Fess up...

How many times have you clicked PLAY to listen to baby's heartbeat? Isn't it just the sweetest sound?!


from Babycenter.com:

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). She's busy moving amniotic fluid through her nose and upper respiratory tract, which helps the primitive air sacs in her lungs begin to develop. Her legs are growing longer than her arms now, and she can move all of her joints and limbs. Although her eyelids are still fused shut, she can sense light. If you shine a flashlight at your tummy, for instance, she's likely to move away from the beam. There's not much for your baby to taste at this point, but she is forming taste buds. Finally, if you have an ultrasound this week, you may be able to find out whether your baby's a boy or a girl! (Don't be too disappointed if it remains a mystery, though. Nailing down your baby's sex depends on the clarity of the picture and on your baby's position. He or she may be modestly curled up or turned in such a way as to "hide the goods.")

• Morning sickness is gone (she says softly as to not bring it back).


• No movement to feel yet.


• Belly still looks a little, um, flabby and not filled in by baby/uterus.


• No photos of belly until it looks more like baby and not just belly.


• All around, feeling good now and gliding smoothly through the 2nd trimester!

What are the preparations going on in baby's homeland while Hanne & Tommy prepare for a new member of the family?

14 weeks 1 day

My office visit with Nurse Terri was uneventful... which is very good!

My BP was good (118/74), urine (no protein or sugar), weight (no change). What, you didn't want to know all of that? It's just how mundane these early check-ups can be so I'm sharing with all of our diligent readers! I forgot that I scheduled this one with the nurse so I still didn't see my doctor yet with this pregnancy. Not a big deal. I will definitely see her next month when we go for the 20 week ultrasound (gender reveal). What?! 20 weeks? We will be halfway next month already?!

I got a flu shot while I was there (ouch!) and was sent on my way.

From Minnesota, across the ocean, to baby's parents...

Music to our ears... ahhhhh!

The morning sickness (or for me, any time it feels like hitting me sickness) is slowly subsiding and it's no longer daily! Whoohoo!! However, I still have many aversions and my sense of smell is incredible. I just had to move a tray of leftover donuts from my desk because the smell of the sugar wasn't boding well with my sinuses. It is very strange to change from routine and not really even care. I used to go to Starbuck's frequently (and reveled in my mocha fix!), but now I've gone only once in the past month. I haven't eaten chocolate since... oh, the weekend before transfer maybe? I know this too shall pass and hopefully it will help me maintain the appropriate weight gain that comes with pregnancy. Note to self, no chocolate shakes from McDonald's before the gestational diabetes test this time around!

Anyway, my diet is very healthy and my personal chef knows to steer clear of red sauce for my meals (heartburn). He even offered to cook my pasta for tonight in a white sauce. Isn't he a dear?!

Next Monday at 3:15 pm CDT is my first appointment with my OB. I will post an update sometime that early evening. We will be 14 weeks and 1 day!

Waving Goodbye to the First Trimester

This week, baby is using his/her reflexes to wave goodbye to the first trimester and hello to the second!

From a weekly e-newsletter:

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. From crown to rump, your baby-to-be is just over two inches long (about the size of a lime) and weighs half an ounce.

Even though this is my fifth pregnancy, every week brings new things and jogs my memory on how precious this cargo is that I am carrying for Hanne & Tommy! I can only imagine how the little one felt while I suffered through the flu for three days?!