29 March 2009

WEEK 6 OF DEVELOPMENT – 5 WEEKS ALONG

Our little geekling is in his or her 6th week this week.

-His/her jaw, cheeks, chin, eyes, ears, and nose are beginning to form what will eventually become a beautiful face

-His/her kidneys, liver, and lungs are developing

-Our baby’s heart is now beating 80 times a minute(!)

-S/he is no bigger than the length of a nail head from top to bottom

-The folds of tissue in the prominent bump on top (the head) are developing into the baby’s jaws, cheeks, and chin

-His/her ear canals are starting to form this week

 

Apparently this week I could begin to experience more frequent pregnancy symptoms: nausea, dizziness,  frequent urination and cravings. Yay! Maybe I’ll start liking pickles or mustard or cherries (three things my husband likes and I don’t).

This is such an incredible experience. There’s this thing growing inside of me that I cannot see, feel or touch. But it will be a part of my life for the rest of my life. In a few months I will be able to see his or her face and kiss and hug him or her and love him or her on the outside, not just as an abstract that is inside of me. Crazy.

Meanwhile, I am sick sick sick. I have the worst cold. I feel icky, I can’t breathe, I have a sore throat and my nose keeps running but never runs out of what it’s full of. I know, gross, sorry. The worst part is that it’s Sunday, and there’s an exercise next week that will seriously restrict access to the hospital (although, I’m frustrated with the OB office that the notice that went out to base said that the OB clinic would be open as regularly scheduled, but the receptionist I spoke to on Friday told me that I can’t get an appointment until the next week, after the exercise). So I can’t figure out what kind of medicine I can take without harming my child. I read up in What to Expect When You’re Expecting that some practitioners allow the use of tylenol, sudafed, benadryl and chlorpheniramine, though on a limited basis (and it recommends you speak to your doctor first). All I’ve got is the latter, so I took one this morning. The trouble is, I used this substance a lot during planting and harvesting seasons at our last base, and I usually take two to get me through the dosage period. Since I can’t talk to a doctor until tomorrow without calling the UC (Urgent Care), I only took one. So now, less than two hours later, it’s worn off and I cannot breathe anymore. 😦 I’m hoping that my cold will subside in the next few days and that I won’t have to take medicine at all, but I’m not confident.