The end of the 1st trimester!

Well the weather has been cooler these past 2 days, something I am really grateful for, especially as Stellenbosch gets very hot and the lecture halls have no air conditioning. I have survived my first week of varsity as well as the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. I took a moment on congratulating my baby on getting this far J Now that I am heading out of the first trimester I am hoping the morning sickness will really, finally be on its way out. This past week was very tiring and strange smells still send me running, but apart from a really bad day on Monday, I have had a better time lately.
I have had an interesting week starting with varsity and something I forgot to mention, a dream of my dead grandmother telling me Monday was going to be a big day. That got me off to a good start and made me feel excited about this year. On Wednesday I taught my first yoga class of the year to a private student and I felt so amazing afterwards that it reminded me of what I have been missing these past 2 months. (I am now vowing to create a gentle but invigorating exercise program for myself to start asap), and yesterday was my 5th wedding anniversary. It is supposed to be wood but we never got any wooden gifts (thank god). Craig and I had a wonderful day on Friday, starting with doing some shopping and ending with a wonderful meal at Wang Thai in Green Point. I am sure the baby was proud of me as I ate a lot on Friday! In the morning we ventured out to Access Park to look at some baby shops. Treehouse was unimpressive and we ended up at Biggie Best where we both fell in love with a rocking chair, ideal for feeding. I want the baby’s nursery to be green (a colour that suits both sexes, is calming and soothing as well as healing & relates to the heart) and I found this lovely green check fabric to cover the chair in. We have decided to go back there again closer to the time, with my mother in tow, to finalise the other fabric. My mom should be an interior decorator as she is a natural and I am sure we will have lots of fun designing this nursery. Thoughts of all this made me feel quite excited and of course, emotional.

As this is the end of the 1st trimester, I thought I’d add a bit about what the baby is up to:
While the baby’s brain is not the same size it will be at birth, it does have the same structure. Bile is being secreted by this time. S/he weighs about 14 grams and is approximately 8.7 cm in total length. It has reflexes and because of muscular development, can even move its limbs! The baby now has a face profile, complete with a tiny chin and nose. It is now able to swallow, and its tiny fingernails and toenails are forming. Vocal cords begin to form and the eyes begin to move closer together; the ears shift to their normal place on the side of the head; the Intestines move farther in to the baby’s body; His/her liver begins to function and the pancreas begins to produce insulin
I have attached this ultrasound pic of what a 12 week fetus should look like. (this is not a scan of my baby – I go for my next scan on Friday. )
Isn’t it just a miracle?

- Current symptoms: nausea but a lessoning of vomiting; still tired; still have sensitive breasts; mince has moved over to “the dark side” of things I can’t handle, while cheese pies are a recent favourite of mine. My skin continues to break out but is also drier than normal and I am getting even more emotional these days. My tummy is protruding further and is getting uncomfortable to lie on, and here is a new symptom: needing the loo – A LOT! – highlights: having more energy after doing some yoga and looking at a rocking chair for the baby from biggie best- low points: not looking good in most of my clothes & discovering maternity clothes are generally pretty ugly.