Our Pumpkin is a Plum

As you move into the second trimester, baby shifts into the growth and maturation stage. After weeks in the critical development stage, almost all of baby's systems are fully formed. (www.thebump.com)

The most dramatic development this week: reflexes. Your baby's fingers will soon begin to open and close, his toes will curl, his eye muscles will clench, and his mouth will make sucking movements. In fact, if you prod your abdomen, your baby will squirm in response, although you won't be able to feel it. His intestines, which have grown so fast that they protrude into the umbilical cord, will start to move into his abdominal cavity about now, and his kidneys will begin excreting urine into his bladder.

Meanwhile, nerve cells are multiplying rapidly, and in your baby's brain, synapses are forming furiously. His face looks unquestionably human: His eyes have moved from the sides to the front of his head, and his ears are right where they should be. From crown to rump, your baby-to-be is just over 2 inches long (about the size of a lime) and weighs half an ounce. (www.thebabycenter.com)

So far things are going really well and I keep trying to dodge the cloud of, "what if something terrible happens" that seems to be constantly looming above. We've gotten our doppler to listen to the heartbeat (I can't even remember if I've already mentioned this... I'm really not sure if it makes me more insane or less insane) and can normally find the heartbeat very quickly. However, tonight was a different story. I am not joking when I say it took about half a bottle of gel and at least a good half hour before we finally found it (while the tears were slowly creeping in). I seriously thought I was going to be ill when we kept searching and searching to no avail. I was terrified. Finally we found out it for a split second (then another split second) and I felt so much better.

We're still getting lots of questions as to whether or not we have told Chase. I've said before that I was very hesitant to tell him as I'm super nervous since losing the twins but yes, we have told him. We really were at the point where we had no choice. Friday night when we got the doppler we found the heartbeat and Chase asked, "What is that? Is that a baby in there?" I panicked, side-stepped the question, and quickly changed the subject. Saturday night he was already in bed when we listened to the heartbeat so that was easy enough. However on Sunday he was in the room and this time demanded, "What IS that? Did Jesus finally put a baby in there?" I looked at Jeff and he said that we couldn't keep fibbing to Chase and it was time to tell. So we told him yes, there was a baby in Mommy's tummy but that it would be a long time before the baby would be able to come out. All he wanted to know was, "When it comes out can I play with it?" Yep, that's our boy!




**I am grateful for
1) 12 weeks... 1 more week until the 2nd trimester!
2) a fun training today = break from the class!
3) off on Friday!
4) big brothers
5) We did eventually find the heartbeat earlier, even if I did freak out just a little.