Since the chat with the midwife when we agreed that the due date was Feb 5 instead of Feb 2, and the measurements at the scan indicated that I was 12 weeks 0 days or 12 weeks 1 day (which was right for a Feb 5 due date), it seems reasonable to have these updates on Tuesdays instead of on Saturdays when I previously posted.

When we were in Melbourne for the weekend we told my grandmother (Oma) that in 6 months she would become a great grandmother, and the smile just didn’t leave her face for the rest of our visit!!  hehe. 

About the only thing that I’ve noticed recently, pregnancy wise, is that when I eat I don’t want to eat much and feel quite full after only a few bites.   And I’ve been feeling a bit….off…after eating.  Not nauseous exactly, but not good.  Can you develop morning sickness in the second trimester?  Hmmm…..

 Anyway, this week’s info from Birth.com.au:

You are now 13 weeks pregnant, which is the beginning of week 14.

Your baby measures about 9 cm in length from head to toe and weighs approximately 45 grams.

During this week, your baby’s body grows more rapidly than their head. Their gag reflex now begins to function, which is important for survival after being born and closely associated with their swallow, cough and sneeze reflexes. Your baby’s nose and nasal passages are now fully developed.

For most women the 2nd trimester is the most comfortable phase of their pregnancy. However, this stage can also bring its own unique physical changes. Occasionally the physical changes of the 1st trimester continue to linger until 14, 16 or even 20 weeks of pregnancy and beyond. However, it is normal to feel concerned if some pregnancy signs disappear and it is too early to feel the reassuring movements of your baby yet.

You may notice your belly beginning to show now and that you need to loosen the clothing around your waistline. However, at this stage many women say they just feel fat, rather than pregnant! From here on in, your baby grows quite rapidly and in the coming weeks your belly will quickly pop out! At this point you still may be able to get away with wearing looser or more elasticised pants and skirts, but in the coming weeks you will need to start considering wearing maternity clothing.

We had our nuchal tranclucency ultrasound lastnight. I was so scared that there would be nothing there, and at work yesterday I got 2 electric shocks from an electric fence, so I was also worried that there’d be a baby and no heartbeat because I’d electrocuted it! Anyway, the lady was looking at stuff that didn’t look like anything to me, and I had to ask if there was anything there. She said ‘yes’ and started pointing out bits, and got a heartbeat of 165 beats per minute. I just wanted to cry, but held it together except for a little tear that broke free and travelled down my face.

It’s still hard to believe, but we have photos to prove it. I guess I’m living proof that you can be pregnant and not have morning sickness in any way, shape or form. I’m so lucky! And in 6 months, all going well, we’ll have a new addition to our family. 🙂

As we drove into the hospital carpark thismorning, Andrew reminded Bug-a-lugs that we’re only visiting the hospital for good things this time, not bad.  Well, that’s the plan, anyway. 

We had the first appointment with the midwife today.  It is essentially an hour of answering questions, including a couple that Andrew has to leave the room for where they ask me if my partner has ever beaten or abused me.  Eh, and I’m sure that playing ‘Punch Buggies’ doesn’t count.  So he was only out of the room for about 10 seconds!  hehe.

We had a bit of a discussion about the due date, and decided to change it from Feb 2 to Feb 5.  I don’t think it makes much difference, though my mother will probably be amused because Feb 5 is her birthday. 

My blood pressure has been a little high the last few times it’s been tested, so instead of going straight to the Birth Centre, I had to book in to see a doctor for my next visit in 4 weeks.  His name is Dr. Buist, and until a couple of years ago he was the Director of Obstetrics at the hospital and seems to be actively involved in other medical groups related to obstetrics, so hopefully he’ll be pretty good. 

All in all, everything seems to be ok.  So now it’s just a 2 day wait to find out if Bug-a-lugs is growing away happily, and another week before we get the risk factor for Down Syndrome. 

Well, it looks like we made it to 12 weeks!! Only 4 days now until we get to see if there is anything growing in there. I’m pretty scared about what the scan will show, but because there hasn’t been any bleeding I’m starting to wonder if I’m just lucky and haven’t experienced morning sickness in any form, shape or size! Andrew thinks my belly has changed in shape, though he thought that last time too.  🙂  Anyway, we’ll know one way or the other on Wednesday evening!

