Week 10: Details for the curious

I must say that the bending limbs brought tears to my eyes. I'm pretty sure the fact that Fetus Weber has a head that is half the length of his body does little to remove Amy's fears... - HMW

"Your baby's limbs can bend now. His hands are flexed at the wrist and meet over his heart, and his feet may be long enough to meet in front of his body. The outline of his spine is clearly visible through translucent skin, and spinal nerves are beginning to stretch out from his spinal cord. Your baby's forehead temporarily bulges with his developing brain and sits very high on his head, which measures half the length of his body."

Week 10: Hooray!

This Week's Activity:

Buy some new bras and undies. If your breasts are sore, get a good supportive cotton bra. Maternity bras can offer extra support, so try a couple on to see whether you like them. Your breasts might increase one or two more sizes, especially if this is your first pregnancy, and a knowledgeable sales associate can help you with sizing. Maternity briefs, bikinis, and even thongs — if that's your thing — can also make a bigger difference in your comfort than you may realize.

Perhaps the most terrifying thought in the world...

"If you could take a peek inside your womb,"

I would prefer not. Thanks.

Week 9: Hearts, Teeth and Rapid Weight Gain! Hooray

Mood swings are common now — it's perfectly normal to feel alternately elated and terrified about becoming a parent. Try to cut yourself some slack.

How your baby's growing:

Your new resident is nearly an inch long — about the size of a grape — and weighs just a fraction 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. Other changes abound: Your baby's heart finishes dividing into four chambers, and the valves start to form — as do her tiny teeth. The embryonic "tail" is completely gone. Your 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 your baby's basic physiology is in place, she's poised for rapid weight gain.

Amy's First Appointment!

Her uterus is the size of grapefruit! Hooray!

If Hugh was pregnant...

No swollen ankles here! Check!

Dirty pics at the OB/GYN

The Midwife walked in while I was shooting this. Got a disapproving look. :(

Tools of the trade

What a good patient!

I was kicked out of the room shortly after this shot...

Due Dates*

According the very scientific, "so...um...when do you think you got pregnant?" method, Amy will be cursing the genetics of a husband with an abnormally big head on approximately March 24.

*This estimate is approximate and should not be used for any gambling purposes.

Week 8: His/Her "Tail" Is Just About Gone!

Webbed fingers and toes are poking out from your baby's hands and feet, his eyelids practically cover his eyes, breathing tubes extend from his throat to the branches of his developing lungs, and his "tail" is just about gone.In his brain, nerve cells are branching out to connect with one another, forming primitive neural pathways. You may be daydreaming about your baby as one sex or the other, but the external genitals still haven't developed enough to reveal whether you're having a boy or a girl. Either way, your baby — about the size of a kidney bean — is constantly moving and shifting, though you still can't feel it.

Big News!

We told our parents and siblings today that Amy has a sesame seed inside her.

Hooray for us AND them!

Week 7: Like a river...with extreme nausea.

All of these things are true for me too...except having a uterus. -HMW

How your life's changing:

Your uterus has doubled in size in the past five weeks, and eating may feel like a chore — or worse — thanks to morning sickness, which by now may be in full swing. (If you're feeling fine, don't worry — you're lucky!)

You may need to pee more than usual, too, thanks to your increasing blood volume and the extra fluid being processed through your kidneys. (By now, you already have about 10 percent more blood than you did before you were pregnant. And by the end of your pregnancy, you'll have 40 to 45 percent more blood running through your veins to meet the demands of your full-term baby.) As your uterus grows, pressure on your bladder will send you to the bathroom as well.

About half of the women who feel nauseated during the first trimester will find complete relief by about 14 weeks. For most of the rest, it'll take another month or so for the queasiness to ease up. It's unlikely, though, that the need to pee more than usual will ease up. In fact, research shows that both the frequency and volume of urine tends to increase over the course of pregnancy.