12 Weeks

We hit 12 weeks today and there aren't many developments to report. Chicken Dinner is growing and developing a lot and by our next ultrasound in 4 weeks we should see an actual person on the screen.

The hormones are turning me into a raving lunatic. I'm living in a constant state of rage these days; rage that only subsides when something makes me cry. That something could be a glass of water. My dog made me cry the other day because I thought she was looking at me with a sad face. I'm hiding the anger and craziness pretty well though. Luckily I get a lot of practice at controlling myself at my job, where human emotion isn't tolerated and my boss doesn't know anything yet. I did snap on poor Frank last night. He came home and I was already asleep so he woke me up to talk to me for a little while. We hadn't seen much of each other the past few days because of work. I was not happy about being woken up and I refused to participate in conversation and I think I may have bit his head off a little. Sorry Fish. I'm not much fun right now but I'm told it goes away soon.

My tailbone and hips have really started to hurt. They feel all loose and disconnected. I've always been bony in the hip area and now it feels like it. It especially hurts when I walk or drive. I tend to slouch on my tailbone when I sit and that really hurts. I've been trying to sit up straighter. Maybe my posture will improve.

It may be time to move up a size in the bra department but I think it may be a larger band size that I need, at least I hope so. What is the next size after DDD, anyway?

I've been having some pain in my lower abdomen/pelvic area which I'm guessing is just more stuff stretching and spreading out and making room for the Chicken. I'm getting the sense this is going to be a big baby and I am going to be a big(ger) girl.

I'm really looking forward to getting past the next two weeks and officially into the second trimester. Frank is looking forward to it as well so that maybe he'll have his easy going wife back for a little while.

Here's what's happening with the Chicken:

The most dramatic development this week: reflexes. Baby's fingers will soon begin to open and close, his toes will curl, his eye muscles will clench, and his mouth will make sucking movements. In fact, if I prod my abdomen, the baby will squirm in response (Frank spent a lot of time poking around my belly tonight so maybe baby got some exercise), although you won't be able to feel it. His intestines, which have grown so fast that they protrude into the umbilical cord, will start to move into his abdominal cavity about now, and his kidneys will begin excreting urine into his bladder. Meanwhile, nerve cells are multiplying rapidly, and in the baby's brain, synapses are forming furiously. His face looks unquestionably human: His eyes have moved from the sides to the front of his head, and his ears are right where they should be. From crown to rump, the baby is just over 2 inches long (about the size of a lime) and weighs half an ounce.