Wiggly and Jiggly....

...that's the baby and me. Baby is wiggly, wiggly, wiggly (and like mama, talks using his or her hands!) and my stomach is jiggly, jiggly, jiggly. Not very pregnant looking, but jiggly nonetheless.

Monday was 11 weeks. 27 weeks to go. Monday was also 7 months since Matthew breathed his last breath. A hair over 30 weeks ago, he was with us and then wasn't. It's hard to believe that I have less time left with this pregnancy than has passed since Matthew was born and died. Like I said the other day, time is a very, very fickle and surreal concept.

Baby had a wonderful ultrasound and at first, was all curled up and didn't look like s/he wanted to be bothered. I laughed or something and it seemed as if I startled the Wiggler--because then the arms went flapping like a screeching baby bird! Lots of movement and I loved it! Heartbeat is good and strong in the upper 160s and John got to hear that little train chugging. Next Wednesday is the 1st trimester screening and neuchal translucency so John will get to see the baby again. He hasn't seen him/her for a couple of weeks and I think he's going through withdrawal! It's funny--we had TONS of ultrasounds with Matthew and yet, now, every two weeks seems to drag.

The going OB/nurse theory is still girl, but all readily admit it's too early too tell. At 12 weeks, one of Dr. Sweeney's partners predicted Matthew was a girl, and I had to sort of giggle inside as I thought, "Ok...you've predicted pink, but I think you're wrong!" Dr. Sweeney said he'd take a gander and make a prediction at 12 weeks, but I don't think we'll really start buying for Team Pink or Team Blue for a few more weeks--maybe week 15-16.

In the meantime, here's what's going on with our Wiggler this week....

Week Eleven: Neurons multiply

You are 11 weeks pregnant. (nine weeks after conception) The fetus CRL is about 1.5 inches (35mm) in size. The fingers and toes have completely separated. The taste buds are starting to develop. Baby has tooth buds, the beginning of the complete set of 20 milk teeth. Baby can swallow and stick out his or her tongue. Whole body except tongue is sensitive to touch. Cartilage now calcifying to become bone. If it is a boy, the testicles are starting to produce the testosterone hormone. The baby has an upper lip, toes and ears and twenty little teeth are now forming. The brain is growing rapidly and producing more than 250,000 nerve cells a minute. The heart is almost completely developed and very much resembles that of a newborn baby. An opening the atrium of the heart and the presence of a bypass valve divert much of the blood away from the lungs, as the child's blood is oxygenated through the placenta. The eyelids have fused shut and will not open again until around week 27. The wrists and ankles have formed and the fingers and toes are clearly visible. Genitals have begun to form, but it is too early to tell the sex of the fetus. By this week of the pregnancy the placenta has developed enough to support most of the critical job of producing hormones. By the 10th week of pregnancy, the crown to rump length of your growing baby is about 1.5 inches (35mm). The baby weighs close to 0.18 ounce (5g) and is the size of a small plum.