Babycenter Update: Week 13

Babycenter.com is a wonderful site for pregnant moms. They have a weekly update section where you can read about how your baby is progressing. Since I'm using this as a diary of sorts, I thought it would be appropriate to start posting the weekly updates as things move along.

They give a pregnancy 40 weeks--so it's 10 months, not 9--and I'm on week 13.

How your baby's growing: Your belly may soon be big enough to announce to the world that you're expecting, but your baby is still tiny. In fact, he's only about 3 inches long crown to rump — roughly the size of a jumbo shrimp — and weighs just about an ounce. Despite the small proportions, there's a fully formed baby inside your womb now. Much more proportional than it was a few weeks ago, his head is now only about a third the size of his body. His tiny, unique fingerprints are already in place. His kidneys and urinary tract are functional, and he's starting to urinate out the amniotic fluid he's been swallowing. As you start your second trimester, most of your baby's critical development will be completed, and your odds of miscarriage will drop considerably.

Ah, how I love my little jumbo shrimp.

Still Stuck on Those Dixie Chicks

I've been listening to the Dixie Chicks' album, Taking The Long Way, a lot this week. I went on their website to explore the stories behind the songs. The story behind one song, "So Hard," really moved me.

I mentioned in my last post that two of the band members, sisters Emily Robison and Martie Maguire, both underwent in-vitro fertilization and each have a set of twins. The Dixie Chicks, along with writing partner Dan Wilson, wrote a song called "So Hard" to share a little of the pain of the fertility process:

Martie: That song touches on the issue of infertility, which Emily and I both had to deal with. I think we feel a responsibility to break down some of these barriers - it's much more of a common problem than people realize. Someone the other day asked me if twins ran in my family. When I told them I did in vitro they said, "Oh, so you took the easy way." I couldn't believe they said that.

Emily: We both got pregnant through in vitro fertilization, and people usually get all freaked out when we tell them that. I don't find it a stigma at all - people need to start talking about it, because it feels almost epidemic. And it's so wonderful that we have this technology.

Here are the lyrics, which really touched me:

Back when we started
We didn't know how hard it was
Living on nothing but what the wind would bring to us
Now we've got something I can imagine fighting for
So why is fighting all that we're good at anymore
And sometimes I don't have the energy to prove everybody wrong
And I try my best to be strong but you know it's so hard

It’s so hard
It's so hard when it doesn't come easy
It's so hard when it doesn't come fast
It's so hard when it doesn't come easy
It's so hard

It felt like a given—something a woman is born to do
A natural ambition
See a reflection of me and you
And I'd feel so guilty if that was a gift I couldn't give
And could you be happy if life wasn't how we pictured it
And sometimes I just want to wait it out to prove everybody wrong
And I need your help to move on
‘Cause you know it's so hard

It's so hard
It's so hard when it doesn't come easy
It's so hard when it doesn't come fast
It's so hard when it doesn't come easy
So hard

I can live for the moment when all these clouds open up for me to see
And show me a vision of you and me swimming peacefully
Last night you told me that you can't remember how to feel free

It's so hard...

A Repeat Movie Recommendation

In December, I posted about the movie Shut Up & Sing, a documentary about the Dixie Chicks, which takes place in 2003 after lead singer Natalie Maines made a comment about President Bush that set off a series of events, including CD-crushing rallies, a death threat against Maines, and a downturn in record sales. The film follows the band through the release of their latest album, Taking The Long Way.

Last night, one of the directors of the movie came to school to screen the movie and do a Q&A. It was very interesting and served to re-spark my interest in the film.

One thing I liked about the movie was the exploration of motherhood. Between the three women, they have seven children. Martie Maguire and Emily Robison (who happen to be sisters) each has a set of twins conceived through in-vitro fertilization. Who knew I had so much in common with two Chicks?

Anyway, if you haven't seen the movie and it is no longer playing at a theater near you, you can rent or buy the DVD on February 20 when it is released. I highly recommend it.

Going Public

I’m delighted to tell you that I crossed the 12-week mark today, and that—combined with a successful doctor’s visit this morning—means that we can now go public. So… WE’RE EXPECTING A BABY IN AUGUST! It’s a secret no longer!

When I was trying to get pregnant, going to my ob/gyn was a really difficult experience. All of those pregnant women walking in and out--I used to feel so depressed when I walked out of there. Today I saw those women and realized that I was one of them! I felt great relief--and great sadness, remembering how awful it was. My fertility doctor has a policy that patients aren't allowed to bring their children with them unless it is an emergency. I think that's a great policy. It is so hard to struggle with fertility when there are lots of little children around. I once thought I was going to lose my mind in a shopping mall right after a failed treatment! All those kids...I had to ban myself from the mall for a while.

On another note, so far I really like my new doctor. She is cautious but not freakishly so, and she has great bedside manner. I'll get to meet the other doctor and the nurse practitioner at future visits. If this appointment was any indication, I think I'll like them too.

My Continuing Frustration with Southwest Airlines

I don't fly Southwest Airlines because of their "Customer of Size" travel policy, which requires obese passengers to "buy" the seat next to them. I have an issue with this because it stinks of size discrimination--especially when airline seats are so small anyway. (I understand that people should be able to fly without someone's hip spilling into their seat, but it feels so wrong to be targeting people becasue of their size. It is the last thing that people are allowed to discriminate against.) It's humiliating for the passengers involved, especially since the Southwest representatives make a judgement about whether or not the passenger should buy a second seat without knowing for sure if he or she needs to.

I just read this article on Big Fat Blog about a "Customer of Size" case that almost killed a man who couldn't afford the extra seat. And so my boycott continues...

So Proud of My Husband

As many of you know, my husband, P.C., recently took a job coaching baseball at UCLA. It's his first time back on a college baseball field, and this weekend was opening weekend for the Bruins.

As I watched him standing in the line of players during the National Anthem, I was filled with a lot of pride. So many of us like our jobs, some of us hate our jobs. But very few of us really, really love what we do for a living. P.C. loves coaching baseball. He's living his dream. It's not always perfect, and it's not an easy job (as his 7-day work weeks prove), but in his heart he's doing exactly what he wants to be doing. If only everyone could have jobs they loved as much.

By the way, the Bruins won two out of three games this weekend. So far, so good!

Update

Just an update to let you know that all went well today. We got a new picture of the little one--if you look closely, you can see that it is lying face down with its head to the left of the picture. Or, you just might see a little blob! In any case, if you compare it to the picture from my last post about going to the doctor, you'll notice that it has really grown and is starting to look more human!

So, onward to the new doctor next week!