a sense that I was carrying a boy. I had an incredibly vivid dream two nights ago where I gave birth in a specific place and met our baby. It was so vivid I can remember details of the labour and everything. The baby had black hair (a little more and a little longer than what the girls had at birth), a face very similar to Isabellas, and a robust chubby little body. After I had taken in all this in my dream I thought to see what sex the baby was - and sure enough, a little boy. It all makes me so much more tempted to find out at the 20wk scan what we are having.
And what is the baby doing at the moment?
Two weeks ago:
- baby is wriggling and dancing already although I can't feel it yet
- most joints are now formed
- Coco can curl his fingers around things - like a nose, an ear or other fingers
- finger prints are already evident
- 2.3cm long, weight 2gms
over the last week (the 10th week)- the most critical period of growth is complete - now Coco is headed into a period of rapid growth
- Coco's head is about half his length, soon the body will catch up, but for the moment the head is making room for rapid brain development
- Eyelids fuse shut and irises begin to develop
- placenta begins to function this week or next - provides nutrients and removes waste to keep Coco growing strong
- about 3.1cm long and now weighing 4gms - that's double the weight in one week!
this coming week- nearly all structures and organs will be formed and beginning to function
- Coco's fingers and toes will have separated. Check out this photo of an 11wk old baby's toes...
- hair and nails begin to grow
- genitals begin to take on the proper gender characteristics
- amniotic fluid begins to accumulate as the kidneys begin to function
- muscles in the intestinal wall begin to practice contractions that contract food
- by the end of this week Coco will be about 4.1cms long and weigh approx 7gms
And my final word for today? lock up your medications so little fingers can't get a hold of them. Last sunday we spent 24hrs at Kidzfirst (the childrens section of Middlemore hospital) for observation and a whole raft of tests after Isabella had some "treats" - aka Grandma's medication. A scary experience but thankfully no adverse long term effects. But like I needed something else to drain my energy!
So time to put the kids down for a nap so mum and dad can have one as well! hopefully anyway...
