Fetal development in pregnancy week 10:

Your astonishingly tiny baby has graduated from embryo to full blown fetus! And so it should be, as they’ve been hard at work growing as fast as possible—almost doubling in size in the past three weeks! Amazingly, you’re in for a repeat size doubling performance within the next three weeks! Your tiny champion still weighs less than a quarter of an ounce but has already completed the most critical stage of their development. Using Doppler technology, your doctor or gynecologist can let you hear their tiny rapid fetal heartbeats this week (145-165 beats per minute!). Chances for miscarriage are greatly reduced when the heartbeat can be detected, so take a sigh of relief if you’ve been needing one—it hasn’t been an easy ten weeks! What’s more, they’re getting ready to make their first baby poop! Your little one’s major organ systems are developing, including a functioning digestive tract capable of moving food all the way through their bowels. The final shiny gold star on their fetal behavior chart for the week: your little scrapper has already developed defense mechanisms to protect them on reflex!

And how’s mom doing?

More good news for mom: the placenta has grown substantially, in both size and function. It is now beginning to manage some of your child’s hormones, finally taking some of the hormonal burden off of you! Since the placenta has gradually taken over the hormone production for your baby, you should finally start to notice that much-awaited decrease in morning sickness symptoms. Like everything else, though, this is just a general guideline… if you have lingering effects for another couple of weeks, don’t fret (or fret, but don’t blame us)—pregnancy is not a standardized procedure so much as an individual journey.

From: http://pregnancy.baby-gaga.com/calendar/week10

I’m feeling a little bit out of sorts today. Not sure why, perhaps it’s because Riley climbed into my bed at 5am and I had trouble going back to sleep.

I’ve been a bit cranky with the kids this morning too. It’s a bit cold and overcast outside perhaps the weather is to blame.

I’m feeling a bit off too. My morning sickness hasn’t been to bad lately. I think I’m finally over the worst of it. I tend to feel ok in the mornings and it doesn’t seem to hit me until the afternoon. I have good and bad days and I think today is going to be one of the bad days.

Not a bad day to curl up in bed with my book I wonder if the kids will let me do that……. ahahaha I doubt it.

Rob took the kids to Bunnings on the weekend and they came home with some little potted flowers as a surprise for me. The kids picked out petunias, marigolds and some other cute yellow flowers. I bought a couple of new pots to put them in yesterday and some new flower seeds. Spring always makes me feel like growing lots of flowers. So if I feel up to it I might go out and do a bit of gardening today.

This is the last week of school before the girls have 2 weeks of school holidays. We are planning a quiet 2 weeks. I am planning on lounging around and enjoying my time not having to get the girls to and from school.

A pretty common question us Mums of big families get asked is how we find time to spend quality one on one time with all our kids?.

I’ll be the first to admit that sometimes it is really difficult. When there is a new baby in the house it is particularly hard to find the time to spend one on one time with each child. But as time goes on it gets easier.

I try and spend 30 minutes each afternoon with one of my kids. They get to choose what they want to do, whether it be read a book, play a board game together or just sit and chat.

The other kids know that this is our special time and they are happy to leave us to it. Naturally some days are a little more hectic than others and we don’t get to have that special time. If this is the case I will usually get that child to come and help me with dinner or sit and talk to me while I make dinner, that way they are still getting that one on one time with me.

Fetal development in pregnancy week 9:

Voila! Your amazing growing baby has now been accepted into to the fetus club, a very exclusive and exiting new stage in their prenatal development. Basically, this means the little sweet pea has graduated from swimming embryo creature to a recognizable human being!

This week in particular, the irises of their little eyes can function, but (frustratingly for them?) their eyelids remain fused shut for a while yet. The external ears are formed, and their inner ears are now filled with fluid—so your little one actually has started to develop their sense of balance. Your baby’s little swimmer legs are still relatively short, although other developments are going forward at a nice pace: their kidney is actually functioning now, which means they’ve started urinating (this might seem charming now but wait till you have to start buying diapers!).

And how’s mom doing?

You’re nearing the end of the first trimester and while there are plenty of dynamic and noticeable changes going on inside of you, not many changes are noticeable to you save a mildly bulging midline– which doesn’t quite look pregnant enough to be exciting. Although your body might seem a little boring right now, you can expect the creeping up effect as you will gain roughly 1-2 lbs gain per week (some more and some less). It’s not a bad idea to chart this to make sure you’re not over or underfeeding both of you. As you’ve entered into the Fetal Period, it might be a good time to evaluate your personal health regimen—that is, if you haven’t already. Are you eating enough protein? Remember, protein can be found in beans, soy products and nuts—it doesn’t have to be a 12 ounce sirloin! Sleeping well, exercising right, drinking enough (non-sugary) fluids and getting your vitamin C? Having a baby is the ultimate test for your body—if you take care of your health now you’ll come out of the pregnancy on top of your health and ready to be an energetic mother, if not, well, let’s just say, you’re increasing the chances of suffering from depression, osteoporosis, diabetes, obesity, and a multitude of little nasty viruses (think colds and flues) that good health could beat before you even noticed they’d invaded.

From http://pregnancy.baby-gaga.com/calendar/week9

A Note from Me: My morning sickness seems to have eased a little over the last couple of days. My mornings are bearable, not much nausea at all, but it seems to hit me in the afternoon. I’m still really tired all the time but hopefully over the next couple of weeks I’ll get a bit more energy back. I can’t beleive that I’m 9 weeks pregnant already. The weeks seem to be going pretty quickly which is good considering this part of the pregnancy is not much fun.

