Karen, Erik and Jack

Hi everyone! Here’s the week 9 update.

This past week, I was privileged enough to be at the hospital when my
very dear friend Kat delivered her son, Jackson. She had a scheduled
C-section and delivered a very healthy 6lb 9oz boy. It was great to
see how the hospital took care of her, the process, and what she and
Jackson went through after the delivery. It’s amazing to think that
Erik and I will be welcoming our baby home ourselves in 31 weeks or
so.

This week, Ro-ro the Embryo will officially become Cletus the Fetus.
S/he is the size of a grape (about one inch long) and will be the size
of a prune (1.4 inches) by the end of the week. Ro-ro is looking much
more human and less like a gummy bear – s/he has hands that flex at
the wrist, elbows, and visible fingers and toes. All essential body
parts are accounted for, but thy will finish developing and
fine-tuning over the next few months. Eyes are fully formed, with
eyelids fused over them that will open around 27 weeks. The placenta
is almost fully formed, so soon that can take over hormone
production/regulation. This will (supposedly) help ease my nausea and
fatigue. In addition, tiny teeth are beginning to form under Ro-ro’s
gum line, but of course the teeth won’t be visible until well after
birth. Genitals are beginning to form, but it will be several weeks
before they will be visible enough on an ultrasound to determine the
sex.

As for me, I’ve had a few days of relief mixed in with feeling sick. I
had a few days last week where not only was I not nauseous, but my
appetite was back in spades. My nausea is now not pinned to any
particular time of day – I can get it any time, but almost always have
it in the morning (along with dizziness and a light-headed feeling).
One thing I have consistently been craving is milk – I drink a ton of
it everyday, either by itself, mixed with cereal, or mixed with some
Carnation Instant Breakfast (which soothes my stomach and helps ensure
that I m getting enough vitamins and minerals in me, in case I can
only have saltines for the rest of the day). Since bone formation has
already begun in Ro-ro, I’m glad that I am craving something which can
help! I am now unable to button any of my pants except for one pair of
jeans, which I can only wear to work on Fridays. I’m starting to show,
even though many women and sources said that it’s too early for me to
show if this is my first baby. However, I realized that when I had
surgery this past summer to remove an ovarian cyst, they had to fill
my abdomen up with gas and it stretched my stomach out to the point
where I easily looked 5-6 months pregnant. This previous stretching
could be why I am showing early.

Next week – we will officially begin discussing the adventures of
Cletus the Fetus! have a great week, everyone.

Hi everyone! We have now reached 8 weeks, and Ro-ro is doing great.
yesterday was our first prenatal appointment and ultrasound – we got
to see one very healthy baby with a heart rate of 180 BPM. The doctor
was very pleased. We’ll send pictures from this ultrasound soon – you
can see Ro-ro, a yolk sac, little nubs for the arms and legs. The due
date is still at September 28th! Our next doctor visit is on March
15th – they’ll check my blood and urine levels, my weight, and do a
nuchal screening test – it’s a combined ultrasound and blood test to
help determine our probability for Down Syndrome. After that, the next
ultrasound won’t be until we it 18-20 weeks – but that ultrasound will
tell us if we’re having a boy or a girl!

This week, Ro-ro is the size of a raspberry and will be the size of a
grape by the end of this week. Fingers and toes are developing, as
well as eyelids and breathing tubes from the throat to the developing
branches of lungs. Ro-ro is also building nerve cells and neural
pathways, and is moving around (although it’s too early for me to feel
that yet).

As for me, I’m still in first-trimester symptom fun. Many of the foods
that were my favorite before pregnancy have not been too kind to me
now. For several weeks, I had to eat like I was in college – rice,
ramen noodles, cereal and the occasional peanut butter & jelly
sandwich were all I could tolerate (especially at night). I’m thankful
that I could eat a bit of NY-style pizza last night and had no issues.
My clothes are having trouble fitting, but it’s too early for me to
graduate to maternity clothes, so I’m making do with what I can.
Erik and I found some great ideas for the nursery, and I think he’s
pretty excited about working on it!

Hi everyone,

I thought it might be nice to send a weekly email to everyone to keep
you up to date in what’s happening with Baby Garrett’s progress. Some
weeks may be more eventful than others, but we’re so excited to share
the pregnancy with our families!

Today, we are 7 weeks down, 33 to go. My estimated due date is
September 28th, but this may change a bit next week after the first
ultrasound. Baby Garrett, who Erik and I have nicknamed “Ro-ro the
Embryo”, is the size of a blueberry now and will be the size of a
raspberry by the end of the week. According to all of the baby
literature I can get my hands on, Ro-ro is developing all major organs
now – the heart is beating, the brain hemispheres are developing, the
liver is producing red blood cells, and the pancreas is producing
insulin. Hands and feet are developing, and Ro-ro sort of looks like a
gummy bear now.

Next Monday, we have the first ultrasound, which will confirm how old
Ro-ro is (and possibly change the due date), check for the heartbeat,
and generally make sure Ro-ro is doing ok. It will be a couple of
months before we can find out the sex of the baby, but we do plan on
finding that out prior to delivery. This Saturday, we are going to go
check out some furniture options for the nursery. For those that have
been to our house, we are turning our green guest bedroom into the
nursery.

As for me, pregnancy symptoms have been hitting me a bit harder this
week. Exhaustion, nausea, vomiting are all getting stronger. I also
seem to have developed a cold, and there’s really nothing I can take
for it. Thankfully, Erik has been taking wonderful care of me, and we
know that all of this is for a VERY good cause!

That’s all for this week – we hope you’re all doing well!

Love, Karen + Erik + Ro-ro

So, I’m pregnant. About 19 weeks and change. Every week for the past 3 months, I have sent a weekly email to family with updates. And Erik often asks me, why don’t you post them on the blog? Well, I’m gonna now. I’m posting the entire backlog (Weeks 7-19) up tonight, and will post the weekly ones right after I send them. Hope you enjoy!