Kumquat

Well folks, our child is now the size of a kumquat. What the crap is a kumquat, you ask? (Don't worry, I had to look it up, too....)

The kumquats or cumquats are a family of small fruit-bearing trees in the flowering plant family Rutaceae, in the genus Fortunella which is often included in the genus Citrus. The edible fruit closely resembles that of the orange (Citrus sinensis), but is smaller and is often oval.

(Definition and photo courtesy of Wikipedia.)

Our baby is now over an inch long, has fingerprints (really?), and is moving and wiggling all over the place, even though I won't feel it for at at least another month. It's elbows are working, baby teeth buds are forming, the kidneys are producing urine (which is slightly disgusting, since that means the baby swallows aminiotic fluid, pees it out, and then essentially swallows his/her own urine....), and if it's a boy, he's producing his own testosterone! Seems like a lot of progress for something the size of a kumquat...

Only 6 more weeks until we can have the -BIG- ultrasound!

According to the old wive's tales, it's a boy. (i.e. my cravings are all for salty things, baby was conceived in an even month, etc. etc.) Of course, these don't have any truth to them, but it is still fun to guess!

I haven't gained any weight yet...in fact, I've lost 3.5 lbs, but the doctor said it doesn't really matter and that I will gain it back in the second trimester. I am EXHAUSTED all the time. (It's hard to get in any exercise during the day without collapsing on the couch for a 2 hour nap afterward.) That is also supposed to go away in the 2nd trimester. My recent diet has consisted of cereal and spaghettios. (Spaghettios is the one thing that ALWAYS sounds good....well, that and chips and queso. But I am trying to stay away from the latter for fear I'll gain 50 lbs if I keep eating it.) I rarely drink soda anymore. It's kind of lost its appeal. And it wasn't even hard to stop drinking it - I just really don't like it that much anymore. So I have it on special occasions but it's been like once every 1-2 weeks. (Hopefully it stays like that cause that is one more thing that will cause me to gain tons of weight.)

I DO have a question to any and all pregnant women reading this - did you have severe drymouth early on? I am drinking 64oz of WATER every day, usuall with an additional glass or 2 of milk or juice. Even with that, I can't stay asleep at night because my mouth is so unbelieveably dry - I can't even swallow. This is so strange for me because before I got pregnant I acutally used to drool in my sleep. (Gross, I know, but so much better than the drymouth.) I can usually grab a sour piece of candy or suck on a saltine or something to get back to sleep, but i'm up again within an hour with the same problem. And drinking water when I wake up actually makes it worse. (Kind of like licking your lips when they are chapped - helps for a second and then makes it worse later.) So if anyone knows of some kind of remedy for this (preferably one that doesn't include candy or saltines - I don't want to get cavities or fall asleep and choke on something), or if they have had this problem and can tell me WHEN it will stop (I'm hoping its a first trimester symptom?) I would really appreciate it.

On a swine flu update, Tyler is feeling much better! He is more tired than usual, and still has a bit of a cough, but the fever, etc. are gone. The doctor said I won't be out of the clear for around 10 days, but as of now I am feeling fine with no symptoms.

And, for your entertainment, here is a cute video I found out Youtube. It looks like this baby is dancing! The info says this is an 11 week sonogram.