Week 4: We found out we were pregnant! It was a fantastic surprise – a few days before Christmas. I felt fine at this stage, just a little bit more tired than normal.
Week 5-6: I started feeling more tired and a bit queasy, with full blown morning sickness hitting me at week 6 on the dot. We were also moving house these weeks which made for a trying time.
The raisin-sized embryo is shaped like a “C” — with what will be the head on top and the tadpole-like tail on the bottom. Outlining the “C” is the neural tube, which will eventually become the brain and spinal cord.
Week 7 – 8: I felt sick this whole time, and started to get other pregnancy symptoms like enhanced sense of smell. I also had a lot of food cravings and food that I couldn’t stand the smell of. I couldn’t stop eating during these weeks. The only thing that stopped the sick feeling was eating, so I was stuffing my face non-stop and looking chubby pretty quickly. We also had a dating scan at week 7 and were amazed to see a tiny flickering heartbeat. This was also the time where we flew to Melbourne to watch the Australian Open before Alec left for NYC.
The baby is going through an incredible growth spurt this week. The crown-to-rump length is a half an inch long — about the size of a blueberry — which is twice as big as last week and 100,000 times bigger than at conception. The teeth and inside of the mouth are beginning to form, and the ears are continuing to develop. Also, each eye now has an optic cup, retina and lens, and the top of the nose is forming. The hands and feet are beginning to form from stubby arms and legs, and the embryo’s tail-like protrusion is starting to disappear into a less aquatic-looking human.
Measuring at about an inch, the baby’s basic physiology is in working order — although it will continue to develop — and earlobes, wrists, fingers and toes are visible. The baby’s genitals have also begun to form.
Week 11 – 12: The queasiness eased more and I started to feel more normal again. I had my 12 week scan and saw the baby in detail for the first time. It was an amazing experience watching it twist and turn. It has long fingers already! Now the size of a plum, baby’s organs, bones and systems are in high development mode. First comes the framework, then the tissues; muscles and fat will follow later. One complete organ, however, is the pancreas, which is ready to produce insulin. Also, the digestive system is now capable of absorbing glucose and producing contractions that push food through the bowels.
Week 13 – 14: My last week of work and first week off work, getting ready to move to the US. The morning sickness has completely gone by this stage.
Baby is the size of a lemon. The ears have moved up from the neck and the eyes are gradually moving from the sides of the head to the front.
