Life is Beautiful!

Baby's Developement
Though he's barely the size of a kumquat — a little over an inch or so long, crown to bottom — and weighs less than a quarter of an ounce, your baby has now completed the most critical portion of his development. This is the beginning of the so-called fetal period, a time when the tissues and organs in his body rapidly grow and mature.He's swallowing fluid and kicking up a storm. Vital organs — including his kidneys, intestines, brain, and liver (now making red blood cells in place of the disappearing yolk sac) — are in place and starting to function, though they'll continue to develop throughout your pregnancy.If you could take a peek inside your womb, you'd spot minute details, like tiny nails forming on fingers and toes (no more webbing) and peach-fuzz hair beginning to grow on tender skin.In other developments: Your baby's limbs can bend now. His hands are flexed at the wrist and meet over his heart, and his feet may be long enough to meet in front of his body. The outline of his spine is clearly visible through translucent skin, and spinal nerves are beginning to stretch out from his spinal cord. Your baby's forehead temporarily bulges with his developing brain and sits very high on his head, which measures half the length of his body. From crown to rump, he's about 1 1/4 inches long. In the coming weeks, your baby will again double in size — to nearly 3 inches.

Mom's Developement
At your next prenatal visit, you may be able to hear your baby's rapid heartbeat with the help of a Doppler stethoscope, a handheld ultrasound device that your practitioner places on your belly. Many women say that the beating of their baby's tiny heart sounded like the thunder of galloping horses and hearing it for the first time was very moving.Before you got pregnant, your uterus was the size of a small pear. By this week, it's as big as a grapefruit. You may or may not be ready for maternity wear now. Even if you're not there yet, your regular clothes are probably feeling uncomfortably tight and your blossoming breasts are straining the seams of your bra. The thickening in your midsection is most likely due to slight weight gain and bloating. If you're between regular and maternity clothes, pants and skirts with forgiving elastic waistbands (or low-rise waistlines that sit below your belly) will provide some much-needed comfort.Depending on your level of fitness, you can most likely participate in a wide range of activities during pregnancy. Swimming and walking are excellent choices for the whole nine months. Exercise promotes muscle tone, strength, and endurance — three qualities that can help you carry the weight you gain during pregnancy, prepare you for the physical stress of labor, and make it easier to get back into shape after your baby is born. (Unfortunately, there's no evidence that regular exercise shortens labor.)

Posted in: on Monday, June 29, 2009 at at 10:54 AM 0 comments  

Baby's Development
Your new resident is nearly an inch long — about the size of a grape — and weighs just a fraction of an ounce. She's starting to look more and more human. Her essential body parts are accounted for, though they'll go through plenty of fine-tuning in the coming months. Other changes abound: Your baby's heart finishes dividing into four chambers, and the valves start to form — as do her tiny teeth. The embryonic "tail" is completely gone. Your baby's organs, muscles, and nerves are kicking into gear. The external sex organs are there but won't be distinguishable as male or female for another few weeks. Her eyes are fully formed, but her eyelids are fused shut and won't open until 27 weeks. She has tiny earlobes, and her mouth, nose, and nostrils are more distinct. The placenta is developed enough now to take over most of the critical job of producing hormones. Now that your baby's basic physiology is in place, she's poised for rapid weight gain.

Mom's Development
You still may not look pregnant even if your waist is thickening a bit. You probably feel pregnant, though. Not only are morning sickness and other physical symptoms out in full force for most women, but you may feel like an emotional pinball as well.Mood swings are common now — it's perfectly normal to feel alternately elated and terrified about becoming a parent. Try to cut yourself some slack. Most women find that moodiness flares up at around six to ten weeks, eases up in the second trimester, and then reappears as pregnancy winds to a close.

Posted in: on Wednesday, June 24, 2009 at at 10:48 AM 0 comments  

Posted in: on Tuesday, June 23, 2009 at at 10:49 AM 0 comments  

Posted in: on Monday, June 22, 2009 at at 7:54 AM 0 comments  

Baby's Development
How your baby's growing:New this week: Webbed fingers and toes are poking out from your baby's hands and feet, his eyelids practically cover his eyes, breathing tubes extend from his throat to the branches of his developing lungs, and his "tail" is just about gone. In his brain, nerve cells are branching out to connect with one another, forming primitive neural pathways. You may be daydreaming about your baby as one sex or the other, but the external genitals still haven't developed enough to reveal whether you're having a boy or a girl. Either way, your baby — about the size of a kidney bean — is constantly moving and shifting, though you still can't feel it.

Mom's Development
You may notice that your bra is getting more snug. Soon you'll likely need a larger size with better support. Rising levels of hormones cause breat gorwth and other tissue changes, all in preparation for lactation. Your breasts may continue to grow throughout pregnancy. Don't be surprised if you go up a cup size or two, especially if it's your first baby. Keep this in mind, and allow for room to grow when investing in a new bra.Feeling fatiuged Hormonal changes — in particular, a dramatic rise in progesterone — may be contributing to your sluggishness. Nausea and vomiting can certainly cost you energy, too. And you may be having trouble getting a good night's sleep at this point, especially if you're uncomfortable or find you need to get up to pee

Posted in: on Wednesday, June 17, 2009 at at 1:09 PM 0 comments  

Yesterday (6/15) was Brad and I's 2 year anniversary. TWO YEARS! I cannot believe how fast the time has gone. It really does seem like yesterday we got married. We have been together six total! On Sunday we went out to Outback Steakhouse and ate on their patio, it was a lovely day for it. We took our time eating and talking. It was wonderful!

