Baby Cox Week 13

Since we have no idea yet if Baby Cox is a boy or a girl, I'll alternate my descriptions each week. Last week I refered to baby as a She. This week we'll use He. Baby is only about 3 inches long crown to rump — roughly the size of a jumbo shrimp — and weighs just about an ounce. Despite the small proportions, there's a fully formed baby inside my womb now. Much more proportional than it was a few weeks ago, his head is now only about a third the size of his body. His tiny, unique fingerprints are already in place. His kidneys and urinary tract are functional. Most of baby's critical development is completed, and the odds of miscarriage will drop considerably.

This is the last week of my first tri-mester and like clock work the nausea us gradually subsiding. I'm SOOOOO happy! I'm starting to feel better each day and slowly but surely my energy is returning. Yesterday I went to the grocery store and I couldn't remember the last time I went. I'm usually too tired so I send Jeremy. I've started returning to my normal eating habits, well sort of, but I'm no longer craving Wendy's and Papa Johns. I've been able to eat at my favorite restaurant, the Greek Souvlaki, a few times and it tasted so good. Oh how I missed it! I'm still struggling to get a good nights sleep. I am usually lay awake for a good 3 hours each night from about 3am-6am. Then my alarm goes off at 6:45.

My belly pokes out. It pokes out ALOT. I'm not kidding. I can't suck it in, I can't hide it. It's out there. And it's way too early. Most women with their first pregnancy don't start showing until around 20 weeks. Now I've always had a poochie belly, that has never gone away. I've never had a flat tummy. So my theory is that my uterus is growing and filling the place where my belly pooch used to be so now my belly pooch has nowhere to go but straight out. Most people laugh at my theory but I think it's true. Although my pooch is starting to feel a little more solid. I still don't need new clothes, mine fit just fine. I just look like I have a big belly pooch. I guess if you're belly is going to pooch out it's at least good to be pregnant.

Each week I get a couple of emails telling me what baby is doing and what is happening with my body and I got one that said: "Your weight gain will definitely begin to show, but your tummy may only be bulging a little bit, resembling a soft, smooth ball. Your breasts continue to grow and may also feel "lumpy" as glands and milk ducts begin to form." I had to laugh out loud when I read this. Could they have worded that a little better? They are basically saying I'm fat, soft, and lumpy. Emily thinks it must have been written by a man. In another email I received it was worded much better: "Your belly may soon be big enough to announce to the world that you're expecting, but your baby is still tiny. Birth is still months away, but your breasts may have already started making colostrum, the nutrient-rich fluid that feeds your baby for the first few days after birth, before your milk starts to flow."

Doesn't that sound better?

I have a friend at work who has amazing intuition. She just knows stuff. I don't know how, but she just says she feels it and knows it. She knew I was pregant before I did. She kept saying to me, I know you're pregnant. We were sitting in the airport one day waiting for our flight to Boca and she kept looking at me and smiling. Finally I said "What?" and she said "You got pregnant last night." She just came by to tell me I'm having a girl, and she knows it, she can feel it. We'll see!