** Baby Development ** Last updated at October 29, 2007 so pls just scroll down!

260607 The nuchal fold screening went very well. We have a 1 in 1610 risk of having a baby with Down Syndrome. So now we are ready to tell the world that we are expecting. We got this great picture that made it so much more real for us.

030707 This is day number 101 and I'm 15 weeks pregnant!
I have 179 days or 25 weeks left, and are 37.5% of the way there.
Baby's age since conception is 87 days or 13 weeks.Our baby weighs about 1.75 ounces and is about 4 to 4.5 inches in length. His or her heart is growing strong and, even though it is little, it is pumping between 20 and 25 quarts of blood every 24 hours. By the time I'm ready to deliver, our baby's heart will be circulating up to 300 quarts of blood every 24 hours. Many fetuses develop their future hairline pattern this week, although it can take quite a bit longer for some babies' hairline or hair to fully develop.

070707 This is day number 105.I have 175 days or 25 weeks left, and are 37.5% of the way there. Still I feel very well. I just feel lucky and very happy about it all. I'm a bit more tired. So I have a nap in the afternoon. I do feel soemthing's going on in my pelvis. My groin creaks with some movements. I have discuessed it with my physiotherapist. So every week when I'm with her we follow up on the issue. So I feel I'm in good hands. I'm starting to show a little. I have this little round tummy just under my belly button. I don't think anyone else can see a difference. The two girls I swim with every week, haven't noticed yet. I'm sure they get surprised when I tell them I'm pregnant.

090707 This is day number 107 and I'm 16 weeks pregnant!
We have 173 days or 24 weeks left, and are 40.0% of the way there.
Baby's age since conception is 93 days or 14 weeks. Our baby now weighs about 2.8 ounces, and measures about 4.3 to 4.6 inches long. We could choose to have an ultrasound scheduled soon which may tell us, whether it is a boy or a girl. But we don't want to know. Or either I feel sure it's a boy. Our baby's fingernails and toenails are now fully formed, and internally our baby's urinary tract and bladder are functioning, emptying about once every hour. Okay, now I understand why I have to use the bathroom al the time. Neah, just kidding. I have had that desire from the very beginning. I wounder if "The bump"s desire will make me use the toilet every hour now :-) I still feel fine. Today I told my friend who goes with me to water aerobic every week. She had no clue. That must mean that I didn't really put any weight on yet. That suits me fine. I still eat healthy and exercise. I'm idffently not starving myself. I eat frequently but hunger is satisfied with fruit and so. I very aware that putting on as little weight as possible is better for my joints. And the midwife see to that my weight is fine. When I have my first meeting with her, that will be the thing I want to be sure off. Besides the weight I don't have any issues to talk with her about up to now, since I don't have any problems really.

220707 This is day number 120 and I'm 18 weeks pregnant! I have 160 days or 22 weeks left, and are 45.0% of the way there. Baby's age since conception is 106 days or 16 weeks. Our baby weighs about 5.25 ounces and is 5-1/2 inches long from crown to rump, or about the size of a large pickle. Our baby's digestive system is starting to produce meconium, its first fecal matter. Some new moms are scared at the sight of it in their newborn’s diapers and think something must be wrong with their baby, but it’s perfectly normal and will only last a few days after birth.

Neil and Cecilie are driving me mad. They keep on insisting that it's a girl, we are having. I'm so sure it's a boy and has dreamt that two times now. I'm afraid that they will be disappointed. I'm a little tempted to have a scan. A baby's sex can be seen on ultrasound starting at about 18 to 20 weeks, but not all babies co-operate with the scan! The baby has to be in a position to allow the scan operator to see the male or female parts. And mistakes can be made even if people do get a good view of the baby's sex -- there are no guarantees. So why not just keep to the old fashion way: wait and see.

Speaking of old fashion, I like to keep the name as a secret unto christening. Now on to the important question: our baby? What’s in a baby name you may ask? The name of our baby can be one of the most important things we will do for our newborn child. Everyone will have an input when it comes to baby names. But ultimately, the decision should be between us. So we don't discuss it with anyone. We have found a good boy name and are still working on finding a girl name. I must admit, I don't work that hard for finding a girl name :-)

We have also agreed who the God parents should be. That was easy to figure out. So we did some kind of preparing. But that is also it. We have done anything else regarding making us practically ready for the baby.

260707 Finally I took a picture. I want to see how the stomach grows. Cecilie thought we where silly taking pictures like that. But it's fun to see, how the stomach has started to get bigger already - all the way from under the breast.

290707 This is day number 127 and I'm 19 weeks pregnant!
We have 153 days or 21 weeks left, and are 47.5% of the way there.
Baby's age since conception is 113 days or 17 weeks. Our baby weighs approximately 7 ounces and is about 5.2 to 6 inches from crown to rump. The exterior layers of skin tissue are developing to form our baby's one-of-a-kind fingerprints. The amniotic fluid that surrounds our baby allows for the free movement of the arms and legs and is also sometimes swallowed to practice digestion.

