9 Weeks (& 1 Day)

Here's the news on us this week:

Baby Emmett:
Baby Emmett is nearly an inch long - about the size of a grape - and weighs just a fractin of an ounce. She's starting to look more and more human. Her essential body parts are accounted for, though they'll go through plenty of fine-tuning in the coming months. Her heart finishes dividing into 4 chambers and the valves start to form. Her tiny teeth also begin to form. The embryonic "tail" is completely gone. The baby's organs, muscles and nerves are kicking into gear. The external sex organs are there but won't be distinguishable as male or female for another few weeks. Her eyes are fully formed, but her eyelids are fused shut and won't open until 27 weeks. She has tiny earlobes, and her mouth, nose and nostrils are more distinct. The placenta is developed enough now to take over most of the critical job of producing hormones. Now that the baby's basic physiology is in place, she's poised for rapid weight gain.

Mommy Emmett:
I still don't look pregnant, even though my waist is thickening. I feel pregnant, though. Not only are morning sickness and other physical symptoms out in full force, but I may also feel like an emotional pinball. Mood swings are common now (SEE, Adam!). It's perfectly normal to feel alternatley elated and terrified about becoming a parent. Most women find that moodiness flares up at around 6-10 weeks, eases up in the second trimester, and then reappears as pregnancy winds to a close.