16 Weeks!

This week's post comes a day early, but:

a) I'm tired of reading my last few sad posts--I'm ready to see those move down the screen. We're still very upset, but we're doing our best to move on.

b) We had a doctor's appointment this morning.

Just a standard 16 week checkup today-- weight check (+1 lb from my 12 week appt, but still down 5 lbs from pre-pregnancy weight), blood pressure (normal), listen with the doppler (strong heartbeat), "How are you feeling?" (pretty good!) & done. Rob came with me, which I really appreciate, because I want him to know our doctor and build a relationship with her before the day I deliver.

We've decided to do the Quad Screen even though our NT Scan results were perfect. We figured, "Why not?" It's just one more blood draw & we don't expect any negative news.

The biggest news of today's appointment is that we scheduled our anatomy ultrasound for April 13th. I'm so excited to get this done-- Ever since the last ultrasound, we have our minds wrapped around this baby being a boy, but I feel like we can't get overly attached to that until we confirm. We feel pretty sure (the doc did say she was 90-95% sure), but still-- we're not painting the nursery or registering for anything or shouting from the rooftops "IT'S A BOY!" until we know for sure. So, two weeks from tomorrow, we'll know!

So, on to the 16 week update!

Baby is the size of a tube of mascara:
And looks like this (Hello, Bigfoot!):

Baking Baby Blakely

"Your baby is already mugging for the camera as he practices all sorts of facial expressions, such as squinting, yawning and grimacing, which will come in handy when you introduce him to pureed spinach.

Check out what else is happening in utero:

You're just getting comfortable with being a new mom, but you're actually on the road to being a grandma. If your baby is a girl, her uterus is fully developed and the ovaries already hold primitive egg cells. Did that just make you feel a thousand years old, or what?

Your baby's skin is still translucent and wrinkly, not unlike an old man's, but more fat will soon accumulate under the dermas to plump him out. If you could peer inside right now, you'd be able to see all of his veins under his skin. And speaking of veins, your baby's heart now pumps about 25 quarts of blood per day! Also, his eyes are now locked and loaded at their final destination, facing forward rather than to the sides. (Whew!)

This is the week women get an amniocentesis, if their doc recommends it. In addition to supplying doctors with a boatload of info about the baby's health, amnios are also more than 99 percent accurate in determining what version of baby you'll be having. So if you want to know and you're getting an amnio, now's a great time to find out for sure.

Your baby weighs about 3 ounces this week and measures between 4 and 5 inches, about the length of your mascara. "

Oh! I also added poll to the right sidebar-- weigh in on whether you think Baby Blakely is a Boy or Girl!