Week 12

Almost at the end of the First Trimester already! I seem to have escaped morning sickness again. I know I'm one of the lucky ones! My c-section scar still itches a lot as my belly starts stretching. A number of friends that had c-sections and subsequent births have said the itching around the scar just gets worse as the pregnancy goes on. Hopefully it won't be as bad as the itchy skin rash I had with Natalie. I'm still tired but not nearly as much as I have been the last few weeks which is surprising given that Natalie has started to walk so I'm chasing after her much more now! :) I do still have to urinate frequently but hopefully that will start to subside now that my uterus is moving out from under my pelvic bone. It's pretty much impossible to suck in my belly anymore. Comparing to my pregnancy photos with Natalie, I feel like I already look about 16 weeks pregnant! So it goes I suppose with a second pregnancy.

I forgot to mention that during my first u/s my doctor noticed I have a cyst on one of my ovaries. She said it's nothing to worry about and they usually go away over time during a pregnancy but that she'll be watching it to see how it progresses. This apparently is very common.

By now, nearly all of our baby's organs, structures and systems are fully formed. The heart has begun to pump several quarts of blood through his/her body every day. Our baby has also begun to develop nerves and a spinal cord, allowing him/her to feel some types of pain. While our baby's brain is not the same size it will be at birth, it does have the same structure. Fingers and toes have separated and hair and nails continue to grow. Our baby is approximately 2.5 - 3.5 inches and weighs about 12 - 14 grams. Also, the external genitals can now show definite signs of male and female gender. Before, where there was only reflex movement, our baby now moves spontaneously and at random, although his/her movements are still too slight to be felt.

Tomorrow is our NT scan. I'm looking forward to seeing our baby again and hearing the heartbeat.