Were Down To 211 Days

Good Afternoon! So far today has been a fantastic day! Work has been so busy that the time has flown by. Joe and Nick, my husband and brother-in-law, came and had lunch with me, it was super nice even if they were 30 minutes late.... ; ) We went across the street to the Italian Cafe that Joe and I used to go to all of the time when we lived in our apartment, I love that place! I realized when I got back from lunch today that I haven't been nauseated in two and a half days! Well maybe I was a little nauseated for a few hours yesterday but that is a huge improvement!

Here is what the baby is doing this week and a picture of what he/she might look like right now...

How your baby's growing: Your baby is no longer an embryo! Though he/she's barely the size of a kumquat just an inch or so long, crown to bottom and weighs less than a quarter of an ounce, she now has completed the most critical portion of his/her development. This is the beginning of the so-called fetal period, a time when the tissues and organs in her body rapidly grow and mature. His/Her vital organs the liver, kidney, intestines, brain, and lungs are now in place and starting to function (although they'll continue to develop throughout your pregnancy). His/Her liver continues to make blood cells, and the yolk sac, which previously supplied these cells, is no longer needed and begins to disappear.

During the next three weeks, your baby's length will more than double to nearly 3 inches. His/Her head is proportionately smaller now than it was a few weeks ago, but it's still almost half the length of her entire body. His/Her forehead temporarily bulges with her developing brain and sits high on her head; it will later recede to give her a more human appearance. Each day, more minute details including tiny fingernails, toenails, and peach-fuzz hair start to appear on his/her body. His/Her fingers are now completely separated; his/her arms bend at the elbow and curve slightly; his/her hands are flexed at the wrist and meet over his/her heart; his/her legs are lengthening; and his/her feet may be long enough to meet in front of his/her body. He/She is busily swallowing amniotic fluid and kicking his/her legs.

If you could take a peek at your baby this week, you'd be able to clearly see the outline of his/her spine through his/her parchment-thin skin. Spinal nerves are beginning to stretch out from his/her spinal cord.