Leaving on a Jet Plane

So far the Poptart has made two return trips to London, but today if it's first big flight. We are flying from Scotland to Dubai to Bangkok, a total airtime of about 15 hours.

Hopefully all these inutero flights will prepare Poptart for the many transatlantic flights in his/her future! I will try to post, but if not see y'all in July!

12 weeks

As you move into the second trimester, baby shifts into the growth and maturation stage. After weeks in the critical development stage, almost all of baby's systems are fully formed.

How your baby's growing:

The most dramatic development this week: reflexes. Your baby's fingers will soon begin to open and close, their toes will curl, their eye muscles will clench, and their mouth will make sucking movements. In fact, if you prod your abdomen, your baby will squirm in response, although you won't be able to feel it.

Their intestines, which have grown so fast that they protrude into the umbilical cord, will start to move into their abdominal cavity about now, and his kidneys will begin excreting urine into their bladder. Meanwhile, nerve cells are multiplying rapidly, and in your baby's brain, synapses are forming furiously.

Their face looks unquestionably human: His eyes have moved from the sides to the front of their head, and their ears are right where they should be. From crown to rump, your baby-to-be is just over 2 inches long and weighs half an ounce.

Information from BabyCentre and The Bump.

11w to 12w in 2 days

We had our first antenatal appointment today and found out that I'm measuring 11w6d! My new EDD is December 29, 2009. I think Poptart just might take after their Dad and is just really tall!

Those bright white spots on the top picture are bones; that's why it looks like a creepy skull!

Poptart looked much more baby-esque this time and looked like they were trying to bite their fingernails. We were at the hospital for 3 hours and I'd say 80% of that was waiting. I also found out that my scan today is the ONLY scan I get for my entire pregnancy. WTF! I may lose my mind!

My next appointment is July 23rd and the midwife says she'll try to get me an appt. with the consultant and I can plead with him for a second scan. If not, we've decided to pay out of pocket for a private one.

So when you see a twelve week update tomorrow, only two days after my 11 week, you'll know why :)

11 weeks

Your fetus currently enjoys a 1:1 ratio between body and head, and has skin so transparent that blood vessels show right through. But, fingers and toes are no longer webbed, and hair follicles, tooth buds and nail beds are forming -- setting up a significantly more attractive future. How your baby's growing:

Your baby, just over 1 1/2 inches long and about the size of a fig, is now almost fully formed. Their hands will soon open and close into fists, tiny tooth buds are beginning to appear under their gums, and some of their bones are beginning to harden.

They are already busy kicking and stretching, and her tiny movements are so effortless they look like water ballet. These movements will become more frequent as their body grows and becomes more developed and functional. You won't feel your baby's acrobatics for another month or two — nor will you notice the hiccupping that may be happening now that their diaphragm is forming.

Old Wive's Tales

So even CNN was talking about IntelliGender yesterday, but personally I don't trust any test that won't tell you what it is measuring to get it's results. I'd rather keep my $35 (it's not available in the UK anyway) and use methods that are just as reliable and--- free!

So I've played around with some Old Wives' Tales and these are my results. A lot of the OWT clues didn't apply to be, such as how I'm carrying etc, since I am still early, so I left them blank. This is what we've got so far:

1)You're more likely to be carrying a boy if...
• Your baby's heartbeat is lower than 140 beats per minute • you're carrying all out front • you're carrying low • you're blooming in pregnancy • you didn't suffer from morning sickness in your first trimester • your right breast is bigger than your left • you look at yourself in the mirror for at least a minute and your pupils dilate • you crave salty food or protein, such as cheese and meat • your feet become cold more quickly than before you were pregnant • you tie your wedding ring to some thread, hang it over your stomach and it moves in circles • your skin becomes dry • you combine your age at the time of conception with the number of the month you conceived and the resulting number is even • your hair has become more full-bodied and shiny during pregnancy • the hair on your legs has been growing faster during pregnancy • you are more prone to headaches • your pillow faces north when you sleep • you're asked to show your hands and you present them palms down • you lie on your left side when sleeping • your urine is bright yellow • you were the more aggressive partner during love-making when you conceived • you eat a clove of garlic and the smell seeps out of your pores • your previous child's first word was "dada".

