Week 17

We had a nice surprise this week when my mum realised that she had $140 in gift cards for a few stores that she had gotten from her suppliers at xmas and had forgotten to use them...these got given to us to spend on the baby :)
Turns out, after Mum, Aaron and i jumping in the car, most of it went towards much needed clothes for me since i am really struggling to be comfortable in anything i already have.
So i got my very first maternity clothes.We got some good bargains and i'm quite happy with the things we ended up walking out with.Its a least a bit more comfortable for me to live in now.lol. btw, Aaron has decided they are "fatty" clothes. Yes, he is a charmer thats for sure.haha.
We now have about $50 left on the cards to get something special we think we would like for the baby next time we go out. It was so nice of Mum and Iain to just give them to us, without even a reason. Very appreciated thats for sure. I was not looking forward to the shopping trip buying maternity clothes because they are not cheap at all.
So that was shopping this week.
In other news, there may be some movement being felt from the baby, but its just too early to really say yes! thats what it is.
We have had 2 times now, that we can very distinctly tell where the baby is in my belly though, due to laying down and there being an obvious "lump" and me having a lopsided tummy.lol.
Aaron is forever telling "secrets" to the baby now, i'm sure he is trying to turn it against me.lol.
I have really popped now and my stomach is getting quite round all around and by the time night comes around there is not alot of room for anything else and my skin is very taught.
Just over a week now till we see baby again and it cant come quick enough for me.I worry too much that the baby is not even alive, and of course, am DYING to know if we are have a son or a daughter. (COME ON BOY!!!)...yeh, i really want a boy....really....really.

Week 17
By week 17, your baby weighs about 4.97 ounces (140gm) and is 5.12 inches (13cm) long.
He or she has a much more normal "human" appearance now. She holds her head more erect and her body and limbs are longer in proportion to her head.
Pads are forming on his tiny fingertips and toes. Soon those individual swirls and whorls will be apparent.
Her eyes are looking forward now, but they are still firmly closed.
Meconium (composed of products of cell loss, digestive secretion and swallowed amniotic fluid), is accumulating in the bowel. This black gooey substance will become your baby's first poop!
The umbilical cord is growing thicker and stronger and continues to rush blood and nutrients to your growing baby.
If your child is male the prostate begins to develop.
Her skeleton is transforming from cartilage to bone. The bones remain flexible to make the journey through the birth canal easier.

Week 16

This week we decided to drive to the hospital to have a look around and book in since my Dr had given me my referal letter.
Yeh thats wasnt going to happen.lol.There was seriously no parking anywhere, and even if there was we really didnt know where to go.
We went shopping instead :) We managed to get into a little bit of a sale at Target, and we got my nappy bag, which is great and has everything, plenty of space and pockets etc, and we were quite happy to find it and purchase it. I just hope it matches the pram :S We also bought the babies first "toys". They are two hanging animals (a turtle and a duck) to hang from the pram to keep babies eyes occupied. They are very very cute.
Anyway, after a lonnnng day out and heat that we could not handle any longer we came home and i booked in with the antenatal team at the hospital on the phone and am now waiting for them to phone me back with my first appointment with them.We also booked in to see Dr Dunn after the Anatomy scan is done for him to check my cervix and see how thats going and to book all of my appointments in advance now since i'm technically half way depending on what baby does.

Week 16
Fat begins to form underneath skin, providing your baby with insulation for the coming months.
Did you know that both baby and placenta are now about the same size?
Your little one has reached 4.57 inches (11.6cm) and approximately 3.53 ounces (100gm).
His head and neck are held straighter now.
This is a week of "mights!" You might hear the tiny thumps of his heartbeat with an external monitor now. The genitals are developed sufficiently that an experienced sonographer might be able to determine if your baby is a boy or a girl.
Her heart is pumping as much as 6 gallons of blood a day and beats at a rate about double your heart rate.
If you could take a peek inside, you would witness your child's reflexes in action! (Sucking, swallowing and blinking are now evident.) She is probably even hiccuping even though you don't feel it yet!
Your baby has learned to breathe! This is apparent from the regular movements of his chest. Isn't it amazing that he is able to breathe "underwater," inhaling and exhaling small amounts of amniotic fluid? These actions help the lungs to develop and grow.

Week 15

This week we got to see baby again quickly at my cervix check with the Dr.
Aaron got to come since he wasnt working and everything looked great. My cervix was a stable 35mm (10mm down from the last but hopefully it wont go down more and stay around this size), and baby was active and looking great.
The baby was head down, bum up and back turned to us.lol.
We are booked in for the big anatomy scan at 19 weeks (9th February) and this will also mark half way for us...and this is when we will finally find out what the little bugger is...Girl or Boy??
Everyone is really starting to guess and i cant wait to see who is ont he money or not.
Time will tell...Ive still got ym fingers crossed for a boy, but think its a girl.

