Week 12

The little strauberry weighs about as much as half an ounce now, and the crown-to-rump length is about two and a half inches (roughly the size of a large plum — busily working his or her way through the whole produce department!). You should have seen Jason and I with our mini tape measurer in Acme… The produce lady thought we were nuts!

It’s hard to believe since I don’t look or feel all that much different, but the baby has more than doubled in size during the past three weeks!!! The fetal digestive system is beginning to flex its digestive muscle as it starts practicing contraction movements, a skill the baby will need after birth to push food through the digestive tract. The bone marrow is making white blood cells, which will one day help him or her fight infection once he/she’s out of my safe haven. The pituitary gland at the base of the brain has started producing hormoneswhich will enable him or her to make babies of his or her own in a couple of decades or so!

This week marks a turning point for baby Straub. At 12 weeks, the herculean task of developing new bodily structures is nearing an end as most of the baby’s systems are now fully formed. Now comes the maintenance phase, during which the baby’s systems continue to mature for the next 28 weeks and the organs get to work…. which still sort of grosses me out if I think about it too much… so I don’t.

I had my first maternity clothing issue this week… even though I’ve lost 15 pounds since I found out I was pregnant, I TOTALLY had an underwear issue the other night! I woke up in the middle of the night in so much pain because my underwear were DIGGING into my hip bones! I don’t know if my hips are already expanding or if it’s just my baby bump making them squeeze tighter around my hips or what but it was SO painful! I got up and changed into a pair of Jason’s soft & comfy boxer briefs and all I could think about as I was trying to fall back asleep was “these are SO comfortable!!! But they would totally bunch up in my jeans!” Why on earth don’t they make women’s underwear that comfortable & soft? Oh no… they reserve the goodies for the guys, as usual! For us, we get grannie panties, yarn that rides up the crack, elastic that digs into the crease of your thighs if you end up with the wrong brand/pair… I mean… come on! Can’t we think of something better than this?

I can’t believe I’m a week away from my second trimester already! What on earth!??