You're more likely to be having a girl if...
• Your baby's heartbeat is faster than 140 beats per minute • you're carrying all round • you're carrying high • you've missed the "blooming" period altogether • you suffered morning sickness during your first twelve weeks • your left breast is bigger than your right • you look at yourself in the mirror for at least a minute, but your pupils don't dilate • you crave sweet things, such as juice, fruit and sweets • you tie your wedding ring to some thread, hang it over your stomach and it swings from side to side • your skin is soft • you are more moody than usual • you're asked to show your hands and you present them palms up • you were the less aggressive partner during love-making when you conceived • you eat a clove of garlic, but you don't smell of it • you combine your age at the time of conception with the number of the month you conceived and the resulting number is odd • your hair has become thinner and dull during pregnancy • you lie on your right side when sleeping • your pillow faces south when you sleep • your urine is dull yellow • your previous child's first word was "mama".

Boy: 3/22 13.6 %
Girl: 7/20 35%

2)Old Wives' Tale Gender Predictor

3)Boy or Girl Test

And Here's Why...

You are carrying the extra weight around the hips and bottom, so it's a girl.

The hair on your legs is not growing any faster during your pregnancy, so it's a girl.

You refuse to eat the heel of a loaf of bread. You are having a girl.

Dad-to-be hasn't been gaining weight along with Mom-to-be, so it will be a girl.

The maternal grandmother doesn't have gray hair (dyed or natural), so a girl will be born.

You had morning sickness early in pregnancy, so you are expecting a girl.

You are not looking particularly good during pregnancy. Therefore, it must be a girl, because girls steal their mother's looks.

Your chest development has been quite dramatic during pregnancy. You should expect a girl.

Since the sum of the mother's age at conception and the number of the month of conception is even, it will be a boy.

You are craving sweets, which means that it is a girl.

Your nose hasn't changed during pregnancy, which indicates a girl.

You are having headaches, so it's a boy.

4)Chinese Gender Chart

It's all just fun really, I've always like sweet things better than salty and I tend to get headaches anyway, but it's still fun to play. It's certainly cheaper than a test that as far as I know contains Kool Aid mix....

An u/s & a Pain in the Ass

Seriously couldn't they come up with a less obvious and horrible name for a salve? This is what the doctor prescribed me for a new and not so pleasant pregnancy symptom I've acquired.

On Friday we had another ultrasound, which moved up my EDD to January 3rd and I was officially released from the early pregnancy clinic to the "normal" pregnancy service. I have my first official antenatal appointment on the 15th.

Poptart waved at us and according to DH did "the worm" or as the tech said wriggling about. If you scroll down half the page, sort of like this. Still not super baby looking, but you can make out a head and an arm, sorta gummybear looking. I didn't have the best angle so I didn't see too much, hopefully I can see more Monday.

10 weeks

With bones and cartilage starting to form and vital organs beginning to function, baby is making major progress. Body length will almost double in the next three weeks, and arm joints are now working. (Soon, legs will too.)

How your baby's growing:

Though they're barely the size of a kumquat — a little over an inch or so long, crown to bottom — and weighs less than a quarter of an ounce, your baby has now completed the most critical portion of their development. This is the beginning of the so-called fetal period, a time when the tissues and organs in their body rapidly grow and mature.

They're swallowing fluid and kicking up a storm. Vital organs — including their kidneys, intestines, brain, and liver (now making red blood cells in place of the disappearing yolk sac) — are in place and starting to function, though they'll continue to develop throughout your pregnancy.

If you could take a peek inside your womb, you'd spot minute details, like tiny nails forming on fingers and toes (no more webbing) and peach-fuzz hair beginning to grow on tender skin.

