14 week update

Pictures from Cape Scott Provincial Park on the Northwestern tip of Vancouver Island

(I'm pretty sure our pictures won't look like these!)

Crown to rump, your baby is around 3 and a half inches / 9 centimetres long and weighs one and a half ounces / 43 grams. The body is now growing faster than the head. This week, its parchment-thin skin covers itself with lanugo (ultra-fine, downy hair that usually disappears before birth). Though eyebrows are beginning to grow and the hair on top of the head is sprouting, this hair may change in both texture and colour after birth. About now, the fetus can grasp, squint, frown, and grimace. It may even be able to suck its thumb. Researchers believe these and other movements probably correspond to the development of impulses in the brain.







If you poke at your abdomen and the baby feels it, it will begin to root around as if looking to suckle. Their little face starts to resemble Mom and Dad as they continue to develop more normal looking facial features. Baby can hear sounds now and are able to feel pain. The baby now has unique fingerprints. Inhaling and exhaling movements have begun and the torso is growing very quickly to make up the difference in body and head size. All nourishment is received through the placenta. The intestines continue their migration into the body from the umbilical cord. At this point you may begin to feel “quickening”: a fluttering sensation in your abdomen. This is actually your baby moving around! It might be several weeks before you notice it, but some Mom’s notice this as early as 14 weeks.







Your baby is now producing urine and actually urinating into the amniotic fluid. It also can practice "breathing" the amniotic fluid in and out of its lungs. Amniotic fluid is an amazing substance. It completely regenerates itself every three hours. We do know that it is partially composed of urine from the baby, but where amniotic fluid in general is made we are not sure. Modern medicine still has some surprises left.







Well, I survived my first rotation back to work. Though it was great to see my co-workers, I really struggled to find my 'place'. I'm thankful that I decided to reduce my work hours; eight is all I can muster. I am even more cautious than ever about the hazards of working in the hospital. I'm washing my hands raw, wear gloves for almost everything and a mask whenever I feel it's necessary. And I don't particularily care when someone asks why. I don't lift, I don't run, I don't put myself in contortionist positions like I used to. There's at least a dozen people who can do these things... so I let them!







Charles, me & the fetus are off on our first trip (besides Quebec when the fertilized egg was just implanting!) together tomorrow morning. We're spending 4 days on Northern Vancouver Island and are very much looking forward to it. It's not the most ideal time of year to go but it will be nice just to be in the forests & by the ocean. Our lungs will appreciate the break from the disgusting Calgary air!