Twelve Weeks, One Day - The Thirteenth Week

My Symptoms
I feel good this week. The main change going on with me is the expanding waistline. I feel weird about it. I'm excited don't get me wrong, but it is still weird when someone mentions it to me. I wore maternity clothes a little at work too last week. Mostly the pants, no shirts that were obvious. When I wore the clothes to the movies I almost felt like an imposter. It's obvious to me and those around me that my body is changing, but there still isn't that tell-tale bulge that can't be mistaken for anything but a baby. I guess I need to accept it, I am pregnant, and these clothes are now more comfortable. People won't judge and think I'm switching too early. This will be irrelevant in a couple of weeks anyway. Soon, it will be obvious to everyone.

The other weird thing about growing is that I can tell I'm bigger. I don't really know how to explain this. I guess when I imagined being pregnant, I imagined I'd feel like me, but just have a belly (Think-Maternity store mirror with the belly pillow strapped on). Now that's it's growing, it's like I am too. That belly that's getting there is also a part of me. When I sit, I just feel this extra part of me on my stomach. I'm used to where my belly button is supposed to be and how it feels to be standing around in jeans. I keep finding myself trying to hold in my stomach. I'm not sure if I did it before or if I'm just trying to feel "normal." It's really hard to just let loose and let it all hang out. I guess I've been so programmed to wanting to feel thin and have a flat stomach that subconciously I'm still fighting it. It surprises me, because I've at the same time, been excitedly looking forward to the day I'd wake up round. I guess I just didn't imagine that I'd feel round as well as looking it. It's not like strapping on the belly pillow in the maternity store. This belly belongs to me. Ok, here's what happens this week of development.

The Baby
Your baby is growing rapidly! It's crown-to-rump length is 2.6 to 3.1 inches, and it weight between .5 and .7 ounce. It is about the size of a peach. Fetal grown is particulary striking now through about 24 weeks of pregnancy. One interesting change is the relative slowdown in the growth of the baby's head compared to the rest of his body. In week 13, the head is about half the crown-to-rump length. By week 21, the head is about one-fourth the size of it's body. Your baby's face is beginning to look more humanlike. Eyes, which started out on the side of the head, move closer together on the face. The ears come to lie in their normal position on the side of the head. Eternal genitalia have developed enough so that a male can be distinguished from a female if examined outside the womb.

Your belly may soon be big enough to announce to the world that you're expecting, but your baby is still tiny. In fact, he's only about 3 inches long crown to rump — roughly the size of a jumbo shrimp — and weighs just about an ounce. Despite the small proportions, there's a fully formed baby inside your womb now. Much more proportional than it was a few weeks ago, his head is now only about a third the size of his body. His tiny, unique fingerprints are already in place. His kidneys and urinary tract are functional, and he's starting to urinate out the amniotic fluid he's been swallowing. As you start your second trimester, most of your baby's critical development will be completed, and your odds of miscarriage will drop considerably.

There are a lot of things going on this week! All twenty teeth have formed and are waiting (Teething is yet to come!). Your baby approximately weighs in at 1 ounce (28.3 grams). Consider that the placenta weighs about an ounce now as well. Your baby's intestines are migrating from the umbilical cord into his or her abdomen. The villi are also forming in the intestines, these help in peristaltic movements and digestion. The pancreas of your little one is even secreting insulin!

The Mom
Your uterus has grown quite a bit. You can probably feel its upper edge above the pubic bone in the lowest part of your abdomen, about 4 inches below your bellybutton. At 12 to 13 weeks, your uterus fills your pelvis and starts growing upward into your abdomen. It feels like a soft, smooth ball. You have probably gaines some weight by now. If morning sickness has been a problem and you've had a hard time eating, you may not have gained much weight. As you feel better and as your baby rapidly starts to gain weight, you'll gain weight. You are losing your waist! Clothing fits snugly. It's time to start wearing loose-fitting clothing.

The Second Trimester! Hooray! Your morning sickness should be starting to subside, and miscarriage is less of a risk. The second trimester brings in relief and reality... Yes, you're really having a baby! Now that the high-risk period is over, you probably have some pregnancy announcements to make. That is, if you've been able to keep the big news a secret.

Time to celebrate! This is the last week of your first trimester. Next week you'll be in your second trimester. That's great news for two reasons: One, your risk of miscarriage drops dramatically, and two, many women see early pregnancy symptoms, such as morning sickness, subside. (In some cases, though, heartburn replaces the nausea.) Birth is still months away, but your breasts may have already started making colostrum, the nutrient-rich fluid that feeds your baby for the first few days after birth, before your milk starts to flow. Many couples also notice a distinct libido lift in the second trimester as nausea abates and energy returns.

Welcome to the second trimester! This is usually the time when mothers feel their best. They are "over" the joys of early pregnancy and have more energy. They are also beginning to feel pregnant. Some people have delayed spreading the good news until this point. If you are one of these people enjoy telling now, and think of some creative ways to do it. This is also a time when fathers and other family members start becoming more involved as the pregnancy becomes more real for them. Encourage them to participate in your pregnancy to the extent that you feel comfortable with.
Your appointments will now consist of:
Blood Pressure
Weight
Fundal Height (Growth of the Uterus)
Baby's Heart Tones
Urine