Info from Birth.com.au

You are now 12 weeks pregnant, which is the start of week 13. This marks the end of the 1st trimester (or the first 3 months of pregnancy) and the beginning of the 2nd trimester (the second 3 months of pregnancy). It has now been 70 days since your baby was conceived and they measure about 7.6 cm and weigh approximately 30 grams. As your uterus grows upwards and out of the bones of your pelvis, the pressure is taken off your bladder and your waistline may start to thicken. Although not impossible, the threat of miscarriage now significantly subsides, as do some of the early physical signs of pregnancy for many women (such as tiredness and morning sickness).

Your baby’s bones are now changing from being soft and flexible (made of cartilage) to being more hardened, as the centre of them ‘ossifies’. Your baby is now capable of making creeping and climbing movements, although for most women their baby is still too small to be aware of them. Very fine whiskers of hair start to appear on your baby’s upper lips and eyebrows.

The placenta is now fully functional but remains larger in size than the baby (until about 16 weeks). The placenta supplies your baby with oxygen, fats, proteins, vitamins and minerals as well as removing carbon dioxide and waste materials, by ‘filtering’ or ‘sieving’ them through the placental tissues attached to the uterus. This intricate process is called ‘diffusion’ and the exchange is possible because the blood vessels of the mother and baby are incredibly close together, yet remarkably always stay separate.

The placenta is not a barrier, as once thought. It does allow most substances in the mother’s blood stream to cross over into the baby’s blood stream. These include alcohol, nicotine, caffeine, natural remedies, medications, drugs and viruses, possibly affecting their growth and development.

Your baby’s bowels are now able to expand and contract (called ‘peristalsis’) and from now on they start filling with a black-green, tar-like substance that will be their first bowel motion passed after the birth, called ‘meconium’.

I went to my GP today so that she could fill in all the paperwork for the hospital, and to get my iron levels checked again after being on the super-duper iron tablets for the last 5 weeks.  I asked if she could test my vitamin B12 levels even though they were ok last time, only because I’m no longer taking the lower dose iron tablets anymore and they contained half the total B12 that I had been taking in supplement form.  She decided to skip some of the antenatal bloods that normally get done, because I only had them done 6 months ago, but she did repeat some.  So I had 4 vials of blood taken.  Hopefully the results won’t get lost at the hospital this time, and I’ll find out what the verdict is on Monday at my first appointment there. 

There’s really been nothing of note to report that’s happened in the last week, we’re just playing the waiting game.  GP appointment in 3 days, midwife appointment in 9 days and NT scan in 11 days.

Info from Birth.com.au:

You are now 11 weeks pregnant (63 days after conception), which is the beginning of week 12. Your baby is now around 5 cm long from crown to rump and weighing about 8 grams. Nearly doubling in size during the last week! By the end of this week your uterus will grow up out of the bones of your pelvis. If you see your caregiver around this time for your first pregnancy visit, they should be able to just tip the top of your uterus (called the ‘fundus’), by feeling your belly. If they use a special Doppler machine, they may also be able to detect your baby’s heartbeat and let you hear it for the first time!

Your baby now has the early components of sucking and swallowing (although not mature until 24 to 28 weeks) and their taste buds are mature enough to taste the amniotic fluid that surrounds them. Your baby’s kidneys are now functioning and secreting fluid into their bladder. Fluid they will soon pass as a type of ‘urine’ into the amniotic fluid. This cycle of swallowing and urinating amniotic fluid continues up until birth.

Your baby now starts breathing amniotic fluid into their lungs. This strengthens the muscle under them (called the ‘diaphragm’) and allows your baby to regularly practise rhythmic expansion of their lungs. Their stomach now produces gastric juices and they have about 20 baby teeth in their gums.

Your baby’s sex organs are still developing but their typical male or female characteristics are not yet obvious to the naked eye. Under the influence of increased testosterone for boys (or the lack of testosterone for girls), the sex organs now start to take their individual shape. The gonads move into place as either testes or ovaries, the ‘shaft’ of tissue in the middle either enlarges to become a penis or reduces in size to become a clitoris (usually by 15 weeks) and the bags of tissue on each side become either scrotum or labia.

Your baby’s movements now become more coordinated and purposeful. Although not common, a few women will sense their baby moving as early as 12 weeks. Regular movement is now important for your baby’s growth and development. Without it their muscles would waste, their joints would seize and their bones would become brittle and liable to break. Therefore movement of some description will now become a daily part of your unborn baby’s life (when they are awake!)