Week 14

Wooh-oooh I made it through the first trimester! Week 14 begins the second trimester, a time where the baby will grow a great amount. The possibility for miscarriage also decreases, it decreased originally once we found a heartbeat. Most miscarriages in the second trimester or later are usually caused by an insufficient cervix. I was told they will measure this at the next ultrasound at 20-24 weeks.

I'm not showing any more than last week, however, I am noticing more and more that I can feel the baby usually if the peanut is on my left side. I can't feel him move inside yet but if I'm laying on my back and the baby is on my left side I can feel a hard knot. The other day Greg could feel it too.... it's weird knowing that there really is a baby in there and that I can feel it's tiny body this soon... even if it does just resemble a knot. I think it likes that side as I've noticed it a lot more this week and it's the same position the baby was in when they tried to do the first NT ultrasound a week ago.

In week 14, the baby's neck will continue to grow longer, allowing the baby more movement so the chin no longer rests on the baby's chest. It is also easier to tell the gender this week; however, we will have to wait till the 20-24 week ultrasound to find out the gender.

According to Babycenter.com, this is what will be happening in week 14:

How your 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.

In other news: Your baby's stretching out. From head to bottom, he measures 3 1/2 inches — about the size of a lemon — and he weighs 1 1/2 ounces. His body's growing faster than his head, which now sits upon a more distinct neck. By the end of this week, his arms will have grown to a length that's in proportion to the rest of his body. (His legs still have some lengthening to do.) He's starting to develop an ultra-fine, downy covering of hair, called lanugo, all over his body. Your baby's liver starts making bile this week — a sign that it's doing its job right — and his spleen starts helping in the production of red blood cells. Though you can't feel his tiny punches and kicks yet, your little pugilist's hands and feet (which now measure about 1/2 inch long) are more flexible and active.