Baby Update: Week 11

Joyful update on the baby today. We went to our appointment yesterday and heard the heartbeat: a strong heartbeat at 177 beats per minutes. My heart rate was elevated too though-- instead of it's normal below-normal 90/60, it was 120/60. I had been running around at work trying to get over to my appointment and then mounted the two flights of stairs up and down from the kitchen and then more stairs to get to the Dr.'s office. I sat down after I checked in, turned two pages in a magazine and they said, "Come on back". My heartrate definitely did not have time to drop. Then I jumped on the scale and it showed I had lost 1/2 a pound, which wasn't a surprise since I haven't been working out as hard or as much. My tummy is definitely thicker though but no bump yet. My mom said she didn't show until 4 months. That means I have 5 more weeks to use my regular pants: yes!
For the baby, development continues on bones and joints. At this stage, the head is about 1/2 of the body size. The baby's irises develop this week and finger nails appear. The baby weighs about 7 grams.

According to...

"coolness" track suits and Coach bags are THE look for Christmas shopping. THE accessory for the year is a red holiday Starbucks coffee cup. Tennis shoes complete the look.
If you are under 18, the look would be short shorts and Ugg boots.

What are these girls/women thinking!?*!!
You see, Travis and I have spent too much time in the mall lately. Travis has been working and I have been joining him for dinners to break up the monotony. We just love "people-watching" ...which is really just criticizing other people's idea of fashion. Don't you just love our generous holiday spirit??

The depths

I wish I could do better things at night. Read intelligent books or write nice letters to people encouraging them. Nice idea in theory.
Pregnancy levels you. At least it does that to me at night. My general activity from 7-9pm before I go to bed is to watch TV. I am now aware of and following Dancing with the Stars.... how much lower can it get???

Four Paper Clips

It's baby Tuesday. Iwant to post an update on the baby on these days because that's when the weeks change over. Today I am officially 10 weeks. We have a baby that weighs about 4 grams, or the weight of 4 paper clips. In the next two weeks until we get to the second trimester, we are still praying for God's protection over this little one, but it is exciting to think about all the things he/she is growing:
This week we have entered the fetal period, which means we have :
-a placenta that has begun taking over on the hormone production
-toes (still fused together)
-eyes sealed shut
-ears
-an upper lip
-spontaneous movement away from the uterine wall
and...NO MORE TAIL!

Home in the Basement

We are now settled into our little room inside Steve and Janis' home...at home in their basement in a large spacious room with our own bathroom. What a wonderful blessing! We are so relieved to be done with the moving process (again) and relaxing.

It is an amazing thing to be living in another woman's house. I forgot so quickly. I don't have to meal plan, grocery shop (the majority of it), schedule cleaning on my day off (other than my room and bathroom) or generally keep up on the maintenance on our living space. Plus, I have handyman Steve living upstairs, so I don't have to fix any projects myself without help!
It is so relaxing that I was actually bored on Saturday afternoon. The house was quiet, everyone was out and Travis was at work. I made bread and took a nap. Those were my highlight activities. I've decided I need to go and get books from the library so I don't watch too much TV.

With all my free time, I will also be able to tackle the quilts. I will just need to find my fabric box...there are always a few things that seem to run off in a move like I can't find a blue pillowcase or my brown sham. Small losses. They will probably turn up in some random box at a later date.
This morning I am back to work. The only change in my life is that I now have to add time for commuting again. To be perfectly honest, I think I'd rather have fewer chores and a few more minutes in the car. We could not be more thankful for the Shank's generosity.