Week 16

Surprise! I'm 16+ weeks pregnant. I'm getting very excited and figured I could use this blog to share my excitement while keeping my family and friends informed on new developments. The baby's due date is June 23rd. On December 14th I received my early risk assessment and all results came back normal which was a great relief. During that visit I had my most recent sonogram, as you can see from the pictures the baby is developing pretty quickly. The sonogram shows the head and chest profile. You can see very good detail of the brain, eye, nose, lips, ear and spine. We will be finding out the baby's gender at the end of January so stay tuned for an updated sonogram and the BIG NEWS! On New Year's Day I think I felt the baby move for the first time. I felt a squirming sensation in my belly. My belly is getting a bit bigger but it's not too obvious yet.

The Baby's Development at 16 Weeks:

Right now our baby is about the size of an avocado measuring 4 1/2 inches long head to rump and is about 3 1/2 ounces. His/her legs are much more developed, his/her head is more erect that it has been and his/her eyes have moved closer to the front of his/her head. The baby's ears are close to their final position, too. The patterning of his/her scalp has begun, though hair is not recognizable yet. He/she's even started growing toenails. There is a lot happening inside too. For example, his/her heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day, and this amount will continue to increase as the baby continues to develop. It's so amazing knowing I have all this activity going on in my belly! What a blessing :0)