25% Done!

So here's what's crazy -- apparently Monday will be here around week 40. I am currently at week 10 (and 2 days) which means we're 25% through the pregnancy! That feels crazy to me as I have only gained 1.5 pounds and still fit into my jeans (though less so my under-garments). I have noticed that some belts are less comfortable now than they were, but other than that, the first 10 weeks have been pretty smooth. I can only hope so much for the next 30. (Put that way, 30 weeks sounds very long...)

10 Week Update from Baby Center

How your baby's growing:

Your baby is no longer an embryo! Though she's barely the size of a kumquat — just an inch or so long, crown to bottom — and weighs less than a quarter of an ounce, she now has completed the most critical portion of her development. This is the beginning of the so-called fetal period, a time when the tissues and organs in her body rapidly grow and mature. Her vital organs — the liver, kidney, intestines, brain, and lungs — are now in place and starting to function (although they'll continue to develop throughout your pregnancy). Her liver continues to make blood cells, and the yolk sac, which previously supplied these cells, is no longer needed and begins to disappear.

During the next three weeks, your baby's length will more than double to nearly 3 inches. Her head is proportionately smaller now than it was a few weeks ago, but it's still almost half the length of her entire body. Her forehead temporarily bulges with her developing brain and sits high on her head; it will later recede to give her a more human appearance. Each day, more minute details — including tiny fingernails, toenails, and peach-fuzz hair — start to appear on her body. Her fingers are now completely separated; her arms bend at the elbow and curve slightly; her hands are flexed at the wrist and meet over her heart; her legs are lengthening; and her feet may be long enough to meet in front of her body. She is busily swallowing amniotic fluid and kicking her legs.

If you could take a peek at your baby this week, you'd be able to clearly see the outline of her spine through her parchment-thin skin. Spinal nerves are beginning to stretch out from her spinal cord.

6 Vials!! (and they were pretty vile...)

Man, when they said they need "some blood work" they weren't kidding! Yesterday I had to scoot out of the office a bit early to have all but the last 2 drops of my blood sucked out of my arm to test for, I suppose, a number of things. We go to the doctor again on Wednesday the 15th where we'll get the results back. For someone (me) who doesn't like participating in health care, there sure are a whole lot of pricks, prods, and appointments that go along with being pregnant!

Sleep update: the secret seems to be at least 10 hours a night. That means I am now going to bed around 8:30, reading for around an hour, and sleeping until about 7:30 or 8. The longer the better. It sure feels like my days are getting shorter, but if I don't get sleep, then they DRAG OUT FOREVER and I become mash potatoes at the office unable to accomplish anything... which unfortunately makes the day even longer.

Tim update: he's just a cutie pants! Its amazing how much my heart just swells when he walks through the door and into the house.

Pick wisely

I love these moments, when Lina sends me little mid-day snippets on how Monday is doing. Its a great way to pause the noise of the day and take in what a fabulous journey the three of us are on...now if I can just keep from welling up each time that little message box pops up.

Yesterday Lina sent along this status...
"Your baby is nearly an inch long — barely the size of a grape — and weighs just a fraction of an ounce, but he's poised for rapid weight gain now that his basic physical structure is in place."

"His embryonic tail is completely gone, and the development of his body parts — including organs, muscles, and nerves — is kicking into gear. His eyelids are fused shut and won't open until 27 weeks. His upper lip is fully formed, and his mouth, nose, and nostrils are more distinct. Your baby's sex organs are present now but won't be discernible as male or female for another few weeks."

I can't help to wonder what genes Monday is using to form his/her lips, mouth, nose and nostrils...What parts of Dalton, McAneny, Chickering, Reeth is little Monday borrowing from?

My first words of advice as a father for little Monday...pick wisely.

Cats out of the bag-ish

We spent the second week in a row with my folks up at Soda Springs and just couldn't hold out any longer. We ended up telling them about Monday right as we were walking out the door to the family cocktail party. Certainly, the timing was terrible, but we really wanted to tell them in person, but don't know when we will see them again. (I may need to get to the east coast for work in the fall, but who knows if it will actually happen and we didn't want to put the pressure on us to force a flight east.) They seemed super excited and supportive, and was just the blast I needed as I am totally exhausted, but enjoyed the emotionally positive weekend.

...Now I am counting the minutes until we can tell the Reeths! When do they move out here again?!?!?

Back to haggard

In life, I thought I typically got an A- for my ability to sleep well: deep, long, restful. Since Monday came into our life, I can seem to do it at all anymore. Despite a terrific night's sleep the other day, I am still dragging my butt on the floor. In fact, I just stole home for 45 minutes to take a nap... I have never done that and it would never occur to me to do something like that! However, when I found myself leaning over on my chair and resting my head on my desk, I decided it was time to do something drastic. I would donate my little thumb to charity to not feel tired 100% of the time...

A good night sleep!!!

Yay!! I finally slept well last night! I got about 11 hours... which might make up for the 5 that I got the night before, but we won't get into that here. I went up to bed around 8:15 and turned off the light at 8:45. It was super funny to wake up 3 hours later for my middle of the night trip to the bathroom to find out it was only 11:30 thinking "wow - I must be sleeping terribly!" then realizing that it was my normal time to use the facilities, I had just gone to bed 2 hours earlier than I normally do.

I am not feeling fully caught up yet, but maybe I can get another good night tonight and stop feeling like a zombie.