15 Weeks! (and a day)

The second trimester continues! Baby J is now about 4 to 5 inches long and weighs about 2 1/2 ounces. He or she is about the size of an apple:



Baby J busy moving amniotic fluid through his or her nose and upper respiratory tract, which helps the primitive air sacs in his lungs begin to develop. Baby J's legs are growing longer than his arms now, and he can move all of his joints and limbs. Baby J’s eyes are also continuing to move towards the nose from the sides of his head. Although the eyelids are still fused shut , he can sense light. If we were to shine a flashlight at my tummy, for instance, Baby J is likely to move away from the beam. (Y is quite anxious to try this!) There's not much for the baby to taste at this point, but he is forming taste buds.

Baby J’s skin is still very thin, and his blood vessels can actually be seen through the skin. The ears are continuing to develop externally and continue to look more like normal ears. The bones are beginning to ossify, which means that if an x-ray was taken the skeleton would be visible.

I continue to feel good. Fatigue has been back a bit more this week than it had been. Of course my current work schedule is likely to blame for part of that! I had a Dr's appointment on Tuesday. Everything is going well. There was some concern I may have placenta previa so I'm back on pelvic rest until our next ultrasound. The placenta should hopefully move up and out of the way by then! Baby J was being quite the little booger at the appointment. Dr. S was trying to get a read on the heartbeat with the doppler. He kept wiggling and kicking and/or punching at my belly...just enough movement to be loud and cause her to lose her reading on the heartbeat. We both laughed that he was definitely an active little thing! The heartbeat is really strong and continues to be right around 170 bpm.

Y's birthday was also on Tuesday. Baby J got him a birthday and early Father's (to-be) Day gift from a site called This Place is a Zoo. Y received a plush (and very realistic looking) jellyfish! I laughed so hard when I opened the box and found a bright, fuchsia pink jellyfish...maybe the kid is trying to tell us something??? If you haven't seen this website yet, check it out...they have some very realistic looking critters!

Last, and certainly not least, this week's belly pic. I took these after we got back from Y's birthday dinner Wednesday night at exactly 15 weeks. They didn't turn out so great so I may be retaking them in a day or two.