7 weeks along

Okay, this week I am finally at the stage where I resemble the little guy in the picture to your right (in my profile).

Some major accomplishments for me this week are that I have doubled in size since week 6. I have moved up in the world from "lentil-bean size" to looking more like a blueberry. Although they are not quite functioning like they will when I am born, I have developed a pancreas and an appendix since last week too. (Dad is pretty jealous of me, actually, since he doesn't have an appendix anymore. He told Mom he wants me to make some spares for him!) I still have a little tail, which was formed when my spinal cord and brain were made, but this is the one part of me that is getting smaller all the time. This is a picture of what I kind of look like this week inside my mom's womb.

What's going on with Mom, you ask? Well she is hanging in there. Her best medication for morning sickness is to complain a lot! But actually she could be a lot worse. Another thing she likes a lot is hiking up hills. Doing exercise that raises her heart rate always makes her feel better... The biggest struggle for her is to have energy, especially into the evening. Since all of her energy is going into making my organs grow, she isn't very good at participating in pleasant conversation or thinking very analytically either - especially, say, from about 7 pm on every evening. Sometimes my growing body also makes her very cranky - when she isn't feeling well, unfortunately, she does not have a lot of patience for small talk.

Above all, Mom is getting ready for her first OB visit. She will be heading to the UCLA medical center obstetrics ward in a couple of weeks. Even though it is a couple of weeks off, she is thinking about it a lot now, though, because she was informed that the 8-week mark is a key date when planning a visit. Apparently most miscarriages happen by the 8th week, so if she and I can make it just a little bit longer without incident, she can go see the doctor and find out all kinds of things about me and my future from the doctor.