In other developments: Your baby's limbs can bend now. His hands are flexed at the wrist and meet over his heart, and his feet may be long enough to meet in front of his body. The outline of his spine is clearly visible through translucent skin, and spinal nerves are beginning to stretch out from his spinal cord. Your baby's forehead temporarily bulges with his developing brain and sits very high on his head, which measures half the length of his body. From crown to rump, he's about 1 1/4 inches long. In the coming weeks, your baby will again double in size — to nearly 3 inches.

Information from BabyCentre and The Bump.

9 weeks

Your little embryo has now officially graduated to fetus-hood. Adding to the excitement, a Doppler ultrasound device might be able to pick up the beating heart. With basic physical structures in place and increasingly distinct facial features, baby is kind of starting to look like... well... a baby!

How your baby's growing:

Your new resident is nearly an inch long!--about the size of a grape — and weighs just a fraction of an ounce. She's starting to look more and more human. Her essential body parts are accounted for, though they'll go through plenty of fine-tuning in the coming months. Other changes abound: Your baby's heart finishes dividing into four chambers, and the valves start to form — as do her tiny teeth. The embryonic "tail" is completely gone.

Your 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. Her eyes are fully formed, but her eyelids are fused shut and won't open until 27 weeks. She has tiny earlobes, and 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 your baby's basic physiology is in place, she's poised for rapid weight gain.

Information from BabyCentre and The Bump.

Sleepiness, I haz it

I am exhausted. I'd being feeling a bit better lately, but today the m/s and exhaustion is back with a vengeance. I came home early today (shh, don't tell my work) after a conference and tried to take a nap, but mostly just laid there.

I've been camped out on the couch ever since. I got up and made a giant bowl of guacamole and ate that with some tortilla chips and munched them on my makeshift couch bed.

The idea of attempting to take a bath makes me want to cry; besides I've got a sleepy puppy on my foot now too. I guess she's tired, too.

8 weeks

Your baby is growing like mad, putting on about a millimeter every day and continuing to straighten out in the trunk. Though you can't feel it yet, baby is moving those little arms, legs and (now only slightly) webbed fingers and toes like crazy.

New this week: Webbed fingers and toes are poking out from your baby's hands and feet, his eyelids practically cover his eyes, breathing tubes extend from his throat to the branches of his developing lungs, and his "tail" is just about gone. In his brain, nerve cells are branching out to connect with one another, forming primitive neural pathways. You may be daydreaming about your baby as one sex or the other, but the external genitals still haven't developed enough to reveal whether you're having a boy or a girl. Either way, your baby — about the size of a kidney bean — is constantly moving and shifting, though you still can't feel it.

Information from BabyCentre and The Bump.

The Poptart is out of the Toaster

That's my feeble attempt to personalize the phrase "the cat is out of the bag." In other words our parents and sisters know we are pregnant.

Mr. Blondiesaur and I went yesterday and I had my first "regular" through the stomach ultrasound. The tech said everything was looking great and we could see a strong heartbeat, although she said at this stage they don't say what the heartbeat is in numbers. She also said you could see the brain developing; Mr. Blondiesaur said he saw that, I honestly didn't.

We are keeping it just to parents and our sisters for now and have put everyone on a strict gag order until after 12 weeks. I tried sending my parents and sister u/s pics and then calling and saying "did you get my email" but it totally didn't work and I just told them anyway. Mr. Blondiesaur told his sister over the phone and we told his Mom and Dad in person.

Next scan is June 5th, so 9w4d, hopefully it will look more baby-esque. It's starting to sink in a little more since we've now told people, but still not 100% real. You may have noticed that I kept updating my FF chart after my BFP. I wanted to see how many DPO I am just so I know when I'm past the day I got my first negative test with my m/c. I know that wasn't they day I miscarried, but it is still nice to feel like I've passed that time.

You know how I know I'm pregnant?

I ate an entire puff candy sundae and still want to pass out and sleep for a thousand years.

The sundae consisted of creamy honeycomb ice cream, sweet and sticky butterscotch sauce, craggy chunks and crunched up bits of puff candy and a toasted melty giant marshmallow on top. Sugar x 1,000,000! Yet I'm still zonked. I'm guessing that description is probably a clue I'm pregnant, too; but seriously, best sundae I've ever had in this country.