He is my soulmate! I could not have asked god for a better man. He is my best friend, there is no other person out there who I could even consider replacing him as my best friend! I feel so safe when I with him. He is a great provider for me. He always makes sure that we have what we need. He works two jobs so we don't have to go without. He is looking to the future to see what he can/whats to do so we don't have to work our whole lives. He is always doing stuff around the house. He is always going non stop. He spoils me rotten. And all he asks in return is that I love, oh, and the he can race!

I LOVE YOU BRADLEY MARK SPENCE!

Posted in: on Tuesday, June 16, 2009 at at 1:04 PM 2 comments  

Baby's Development:
The big news this week: Hands and feet are emerging from developing arms and legs — although they look more like paddles at this point than the tiny, pudgy extremities you're daydreaming about holding and tickling. Technically, your baby is still considered an embryo and has something of a small tail, which is an extension of her tailbone. The tail will disappear within a few weeks, but that's the only thing getting smaller. Your baby has doubled in size since last week and now measures half an inch long, about the size of a blueberry.If you could see inside your womb, you'd spot eyelid folds partially covering her peepers, which already have some color, as well as the tip of her nose and tiny veins beneath parchment-thin skin. Both hemispheres of your baby's brain are growing, and her liver is churning out red blood cells until her bone marrow forms and takes over this role. She also has an appendix and a pancreas, which will eventually produce the hormone insulin to aid in digestion. A loop in your baby's growing intestines is bulging into her umbilical cord, which now has distinct blood vessels to carry oxygen and nutrients to and from her tiny body.

Mom's Developement:
Your uterus has doubled in size in the past five weeks, and eating may feel like a chore — or worse — thanks to morning sickness, which by now may be in full swing. (If you're feeling fine, don't worry — you're lucky!)You may need to pee more than usual, too, thanks to your increasing blood volume and the extra fluid being processed through your kidneys. (By now, you already have about 10 percent more blood than you did before you were pregnant. And by the end of your pregnancy, you'll have 40 to 45 percent more blood running through your veins to meet the demands of your full-term baby.) As your uterus grows, pressure on your bladder will send you to the bathroom as well.About half of the women who feel nauseated during the first trimester will find complete relief by about 14 weeks. For most of the rest, it'll take another month or so for the queasiness to ease up. It's unlikely, though, that the need to pee more than usual will ease up. In fact, research shows that both the frequency and volume of urine tends to increase over the course of pregnancy.

Posted in: on Thursday, June 11, 2009 at at 10:18 AM 0 comments  

This weekend was fun...but exhausting! Lets see who all went...it was Jewells, Walton, Lynsie, Caitlin, Sarah, Colette, and I. Seven girls...WHOA! We got to the hotel around 5:00, got settled into our rooms and went swimming. Well some of us went swimming, there was two who went in to their waists and decided to go in to the sauna. The pool water was so warm it felt so good to go swimming. I think little tadpole enjoyed very much! After swimming for an hour we went up and order Davani's Pizza. It was soooo Delicious! The other girls did some predrinking and we sat and talked and got ready till about 10:00. We then we out to Spin to go dancing and drinking, my specialty...fountain coke! and a bottle of water along with some scooby snacks! The dance floor was just so ridiculously crowded, you could barley move and people were shovey and there was always someone right next to you. I just wanted to dance with me girls, you know! We left around 1:30, went back to the hotel, i ate another slice of pizza and went to bed before 2:00!

The next morning we slept in till 9, got ready and then went to Perkins for breakfast, boy was the delicious! I love to go out fore breakfast! There is nothing like eggs, hash browns, toast, fruit, and pancakes to fill you up!

Over all it was an excellent weekend! I just don't think I will go again. If we do a game night for sure, but just not going out! I didn't like all the people and I missed Brad so much I could've cried myself to sleep. I guess my friends just lost their sober cab ;)

Posted in: on Monday, June 8, 2009 at at 10:58 AM 2 comments  

Baby's Development...
This week's major developments: The nose, mouth, and ears that you'll spend so much time kissing in eight months are beginning to take shape. If you could see into your uterus, you'd find an oversize head and dark spots where your baby's eyes and nostrils are starting to form. His emerging ears are marked by small depressions on the sides of the head, and his arms and legs by protruding buds. His heart is beating about 100 to 160 times a minute — almost twice as fast as yours — and blood is beginning to course through his body. His intestines are developing, and the bud of tissue that will give rise to his lungs has appeared. His pituitary gland is forming, as are the rest of his brain, muscles, and bones. Right now, your baby is a quarter of an inch long, about the size of a lentil bean.
Did you know as early as pregnancy week 6 your baby's reflexes begin to develop and may even respond to touch? During this time the central nervous system in your baby is developing at a mind boggling pace, linking your baby's nerves and muscles to various body parts. Babies happily start swimming about and moving in fact very early on in pregnancy, though most first time moms will not recognize their baby's movements until roughly 20 weeks pregnant. Many second time moms however report feeling their baby's first fluttering as early as 13 weeks pregnant!

Mom's Development...
By six weeks pregnant you may have gained a pound or so. Most women will gain roughly 5 pounds during their first trimester of pregnancy, though some women will gain more and some women will gain less. Others gain no weight at all during their first trimester (largely due to terrible morning sickness) but make up for this much later in pregnancy. Don't fret if you do lose some weight during the first trimester. Chances are you and your baby will be just fine.
You may find yourself developing a bit of a split personality — feeling moody one day and joyful the next. Unsettling as this is (especially if you pride yourself on being in control), what you're going through is normal. Ricocheting emotions are caused partly by fluctuating hormones. But hormones aside, your life is about to change in a big way — and who wouldn't feel emotional about that?

Watch for week by week updates!

Posted in: on Thursday, June 4, 2009 at at 1:13 PM 1 comments