Here’s an update from BabyCenter.com (“her” changed to “his”):

Your baby’s skeleton is changing from soft cartilage to bone, and the umbilical cord — his lifeline to the placenta — is growing stronger and thicker. Your baby weighs 5 ounces now (about as much as a turnip), and he’s around 5 inches long from head to bottom. He can move her joints, and his sweat glands are starting to develop.

Lately I’ve been experiencing what I like to call “pregnancy stupid” (also referred to as “pregnancy brain” and “pregnancy haze”).

I’ve been wicked forgetful, more common-senseless than usual, and just an all around wackadoodle.

Here are some examples:

• I was telling Blake that I should be able to start feeling the baby move around 16 weeks. Of course, it came out of my mouth as “I’ll start to hear the baby kick around 16 weeks.” Now, if we can hear the baby kick, that kid is no longer inside me and we have some major issues.
• I was talking to a co-worker about a project we could do involving one of those science project 3-flap boards. She went to the office supply store to get some stuff and came back with one of those boards. I was thoroughly puzzled because not only had I said we should do the project, but I said I’d do the project and that she should get the board. I didn’t remember any of that. Wow.

And then there’s the small stuff like forgetting what I’m saying as I’m… wait, what was I saying??

You get the idea. 🙂

Apparently it’s very common:

Forgetfulness (Pregnancy Brain)

Didn’t realize that feeling like a ditz was part of being pregnant? Here’s why you’ve suddenly become an airhead, and what you can do about “pregnancy brain”.

What it is: Pregnancy-induced brain fog, a true (and truly frustrating) hallmark of pregnancy. You may forget appointments, what you just walked into the store for, where you left your purse, whether you turned off the stove — and maybe, your phone number.

What causes forgetfulness during pregnancy: As usual in pregnancy, it’s just your hormones having some fun, this time at the expense of your memory. And believe it or not, your brain-cell volume actually decreases during the third trimester of pregnancy (which could explain why you can’t remember what you just read about in that last paragraph). Not to worry, your brain will plump back up a few months after delivery.

What you need to know about forgetfulness during pregnancy: First of all, pregnancy forgetfulness is completely normal — and extremely common. It’s also temporary — you’ll have total recall again long before you start to have your “senior moments.” And try not to be too hard on yourself, as stress will only cloud your pregnancy brain even more. {Whattoexpect.com}

Aha! Vindication! It’s not my fault! Some folks have tried to reassure me that I’m getting dumber because I’m making a super-genius spawn, while others take a more honest approach: those brain cells are gone and never coming back (thanks Terry!).

Tomorrow starts week 16.

Baby looks like this type of avocado, for those unfamiliar with avocados.

How your baby’s growing:

Get ready for a growth spurt. In the next few weeks, your baby will double his weight and add inches to his length. Right now, he’s about the size of an avocado: 4 1/2 inches long (head to rump) and 3 1/2 ounces. His legs are much more developed, his head is more erect than it has been, and his eyes have moved closer to the front of his head. His ears are close to their final position, too. The patterning of his scalp has begun, though his locks aren’t recognizable yet. He’s even started growing toenails. And there’s a lot happening inside as well. For example, his heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day, and this amount will continue to increase as your baby continues to develop.

::BabyCenter.com

So 15 weeks. This week I had another baby doctor appointment. Baby’s doing fine, everything’s good. Next one is the end of June.

How your baby’s growing:

Your growing baby now measures about 4 inches long, crown to rump, and weighs in at about 2 1/2 ounces (about the size of an apple). He’s busy moving amniotic fluid through his nose and upper respiratory tract, which helps the primitive air sacs in his lungs begin to develop. His legs are growing longer than his arms now, and he can move all of his joints and limbs. Although his eyelids are still fused shut, he can sense light. If you shine a flashlight at your tummy, for instance, he’s likely to move away from the beam. There’s not much for your baby to taste at this point, but he is forming taste buds.

::BabyCenter.com

The little circular thing is the boy parts.

The recent sonogram indicated that my little girl has boy parts. Or my little lemon has a penis. Or my little boy doesn’t have any girl parts. Or it’s a boy.

The sonogram tech said, before we started, that we wouldn’t be able to tell the sex for another month or so. Then at the end she told us it’s a boy, she’s 100% sure. Of course, with my big mouth, I couldn’t help but blurt out that “he’s gonna have a big pecker.”

In the photo, imagine you’re looking at legs in the shape of >. That circular thingy at the top of the legs is supposed to be the little boy’s… thingy.

So now the search really is on for a middle name.

Benjamin {middle name} Buck

Although now that it’s confirmed, I’m open to rethinking Benjamin as well. Any ideas?

The length of the baby. You can see the spine, head, chest/belly, and legs. I couldn't really make out any arms.

Blake accompanied me to my sonogram on Friday.  At my doc’s, they just have the portable ultrasound machine so they sent me to the hospital imaging center with all their fancy, expensive equipment. I had to drink 30 oz. of water, hold it for 1+ hours and proceed to have my bladder squashed by the photo-taker thingy that gets slid around my belly.

