Lucky 13

12 WEEKS PREGNANT-13TH WEEK OF DEVELOPMENT

We hit twelve weeks yesterday and are into the thirteenth week of pregnancy! We’re still spending some great quality time with my family and glad that we are able to share this journey with them, if only for a few weeks. In a couple of weeks we’ll head to where Jim’s family lives to spend some time with them before going back to Tokyo.

This week:
-The geekling will grow to about three inches long and the size of a peach (hopefully not as fuzzy!)
-Our baby might be growing faster or more slowly than another baby the same age, though, because this week he or she will set its own pace for growth
-Although probably still headstrong, knowing his or her parents, his or her body will begin to grow faster than his or her head, trying to catch up so he or she isn’t so top-heavy (right now his or her head is about half of the size of its body, but will only be about one quarter the size of his or her body by the time we see him/her in November or December)
-The baby’s intestines are beginning to move from the umbilical cord into the abdominal cavity and take their permanent positions
-The placenta is growing even larger to protect the geekling, and weighs about an ounce now, far from its end weight which will be about 2lbs.
-This week I will continue my steady redistribution of weight, although I haven’t yet gained even 5lbs. (thank God!)
-I have been SO tired this week, a combination of jetlag and pregnancy exhaustion, I’m sure; I’ve been in the States for a week now, so hopefully my jetlag will be history soon. I’m also moving into my second trimester in the next couple of weeks, so hopefully my pregnancy exhaustion will let me enjoy more than eight or nine hours a day of my vaction soon.

We’re hoping that we can continue to spend great time with our wonderful families. We’re enjoying our time so far. Of course we’re very happy to be together again. But we miss our super comfortable bed, just nothing can compare. Jim especially since when we get back he will have been away from it for three months!