9 Weeks!

I’ve officially made it to 9 weeks with a healthy baby!  Overall I’ve been feeling exhausted and quite drained.  Morning sickness has been pretty mild, but just sort of lingers all day on most days.  I don’t really mind since it is a sign everything is progressing as it should.  Most nights I’m in bed by 9pm if not asleep on the couch while Ben watches TV. 

I celebrated our amazing ultrasound appointment this week by stocking up at the GAP Friends and Family event for maternity clothes.  I have not gained any weight, but already my waistline is expanding due to bloat.  Those elastic waist jeans are very tempting!!

Our baby is nearly an inch long — about the size of a grape — and weighs just a fraction of an ounce. He or she is starting to look more and more human. The essential body parts are accounted for, though they'll go through plenty of fine-tuning in the coming months. Other changes abound: Our baby's heart finishes dividing into four chambers, and the valves start to form — as do the tiny teeth. The embryonic "tail" is completely gone. Our baby's organs, muscles, and nerves are kicking into gear. The external sex organs are there but won't be distinguishable as male or female for another few weeks. The eyes are fully formed, but the eyelids are fused shut and won't open until 27 weeks. The baby has tiny earlobes, and his or her mouth, nose, and nostrils are more distinct. The placenta is developed enough now to take over most of the critical job of producing hormones. Now that Our baby's basic physiology is in place, he or she is poised for rapid weight gain.