I can't believe we've already made it past 12 weeks. Herman is now the size of a plum (over 2 inches long and .5 ounces). S/he can open and close her fingers and her organs are starting to grow really fast now!
Honestly, I know that it's now "safe" to tell people, but I still feel really weird bringing it up. Other moms and dads have agreed with me that "revealing" can be really awkward, but I'm getting more and more confident that it's time. I've told all of our friends and family and slowly telling the rest of my coworkers.
A couple weeks ago I was freaking out (as you saw from the last post) so I convinced Matt to take me to First Peek Ultrasound in Oak Park. They make dvd's of 3d pictures taken of your baby and get the sound of your baby's heartbeat saved in a stuffed animal. It was crazy seeing Herman, s/he was flipping and moving and couldn't even sit still for a moment (no surprise from a child coming from Matt and I). We ended up buying a stuffed elephant that has Herman's heartbeat and every time I feel nervous I give it a squeeze to hear her/his heartbeat again. Matt's agreed to let me go back to this place once or twice a month until I can start feeling Herman move inside (a compromise from me buying my own fetal doppler and searching for Herman's heartbeat on my own).
We hit 12 weeks last week and had an appointment with one of our midwives at Swedish Covenant Hospital on Dec 2. Everything looked good (except for the fact that I lost 3 pounds, but she said that is okay). Herman's heartbeat measured a solid 160 bpm. Avg heartbeat is 120-160 bpm, so, again, no surprise that Herman's heartbeat is going strong and at the top of that range :)!
I promise to have pictures of my bump next post, but I will say that a teeny bump is starting to form. I had dinner with Sandy and Christine last week and she freaked out when light hit me just a certain way to point out I was showing just a bit :).
As far as symptoms go, I have much more energy (no more 7:30pm bedtimes), I haven't had morning sickness in almost 2 weeks (yay!!), but these two things have been replaced by dizziness and headaches, which I'm learning to handle. I took a free prenatal yoga class through the Chicago Bump Club, which was really great!! It helped me really connect with myself and Herman, and I'll be glad to confirm that the emotional symptoms have not passed, because while meditating I starting crying to myself thinking about how I'm going to become a mom in 6 months. =P.
Our little Herman: You already have so many people loving you. You've got so many aunts, uncles, grandparents, etc. that think about you and pray for you all the time. I just know that you are going to be the most amazing child and do nothing but bring smiles to everyone. Your dad and I are doing our best to fix bad habits and pick up good ones so we can be amazing parents to you.
Yay for no more ms! Can't wait to see you and the bump! I think that it's an old wives tale but my mom says that females usually have a faster heartbeat.
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