Week 10

Our baby is the size of a kumquat this week, it is a little over a inch long and still weighs less than a ounce. This week our baby graduated from a embryo to a fetus. It's vital organs are beginning to function even making its own red blood cells. It's toes and hands no longer look amphibious but more like tiny fingers and toes and even finger nails.

We are really excited for next Friday, we have another appointment and hope to see baby Hertel again.

Week 9

Week 8

New this week:

While the arms and legs are lengthening webbed fingers and toes are poking out from our baby's hands and feet, its elbows are forming, eyelids practically cover its eyes, breathing tubes extend from its throat to the branches of developing lungs, and the "tail" is just about gone. In its brain, nerve cells begin to connect with one another, forming early neural pathways. Our baby is the size of a kidney bean and is constantly moving even though I can't feel it. It is .63inches long and weighs around a gram.

Alex and I went for our first Prenatal appointment on Friday and got the babies first picture taken, everything looks average at this point. We got to see the babies heart beat and hear it through ultrasound (not true heartbeat sound). It was truly amazing to hear the fast heartbeat (145bpm). We are scheduled to go back September 4th to get another ultrasound and get checked out.

Baby Hertel's First Picture

Week 7

Baby week 7:

Our baby has doubled in size from last week, it is approximately 1/2 inch long and weighs less than a breath mint. If we had a super sonic microscope we could see its eyelid folds, tip of nose and outlines of its hands and feet. Internally our babies brain hemispheres are growing, along with the liver making red blood cells until bone marrow can do its job, and the appendix and pancreas that make insulin to aid in digestion. Another big step is that our babies umbilical cord now has blood vessels that will carry oxygen and nutrients to and from baby. Possibly the most interesting is that every major system in the human body is now present in its early form in Little Hertel Baby.

Alex and I had the pleasure of telling all our closest family and friends this week either in person, over the phone, or by letters in the mail. It was a big sigh of relief and happy times to see the joy in others eyes and hear exuberation in voices.

Sickness hasn't plagued me, I guess I am lucky... or maybe I shouldn't count my blessings just yet :) I am however craving all kinds of foods like okra, V8 juice (I have at least a glass or two a day) eggs, and chocolate fudge ice cream bars (fat free kind) oh yeah and I can't keep enough water around me, drinking two to three liters a day is nothing.