11 Weeks!

We've made it to 11 weeks and believe it or not I'm starting to feel a little more like my old self! I'm feeling a little less tired and able to get more done. My nausea is also decreasing everyday and being steadily replaced by more and more hunger :-) I've never been much of a big eater before so this ravenous state is definitely new for me. Jon finds it pretty funny, too. I just never can seem to get enough to eat! We went out to one of our favorite mom and pop pizza places for dinner on Friday (to make up for the fact that I was too tired and sick to go out on Valentine's Day) and I don't think I've ever eaten so much in my life. I made Jon agree to order the extra large veggie pizza instead of the medium or the large (there are only two of us after all) and I insisted on getting a big salad to eat before the pizza came out. Jon was sure that my eyes were bigger than my stomach but.......no such luck. I ate the whole salad and three very large pieces of pizza. And of course, I had to have a snack after we got home. Last night we had a nice, normal sized dinner at home which would normally hold me until breakfast but not now! I was hungry again almost an hour later and then again right before bed. I actually made Jon get out of bed to go downstairs and get me a snack because I couldn't fall asleep with a rumbling tummy :-) Jon now says that I have a new eating pattern: breakfast, second breakfast, snack, snack, snack, lunch, snack, 2nd lunch, snack, snack, dinner, snack, snack. I'm not sure I'm quite that bad but it's probably not too far off the mark! Hey, at least I am mostly eating healthy foods like fruit, veggies, pretzels, and cheese. I still don't have much of a taste for sweets but, now that girl scout cookies are here, that might be changing soon :-)

The baby has also been very busy using all of that extra food this week! He or she now has fingernails, toenails, and hair follicles. The body is starting to straighten out a little and the skin is becoming less transparent. Baby's kidneys and liver are now functioning which means he or she has started to urinate (what!? No one told me this was part of the deal!!) and now has about 3 tablespoons of amniotic fluid to swim around in. And swimming does seem to be part of the little one's activities now. According to all of the books I have read, the baby now kicks and moves his/her arms and little body around although I won't be able to feel it for another month or so. I also read something interesting in my pregnancy journal just this morning. According to the book, each baby has a unique muscle structure (based on inherited patterns) and shows a "distinct individuality in behavior by the end of the third month." This means that the facial expressions of the baby are already similar to the facial expressions of the parents. Cute! :-)

Love,

Kristin