13 Weeks, 2 Days

Baby at 13 weeks.

Baby is growing, but still tiny at about 3 inches long crown to rump — roughly the size of a jumbo shrimp — and weighs just about an ounce. Despite the small proportions, it's a fully formed baby now. Much more proportional than it was a few weeks ago, the head is now only about a third the size of the body. The tiny, unique fingerprints are already in place. The kidneys and urinary tract are functional, and baby's starting to urinate out the amniotic fluid it's been swallowing. By the end of next week, when I start the second trimester, most of the baby's critical development will be completed, and the odds of miscarriage will drop considerably (always a relief.)

I saw Dr Powers on Monday, and K and I were able to hear the baby's heartbeat, which was strong and fast. Dr Powers said that based on the faster heartrate, it's a girl, but that the heartrate method was only about 50% accurate. I pointed out that so was a random guess. He said he wasn't going to point that out. I have girl feelings, myself, so I agreed with the heartrate method. Just a reminder, we won't find out for sure until the first of the new year, and then only if the baby is cooperative. I had all the routine tests and bloodwork done. I'm almost sure the lab person used the biggest needle they had for a better chance of finding one of my difficult veins. It worked, but OW! Because of my "advanced" age, I'm being sent to a maternal-fetal-medicine (MFM) specialist later today for various tests, measurements, and observations via sonogram. As I understand it, this is mostly to determine the likelihood of Down's Syndrome. There's not a chance in the world that we'd terminate the pregnancy, but we figure it will either put our minds at ease or give us 6 months to prepare ourselves. If they give me a good picture to bring home, I'll post it. K is anxious to get me back to his own office for a 3-D scan (like the posted photos for 12 and 13 weeks.)