Poppy Seed to Banana: We've Come A Long Way, Baby!

As unpleasant as pregnancy is, it's undeniably amazing. It's shocking to see how much our little Peanut has changed in just a few weeks.

WEEK 4 (I'm not entirely sure how far along I was when I found out...this is just a guess, really.)



This week marks the beginning of the embryonic period. From now until 10 weeks, all of your baby's organs will begin to develop and some will even begin to function. As a result, this is the time when she'll be most vulnerable to anything that might interfere with her development.
Right now your baby is an embryo the size of a poppy seed, consisting of two layers: the epiblast and the hypoblast, from which all of her organs and body parts will develop.
The primitive placenta is also made up of two layers at this point. Its cells are tunneling into the lining of your uterus, creating spaces for your blood to flow so that the developed placenta will be able to provide nutrients and oxygen to your growing baby when it starts to function at the end of this week.
Also present now are the amniotic sac, which will house your baby; the amniotic fluid, which will cushion her as she grows; and the yolk sac, which produces your baby's red blood cells and helps deliver nutrients to her until the placenta has developed and is ready to take over this duty.


WEEK 20



Your baby weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now. He's also around 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom and about 10 inches from head to heel — the length of a banana. (For the first 20 weeks, when a baby's legs are curled up against his torso and hard to measure, measurements are taken from the top of his head to his bottom — the "crown to rump" measurement. After 20 weeks, he's measured from head to toe.)

HOW I'VE CHANGED

I've finally adjusted to the fact that there is, in fact, something alive in there. :) I felt Peanut's flutters at 13 weeks...the flutters have been gone since about 16 weeks and are now full-fledged, make you pee yourself kicks. Giovanni has been able to feel the kicks for about two weeks (he loves it and says it must hurt), and when Peanut kicks really hard, my shirt moves. It's amazing how hard the little girl/guy can kick. Peanut responds to loud voices (goes crazy during worship service at church) and last night when I dropped a pan and squealed because it scared me, she (I refuse to say it, ok?) jumped. One of my biggest fears about pregnancy was gaining a ton of weight and not being able to take it off. I haven't gained a pound yet! I've actually lost some. I started wearing maternity (bottoms) a few weeks ago. My bump isn't exactly huge, but that's a good thing. I think so, anyway. I just see it as I'm going to take longer to get to the "whale" stage. I'm eating healthy (most of the time :) and exercising (almost) every day, and I finally have my energy back. The cravings I've had are lemonade (that's been the biggest one), root beer floats, tomato soup, cranberry juice, apples, grapefruit, steak, and baked potatoes.
I am so ready to get to August and have this baby. Not just because I don't like being pregnant, (I don't) but also because I can't wait to actually hold him/her.