The Honeymoon Phase

We officially entered the 2nd trimester yesterday! So glad that milestone is here! They say that the 2nd trimester is considered the honeymoon phase because the pregnancy symptoms seem to subside. I hope so. Linda has been feeling like hell the past few weeks...with morning sickness mostly. I wonder why they call it morning sickness when it really strikes at anytime...and for Linda it has been mostly in the evening when she's revisiting her sorority college experience by praying to the porcelain god. But the 2nd trimester, so the experts say, is when all her energy returns and the nausea subsides, she gets her appetite back and feels pretty good considering all that her body is going through. Plus the chance of miscarriage significantly drops. It's hard to believe the Nugg will be here in about 6 months now! I've gotten accustomed to the notion of being a dad. Of course, once the Nugg arrives, I'm sure I'll have no idea what to do and will have a bit of a freak-out stage then. I just wish April would hurry up and get here!

The 14th week is here now. So that means the Nugg can squint, frown, grimace, pee and possibly suck their thumb! The brain sends impulses to the facial muscles and in response Nugg's face is getting a workout as their tiny features form different expressions. The kidneys are now producing urine, which is released into the amniotic fluid around them. Kinda gross to think about...the Nugg will then swallow that same amniotic fluid (mixed with pee), and the process repeats itself. I guess we've all been there and done that, huh? The Nugg can also now grasp and if we had an ultrasound scheduled around this time (but we don't), we might catch a glimpse of Nugg sucking their thumb! However, our last ultrasound was last week...and we just were able to see the Nugg move and wiggle around.

Of course, Nugg continues to grow and stretch out. From head to bottom, Nugg would be about 3 ½ inches long, about the size of a lemon, and would way about 1 ½ ounces. As of now, the body is growing faster than the head, which by now sits upon a more distinct neck. By the end of this week, Nugg's arms will have grown to a length that's in proportion to the rest of the body. The legs still have some lengthening to do. Lanugo is also starting to form over Nugg's body. The liver has started to make bile. The spleen has started production of red blood cells.

181 days left til April 4th!