I’ll be going to see my Doctor in the next two weeks. I haven’t bothered until now because he doesn’t do any tests and scans until 12 weeks if all is going well, which it is. I can’t wait to see his face when I tell him I’m pregnant again. I’m sure he thinks I’m already nuts…. which I am

Fetal development in pregnancy week 8:

We’ve got one whole inch of baby to measure! Your little embryo has finally reached the one-inch mark (30mm) at last. And if it were possible to take a peek, you could see your tiny baby with your naked eye! What’s more, your baby is finally starting to take on some very distinct human features. For starters, their little tail (really just the spinal cord) has disappeared completely. It’s nice to know your baby can no longer be mistaken for a sea creature! Additionally, both their toes and fingers are prominent with very little, if any, webbing. Upper and lower limbs all show recognizable joints (elbows and knees) and the lower limb bones are starting to ossify. But don’t expect your baby to resemble either parent quite yet. Right now, your baby’s head is disproportionately larger than the rest of their body–making up almost half of your little one’s height and weight!

And how’s mom doing?

Your slightly-larger-than-a-cherry embryo is also starting to have a physical impact on you this week—and not just hormonally, as you may be noticing a slight bulge at your midline. Most people wouldn’t even notice the change, but since you’re tuned in to every little change in your body, it hasn’t slipped past. Good news for the hormonally tortured: if you have been extra moody lately, that may start to subside this week, as the placenta is just starting to make your baby’s hormones. This means your body will soon be able to relax its over-production of hormones as the placenta starts to regulate your baby’s hormones– allowing your body to focus on producing more “regular levels” of hormones.

At this point any close family or friends have undoubtedly noticed you’re a little more moody and/or irritable than usual. And there are probably times where you’re ready to tell the world off (maybe you already have), but it’s always worth the time and effort to explain to yourself and others the reason for your current emotional rollercoaster; you don’t have to be a monster just because you feel a little whacked out. Focus on your breathing and energy levels. Take naps if you feel fatigued but don’t be afraid to take long walks outside for fresh air. Sit down if you start to feel nauseous, eat (healthy vitamin-rich) foods when you’re hungry. Even though there’s no bi-weekly paycheck or boss, pregnancy is harder work than you might think and you need lots of positive physical and emotional energy to provide your baby with the safest strongest home possible.

We have all just gotten over a virus. I had to pick Caitie up early on Monday from Preschool because she was pale and saying she thought she was going to be sick. She came home and spent the rest of the day on the lounge. She was fine the next morning though.

I started to feel off on Wednesday afternoon but just put it down to my morning sickness getting worse. I spent Thursday on the lounge (thankfully clerk’s school Fun Day was postponed due to rain).

Chloe and Care came home from school that afternoon both feeling unwell and very tired. They both sleep the afternoon away.

Rob came home also feeling unwell. Riley had a fever on Thursday night too, so I knew he was coming down with it.

So Friday was pretty much spent in bed. I took Caitie to preschool, Clare and Chloe just hovered around the house, mostly laying around watching movies. Riley, Rob and I spent most of the day in bed asleep. I was actually glad that Riley was sick (that’s mean I know!) because he spent most of the day resting with me, which meant that I wasn’t having to run around after him.

I was so happy to come to the realization that I had the bug and that it wasn’t my morning sickness getting worse. I didn’t know how I was going to manage another 4 or more weeks of not being able to drag myself out of bed.

Saturday morning came round and I felt so much better, perhaps it was the full moon on Friday night that energied me.

Do you remember when you were sick as a kid?. You’d get to stay home from school, lay on the couch all day with your pillow and blanket. Your Mum would bring you cups of lemonade and crackers. The tv would be on whatever channel you wanted to watch and you could sleep as much or as little as you wanted.

What happened to those days??? Now when I’m sick I still have to get up and get the kids breakfast, make sure they get dressed, do their hair and get the oldest kids off to school. The rest of the day is usually taken up by getting up and down off the lounge to get the other 2 kids a drink, a piece of fruit or change their dvds. And then it’s time to pick the girls up from school again……. arghhh sometimes I wish I was a kid again!!!

Fetal development in pregnancy week 7:

Your baby is really beginning to develop more physical definition this week – their oversized head isn’t just large and oblong anymore, it’s actually a little bit pointy. The tiny receding tail bud is now starting to be overshadowed by the growth of their legs, which are now complete with knees and the beginnings of toes. Their eyes and ears are the most visible features on the head and miniature bones are starting to harden throughout their body. You also have some variation on a boy or a girl at this point although their genitals won’t be visible enough to determine which color cigars you’re going to buy until around the 16th week.

And how’s mom doing?

Your hormones are still out of whack because the placenta won’t take over hormone production for your little one for another couple of weeks. So until then, expect more of the same. At this point any close family or friends have undoubtedly noticed you’re a little more moody and/or irritable than usual. And there are probably times where you’re ready to tell the world off (maybe you already have), but it’s always worth the time and effort to explain to yourself and others the reason for your current emotional rollercoaster; you don’t have to be a monster just because you feel a little whacked out. Focus on your breathing and energy levels. Take naps if you feel fatigued but don’t forget the plentiful benefits of long walks outside for fresh air and exercise. Sit down if you start to feel nauseous, eat (healthy vitamin-rich) foods when you’re hungry. Even though there’s no bi-weekly paycheck or boss, pregnancy is harder work than you might think and you need lots of positive physical and emotional energy to provide your baby with the safest strongest home possible.

From http://pregnancy.baby-gaga.com/calendar/week7