6 weeks

Growing like crazy, baby is starting to sprout eyes, ears, nose, cheeks and chin. Those little hands and feet- still webbed like paddles- might wiggle by week's end, the heart is beating (almost twice as fast as yours!), and blood is starting to circulate. The baby is about the size of a sweet pea.

How your baby's growing: This week's major developments: The nose, mouth, and ears that you'll spend so much time kissing in eight months are beginning to take shape. If you could see into your uterus, you'd find an oversize head and dark spots where your baby's eyes and nostrils are starting to form. Their emerging ears are marked by small depressions on the sides of the head, and their arms and legs by protruding buds. Their heart is beating about 100 to 160 times a minute — almost twice as fast as yours — and blood is beginning to course through their body. Their intestines are developing, and the bud of tissue that will give rise to their lungs has appeared. Their pituitary gland is forming, as are the rest of his brain, muscles, and bones. Right now, your baby is a quarter of an inch long, about the size of a lentil bean.

Information from BabyCentre and The Bump.

Dream a little dream

Last night I had a dream that somehow I was at my Dr. in the states for something else and they asked if I wanted a scan. So I said sure and they saw two heartbeats. So I woke up thinking I'd actually been to another doctor and was now having twins. This dream worried me a little bit, but then again Katie Price was also cleaning the doctors office and telling me she might be pregnant, because her boobs hurt, too.

Not as bizarre as my dream last week where I gave birth at 5 weeks and my friend twittered about it and I got all freaked out because we hadn't told anyone yet. Also they gave me the baby which was fully clothed 6 month old in overalls and a t-shirt; blonde, big blue eyed girl, but it looked like one of those creepy babies when you morph you and your husband's pictures.

I'm guessing the dreams just keep getting weirder from here on out....

Flutter, flutter

That's the Poptart, 5w3d. This time you could see a yolk sac, a teeny-tiny fleck of a baby and wait for it.....the beginnings a heartbeat! It was slow, which is normal this early, but it was there. You could see a flutter of "light" every few seconds.


This means I now have a 90% chance of having a "normal" pregnancy. I'm still nervous, but to see how much things have changed in just a week and that everything is progressing well is great news. I've been having some issues with feeling nauseous, dizzy and of course tired. My boobs are still sore and I'm permanently cutting glass; luckily my bras are padded and hide my THO. I don't want to complain too much though since symptoms are a sign things are going well.

My next scan is in 2 weeks on May 22nd and they are going to try a traditional scan, so I need to have a full bladder. Mr. Blondiesaur is going to join me for this next one, too and hopefully we'll see a strong h/b and a bigger baby blob.

I wish I could pull a Costanza

I can not concentrate or do anything, I am so freaking tired, ugh! I can't even blog, how sad.

Blondiesaur Babbling

I have so many things going through my mind I think it might be easiest just to do a bullet point blog entry rather than trying to pick just one of the random pregnancy related things going through my head:

• My 3rd and final beta came in at 2,655 @17DPO. Some people are trying to convince me those are twin numbers; I'm trying to ignore those suggestions.


• I've got a blotchy rash on the back of my right hand, could be something pregnancy related or just another in a long line of randomly unidentifiable allergies for me.


• My hair is greasy, ew. Normally I can wash my hair every other day, not so much now. Even when I loved grunge, I didn't love greasy hair, it's not a good look.


• My IBS has flared up and I've got a bloat induced muffin top which leads me to my last point.


• In the UK the Gap supposedly only carries maternity jeans up to a size US12. While these fit they are tight in my thighs. The woman tried to tell me I need a size UK18. I tried on a UK18 at a different chain store and they fell off. Thank you shop lady for giving me more qualms about my body I didn't need.

Monday is a holiday here and I don't have to work, so we've decided to take a mini-break to Loch Fyne, famous for oysters and mussels. Besides needing to make sure I have a swimsuit that fits (I have an obsession with swimming pools & my honeymoon bikinis wouldn't have fit before pregnancy anyway), I am very excited for an overnight away and some relaxing.