Per the not-so-friendly tech, the baby is growing on schedule and has all the necessary parts. She was measuring all the baby’s parts for my lady parts doctor so she took tons of photos. At one point, Blake thought the baby was winking at him… with its heart. Yeah, we were looking at the heartbeat. That set off a round of giggles. And I’ll never let him live it down.

Baby from the front. You can see the face, torso, arms, and legs.

When we got the photos, three of the five we were given were downright scary. The face/head is all bone so it resembles the alien inside the alien suit in the movie “Independence Day.” {If this comparison is offensive, please see my previous post.}

I'm having a ... head!

In third photo, it’s just a head floating in my belly. Now, it’s cool that I get these updates on the little lemon growing inside me, but really, these are the best photos she could do? With that fancy equipment?

We’re happy that the baby is growing on schedule and has all the right parts so far in all the right places. The next estimated delivery date is November 17. So really sometime in November.

I go to my lady parts doc Thursday so maybe she can explain all the photos and results in more detail.

Welcome to the second trimester, ladies and gents.

This week’s big developments: Your baby can now squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly suck his thumb! Thanks to brain impulses, his facial muscles are getting a workout as his tiny features form one expression after another. His kidneys are producing urine, which he releases into the amniotic fluid around him — a process he’ll keep up until birth. He can grasp, too, and if you’re having an ultrasound now, you may even catch him sucking his thumb.

In other news: Your baby’s stretching out. From head to bottom, he measures 3 1/2 inches — about the size of a lemon — and he weighs 1 1/2 ounces. His body’s growing faster than his head, which now sits upon a more distinct neck. By the end of this week, his arms will have grown to a length that’s in proportion to the rest of his body. (His legs still have some lengthening to do.) He’s starting to develop an ultra-fine, downy covering of hair, called lanugo, all over his body. Your baby’s liver starts making bile this week — a sign that it’s doing its job right — and his spleen starts helping in the production of red blood cells. Though you can’t feel his tiny punches and kicks yet, your little pugilist’s hands and feet (which now measure about 1/2 inch long) are more flexible and active. {BabyCenter.com}

My original plan, as a treehugging hippy, was to give birth at home in one of those pools. I think in my fantasy, there were no doctors, no drugs – just swimming and re-runs of my favorite comedy on the TV. Well, insurance generally doesn’t side with hippies. In fact, they almost always rule in favor of doctors and prescription medications. And such is the case with my pending delivery. I currently see a doctor once a month, in place of a midwife or doula, and, as I’m reading the baby books  – fine, part of a baby book – I’m pondering “doing drugs” during my hospitalization down the road.

Apparently this is what the epidural looks like - a nasty puncture into your spine. Fun!

See, I don’t really want to go the epidural/anesthesia because it just doesn’t sound right to drug a baby. However, I’m a total pain wuss. Slight headache and I’m useless and reaching for the ibuprofen – well, acetaminophen now because of the lil’ ‘un.

In the part of the baby book I’ve read so far, the American Pregnancy Association reported some studies that showed that use of an epidural can cause the baby to “have trouble latching on or may experience other difficulties with breastfeeding after birth.” However, use of medication “may help some women enter new motherhood in a calmer and more refreshed manner than without medications.”

Of course, all this is predicated on vaginal delivery.

I should talk to my lady parts baby doctor about this. But I won’t trust anything she says because she’s a doctor and a medical degree doesn’t guarantee intelligence.

The baby book lists Lamaze and the Bradley Method as alternatives to drugs. Specialized breathing and relaxation techniques. While self talk can overcome many psychological afflictions, such as depression, bipolar, and anxiety, can it overcome the pain of the lady parts ejecting a watermelon?

Maybe I should read some more baby books, or actually finish one?

This week, the baby is the size of a medium shrimp. You may have noticed a food theme here. The BabyCenter.com (where I get all the pictures of what the baby looks like each week) relates the size of the baby each week to the that of a comparable food. Up until now, it’d been fruits or seeds of some kind. Probably until the day the baby is born, I (and my work co-hort Jenna) will continue to refer to the new Buck as its food-of-the-week. What started it was when I first told Jenna about the baby I’m growing, I said it was the size of a poppy seed. And without fail since, she’s asked every week for the food update: poppy seed to sesame seed to lentil to blueberry to kidney bean to grape to kumquat to fig to lime and now to shrimp. What makes it extra fun for us is that we’re always talking about food – darn near every conversation we engage in either is completely about or ends of being about food. Feel free to join the festivities.

So, this week, the little shrimp, if a girl shrimp, current has over 2 million ovaries in her little shrimp ovaries. And he/she/it has fingerprints.

Next week starts the 2nd trimester, which I’ve read is considered the “honeymoon trimester” since the morning sickness and fatigue usually lessen or go away (I’m hoping for the latter). My only complaints now is the heartburn at night and my expanding girth. Pants I could zip up last week now laugh when I consider reaching for the zipper tab. Good thing I have my belly bands (more about those later).