Week 6

I suppose I should tell people that I started blogging on this site, huh? Not that much has changed on my front this week. I still feel about the same, still constantly hungry and tired, and had my first experience with morning sickness in the morning!

I applied for food stamps, and we qualify for additional food health through WIC (Women, Infants, Children) to help with milk, cheese, eggs, bread, and some of the more expensive grocery items. Next week we have a nurse visit at home from the Mother Baby Center, an appointment at WIC, and on Friday the 7th we have an appointment with a doctor! I called just about everyone on the list, but pretty much everyone was already filled up with their regular patients for next july. We thought about going with a midwife, which would have been my preference, but with the rate of twins in both our families, we didn't want to risk being dropped half way through the pregnancy and then have to find a doctor! So I found just about the last female OB in Bellingham who would take a DSHS patient like me, and so that's who we're going to see. Since I didn't have a whole lot of control over that, I think I'm going to interview several doulas (who act as the natural/relaxation side of the midwife, but not the doctor portion) so I know I'll like her.

Development wise, here's what's going on!

Your baby and the yolk sac are about the size of an M&M's candy. A month after conception, your embryo looks something like a newt or a tadpole, and it has gills like a fish! Right now, the embryo of your future baby looks much like the embryo of any other animal—a bird, rabbit, or monkey. It has two tiny cups of pigment on the side of its head that will develop into eyes. Tiny buds that will form the lungs have appeared. The neural tube has closed. On end is flattening and expanding to become the brain, and the other end will become the spine. It's already 10,000 times larger than the fertilized egg. The embryo doesn't have gender characteristics yet, but has little dots where the nipples will be, whether it's a boy or a girl. The heart, a tiny U-shaped tube, will start beating between days twenty-one and twenty-four and is circulating the embryo's own blood. It has a small mouth and lips and fingernails are forming.

The Beginning

Well, we're pregnant. Just barely. 5 weeks today. Jason and I are so excited! But already my body has changed so much. It's hard to keep a single thought in my head, and I fall asleep so easy! Luckily I haven't had morning sickness, but I do start feeling it in the later evening.

A few nights ago, Jason laughed at me, because I fell asleep eating a cracker. Oops!

Someone from the Mother Baby center is coming by tomorrow to talk to me about how to prepare. Hopefully from her I'll be able to get a list of doctors in the area who will take new patients like me. From there I can start calling and interviewing, and all of that fun stuff. But at least there's Thanksgiving in there!

Here's what's happening this week - Week 5

Your embryo is about two millimeters long, about the size of a grain of sand. Your baby transforms into a bundle of cells organized in a C-shape with a top, bottom, front, and back. A groove has developed on the embryo's back, which will seal and develop into the neural tube (which later will become the spinal cord). At this point, the tube already has a wider, flatter top that will grow into your baby's brain. A bulge has developed in the center of the embryo, which will soon become a tiny U-Shaped tube which will form the heart. Your embryo is encased in protective membranes and attached to a yolk sac, which manufactures the embryo's unique blood cells.

Positively Pregnant

Last month, Jason and I decided it wouldn't be bad if we had a baby. The birth control I was on wasn't working well for me anymore, so we decided to just see what happens. Usually after being on birth control, it can take several months before you start ovulating again, so I wasn't too concerned anything would happen right away. Well, the next month I was a day late, and I had all these tests, so I decided to try one. The first one came back, and I looked at it, and a million thoughts went through my head. I took the test into the computer room where Jason was on the computer and asked him "How many lines do you see?"

"One and a half"

"Ummmm"

"What does that mean?"

"I think we're pregnant..."

Thinking the first test was a fluke, I took another one, right away. Same thing. Next morning, same thing. Morning after, same thing. So on Friday, I made my way down to DSHS and got it confirmed! A lot faster than expected, but we're having a baby Dilley in July! We couldn't be happier!