Week 15
You may begin to feel some fluttering movements as baby kicks, flails, twists and turns (but don't panic if you don't yet). She can also grasp, squint, frown, grimace and maybe suck her thumb!
Your baby's legs have grown longer than the arms and the body is now longer than the head.
And you'll be happy to note that he is moving those arms and legs often!
His skin is very thin -- so thin blood vessel are visible. It's covered by a fine, soft layer of hair called lanugo. Lanugo comes from a Latin word meaning "down." This hair is thought to help insulate your little boy.
The three tiny bones in his middle ear have begun to harden. The auditory centers in your baby's brain haven't developed yet, so she might not really understand what you say but her hearing capacity is in the process of developing.
Fingernails and toenails are growing.
Eyebrows are beginning to grow and even the hair his head is sprouting. It will probably change color and texture after birth.
All this and your little one is an amazing 3.98 inches (10.1cm) long and may weigh 2.47 ounces (70gm).

2nd TRIMESTER!! :D

Yes, can you believe it? i barely can.We are officially in the 2nd trimester!! :)

It feels like such a massive accomplishment and we are both very proud.

This week was quite exciting, we went baby shopping and purchased our pram.

Its a Steelcraft Strider 4 and is soooo GREAT!It was very cute to see Aaron quite interested to look at everything in Babies Galore, he is very much turning into 'Dad' and is getting noticeably excited about each and every thing, which of course i LOVE.As much as i cant wait to be a mummy, i am soooo much more excited for him to be a daddy. I find it amazing and it warms my heart everytime i think about it.I am so proud to be able to give him this, and share it with him for life. I told him not long ago, that while this baby is growing, i am falling more and more inlove with him all over again, and once the baby is here, well...its going to be quite the rush of emotions from me thats for sure.lol. I picture every little moment that he will have with the baby and its the best thing ever. :)

This week also came with the wonderful joy of me going back to work.UGH! yeh it hasnt been fun, waking up at 5:30am each day t go to work is NOT my idea of a great day, but aside from feeling unwell most of the time, and tired (which i can always handle better) it hasnt been too bad.Very busy to start with and of course i had to get back in the swing of things...but it feels good to be earning money again, i always like that and i really think that everyone needs it for self worth.

Aaron, on the other hand, finishes his job this sunday after quitting.

This will be tough...but i trust him, and trust that he knows what he needs to do for him, for me and more importantly for the baby that is on its way.

I am worried...but thats normal, and hopefully the worry wont need to be there for too long, and we will be back to us both making money and getting and doing the things we want and need to do.

This whole baby buying thing is expensive!

We have bought our cot and changetable this week also, i just need to work out some arrangements for it, since it is in another state and the store wont ship it up! So my dad went and got it from his area (which is where there was only ONE left out of all the stores in NSW and QLD, and it will sit at his place until we make arrangments to get it up here, or to a new location is we move before the baby is here)

This is it...

Its was on a really good sale, and after looking at a few over the last few weeks we really wanted to snap this up.

All in all the week has been good.Different in alot of ways on the pregnancy front, i am feeling alot of aches and pains now, i guess stuff is moving and growing and stretching.

I have some stupid nerve thing in my lower back which gives me a hell of a lot of grief when i have been sitting too long or go for a walk for a while.My gallbladder is acting up (i CANNOT wait till that is taken out after baby comes thats for sure!).

But other than that, nothing else new and exciting.Our next Drs appointment is Thursday and i hope that even though its a cervix check that Dr will do a scan over baby to see how he/she is doing, just for some reassurance.

People are starting to decide what the sex will be and so far Boy is outweighing girl.

Aaron is still convinced its a boy, my dad and majority of that side of the family think boy, with the exception of my Nan who said its definately a girl (she will also be STOKED if it IS a girl as she never got a girl and had 5 boys of her own!), Mum hasnt made up her mind yet, Iain has decided he thinks girl...and i am swinging towards girl on a daily basis now.I was so convinced it was a boy for so long, and as time goes by, i keep thinking for some reason its a girl.
Of course, either gender is going to be amazing, but i have always been more favourable towards a boy first..and i think that a girl is going to be a shock for both Aaron and I.
Only a few weeks to go and we can settle it! lol.

Week 14
Thyroid gland has matured and your baby begins producing hormones which will be used throughout his or her life.
In boys, the prostate gland develops
In girls, the ovaries move from the abdomen to the pelvis
Your little one may have learned to suck his thumb by this point!
Your child's bones are getting harder and stronger by the day!
Your baby's skin is very transparent still
Lanugo (very fine hair) covers the baby's body and will continue to grow until 26 weeks gestational age - Generally this will be shed prior to birth. Its purpose is to help protect baby's skin while in all that water!
Your baby is 3.42 inches (8.7cm) long and weighs about 1.52 ounces (43 grams) - approximately the weight of a letter!