9 weeks: Grape

Our little one is nearly an inch long, about the size of a grape, and weighs just a fraction of an ounce. The baby 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 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. Baby's eyes are fully formed, but the eyelids are fused shut and won't open until 27 weeks. Our baby has tiny earlobes, and the 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, it's poised for rapid weight gain. For me this week, I am supposed to expect my waist to have thickened a little as well as morning sickness, and mood swings. I would say I'm right on track w/ all those. Tissues and crackers are staples at our house right now. (BTW, technically I'm not 9 weeks until tomorrow 5/15).

This is a goofy self portrait of Brad and I (above) in the car after our appt. He calls this my Ralphy face, as in from the movie 'The Christmas Story'. He claims I had this same face when the doctor asked me how things were going at our appt today and I said, "Um. Ok I guess." He says its like when Ralphy goes to see Santa and can't remember what he wants to ask for and Santa says, "Do you want a football?", and Ralphy says, "Football. Yeah I want a football". Brad had to pipe up and tell the doc that I am actually throwing up.. a lot. He told me to drink extra fluids and call my new doc if it doesn't slow down or if it worsens so that they can give me anti-nausea meds to prevent dehydration (he offered them to me at this appt but I don't want to take meds if I can avoid them). We didn't get to hear the HB! Dr. S claims that seeing the HB is more significant than hearing it because at this point the sound may be blood flow to my uterus instead of the baby's HB.

This is a self-portrait (above) w/ the aid of the powder room mirror. I now understand why Van Gogh cut off his ear. Very frustrating. I was nice and bloaty (we had Mexican food after our appt.....I gave most of mine back.....so to speak...yuck.) and you can definitely tell I'm thickening in the middle. Baby bump + pre-existing "padding" courtesy of 2.5 years of infertility treatments! :)

Here's a close-up of the developing 'bump'.

BTW, I didn't post the u/s pic because 1. it stinks--you can't really see anything, and 2. it is in the car and I am in the bedroom! LOL! Maybe tomorrow!

Hope is not the conviction that something
will turn out well,but the certainty that
something makes sense regardless of how it turns out.
-- Vaclav Havel.