Bye Bye First Trimester! Weeks 13-14

Well we are now onto the Second Trimester. People calculate it differently depending on what you decide is a full pregnancy. It is said to get better the Second Trimester, although Darin and I have noticed things have gotten a little worse (I have had a fairly mild First Trimester, so maybe this is where I pay for it!)
I have also noticed that between pregnancy websites, the size of our baby varies quite a bit. Today will be the last day of week 13, and tomorrow will be the start of week 14, so we will have a combined post for these weeks!
This week Baby Brinley is the size of a Lemon. Mommy feels he is the size of a bowling ball on her backbone though ;)

How baby's growing:
This week's big developments: Your baby can now squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly suck his thumb! Thanks to brain impulses, his facial muscles are getting a workout as his tiny features form one expression after another. His kidneys are producing urine, which he releases into the amniotic fluid around him — a process he'll keep up until birth. He can grasp, too, and if you're having an ultrasound now, you may even catch him sucking his thumb.
Credit : Babycenter

We are excited and happy about our little Lemon, the back pains are more constant now. Another symptom of this week is three very heavy bloody noses (the Utah weather doesn't help with that much). We have been sleeping with a humidifier and I have been trying to drink lots of water. 

We also went to costco and bought lots of spinach and frozen fruit (and fresh fruit) and have been making some AMAZING fruit smoothies. We are feeling a lot better about the nutrients we are giving our little baby and hope he is growing healthily. Our next appointment will be in about a week and a half... So we'll get to hear that active strong heartbeat again soon. The following appointment (5 weeks from now) will be when we find out the gender of this little guy. We both have a hunch it's a boy, but we could be mistaken! Either way we are excited to know and begin planning. =)

Here's the Baby bump for 13 weeks and 5 days:

It's starting to poke out some more for sure. Although this picture makes it look even bigger. Let's just say Baby caused a lot of Bloating this week. In fact within 24 hours of taking this picture my stomach already looks a lot smaller again. 

Until next week!

The Brinleys

Week 12: Introducing Baby Brinley

Week Twelve: Baby Brinley is the size of a Plum

How your baby's growing:

The most dramatic development this week: reflexes. Your baby's fingers will soon begin to open and close, his toes will curl, his eye muscles will clench, and his mouth will make sucking movements. In fact, if you prod your abdomen, your baby will squirm in response, although you won't be able to feel it. His intestines, which have grown so fast that they protrude into the umbilical cord, will start to move into his abdominal cavity about now, and his kidneys will begin excreting urine into his bladder. 

Credit: Taken from Baby Center

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Surprise! We are so excited to finally come out and tell you all about our adventure as we begin the path to becoming Parents!

We found out that we were pregnant on November 18th in Kansas City after taking our THIRD pregnancy test. I had been feeling really tired and a bit sick to my stomach, and had some consistent cramping/bloating for a good week. We purchased 2 tests before we left for Kansas City but no luck. While in church on Sunday with Mika and Justin, I felt so sick and tired and told Darin, "we are taking it as soon as we get home from church."

Third time's the charm! The plus showed up right away, confirming why I was feeling so crummy.

Since taking the test, we have waited to tell many people, and officially announce it til after we had out first checkup. Darin and I (with my mom and sister as well) went to the Doctors on Jan 8th, confirming that there was a heartbeat and sure enough a baby was in there. For a while I started to get paranoid that somehow I had killed the baby--by running too hard/fast, or not eating enough (from being so busy at work). It was a relief to know that at this point the chances of losin' this little guy are extremely slim!

How have I felt, you ask?

Well for starters, my chest (you know..) is in constant pain. I guess my body is just getting ready to feed this little guy (we do not know if it is a little guy or gal -- although we are feeling more guy at this point). 

Bloating and gas is another very common symptom. Bless Darin's soul. He has put up with a lot more burping... and other things... in the last 3 months. I always tell him, "baby made me do it." or something along those lines. I also struggle to fit into my jeans. The baby is not pushing out quite yet, but definitely making me feel fuller with the bloating. If I wear jeans for too long I have to unbutton them after a while--luckily all my shirts are long enough to cover it ;).

Back pain is probably the most painful symptom. I was wondering why I had such excruciating in my lower back from an early point in the pregnancy. At times, I felt paralyzed with the pain and could not move. If I bent over, I struggled to straighten back out. It has been the worst symptom. Luckily we go to a WONDERFUL obgyn clinic with very knowledgable doctors who pin-pointed the reason right away. 

After the doctor examined the size of the uterus to make sure growth was normal, she asked immediately, 

Doc: "Do you get lower back pain during menstruation?"

Me: "Yes, and I have had it even worse with pregnancy! It's been so bad!"

Doc: "Well your uterus is tilted back, toward your back rather than forward toward you tummy. This will cause more back pain as the baby grows. You will most likely be one that has a hard time walking, and waddles a lot."

...Well, she gave us the reasoning, at least it's not fatal... although it may feel that way at times, and although there isn't much I can do about it, I knew immediately we had chosen the BEST clinic for us to go to. 

So here is me at 12 weeks. I little bump-age... but mostly just bloating. In fact, I may have had the bump before so maybe not a good indicator. I'm hoping the pictures will get more interesting... although with a retroverted uterus we might not see this baby bump for months! We shall see. Let the record-keeping begin!

A few things we've been thinking about:
Names!
Boy: Aiden is one we really like, any other suggestions?
Girl: Totally stuck... we are banking on it being a boy I guess!
Til next time,
The Brinleys