My first contact to the midwife took place Friday after the 18th week of pregnancy and is always individual. At this consultation we talked about diet, medicine and lifestyle. Together with the midwife I could decide whether the future consultations should take place on an individual basis or in a group. Many midwives recommend group consultations because pregnant women can benefit from sharing their experiences during the pregnancy. But I can't use any of their offers. The offers are called Offers for pregnant women, but should be called Offers for fitted pregnant women. I'm a little disapointed about that.

She measured my womb and made a fundus diagram. My womb is a little sorte then the average, but I'm also a little shorter end the average. So that was okay. Besides that she found that I live very healthy. So there was nothing more to talk about. And we didn't want to talk very much with her, since she started the consultation by insulting Neil for being a foreigner. I'm very glad she just was a stand in for the midwife who is going to become my regular midwife. So peace with that!

She told us that the Caesarian section will be between 17 - 21 of December = we have the baby for Christmas at the latest. Of cause I could deliever before then.

Are you curious? Where do we enquire about pregnancy, and who are covered by the public health insurance in Denmark?

070807 This is day number 136 and I'm 20 weeks pregnant!
I have 144 days or 20 weeks left, and are 50.0% of the way there.
Baby's age since conception is 122 days or 18 weeks. Our baby is now about 5.6 to 6.4 inches and weighs approximately 9 ounces. Our baby is now big enough that I may be able to tell when he or she is awake or asleep based on the level of activity. We should also bee able to see a lot of movement in an ultrasound image.

My Bun is half baked! It's odd, I feel like the time has flown so quickly, and yet, at the same time I feel like I've been pregnant forever.

Tomorrow we go for the third ultrasound. We have this standard appointment to check for physical abnormalities, confirm the location of the placenta, and measure our baby to confirm our estimated due date. I have begun to feel our baby move and kick and I notice every time since I know my doctor or midwife will ask me to describe how often our baby moves and what it feels like. So I make sure to note when I feel these movements (date and time of day), how they felt, and their intensity. This is good habit to get into early in pregnancy as our baby's movements are an important tool my doctor or midwife uses to determine our baby's well-being throughout my pregnancy.

We went to see Harry Potter in the cinema. That was two hours of long and hard movement from the baby. I guess "the Bump" is not to keen on noisy movies or was it just Harry Potter that alarmed "the Bump"? :-) Our baby can now hear things around me, so I try to relax every afternoon with some soft music. Hopefully we can use the same music to relax "the Bump" when he/she is born.

We found different things for "the Bump". For example Global Bedside Crib, that will suit our needs perfectly. We have also started to find other bits and pieces cheaper on the net. It's nice to start these things and finally understand in debt that we are going to have a baby. In the middle of the shop it all got too much for me. I was very moved all of a sudden - finally understanding that this is going to happen. Neil was very eager to show all sorts of things. But I need it to be a little more relaxed.

Not only my mind but also my body starts changing more. I still didn't put on any weight, but it's easier to see that I have pregnant belly now. Many small changes make it all more real to me. For example I now got this funny vertical line down in middle of my belly. Neil says it's a "Cut here-line". He always has something funny to say.

The other night very late he suddenly starts to question me if I often was hungry, if I would eat then, if I had enough to eat etc. Wird, unto he came with the reason, he's mum was worried that I didn't gain any weight. So she was giving him "a hard time" that he should take care of me, feed me often and see to that I eat enough. Kind of her to worry but there's no need. I eat plenty, often and healthy. So I'm sure that's okay. I feel great and the baby has the right measurements, so every thing must be right.

Water aerobics is a safe and effective form of exercise for most women during pregnancy, so I have booked time for it 2-3 times a week and as much as possible, and I make sure to breathe deeply and rest when I need to. Our growing baby is causing my internal organs to press against my lungs, which make my breathing more difficult or sometimes make me feel I'm out of breath, especially when talking too much. So while I'm exercising or even running errands, I pay attention to what my body tells me and slow down if I feel out of breath. The midway point is when many women develop anaemia, so I make sure I get enough iron, and take supplements from tomorrow.

080807 I still feel great. We went to the final scanning Wednesday. The exam took about 20 minutes. A medical radiologist analyzed the images that were produced during the ultrasound and send a signed report with her interpretation to the doctor where we went afterwards. We saw the beating heart, the curve of the spine, the head, arms and legs. All was normal. The measurements where a little over the average. I have now gained two kilo. So I guess I do an okay job of taking care of our baby. We receive a "photo" of our baby, which I scanned in here.

The new Campbell baby ;-) Head in the right side.

We don’t want to know our baby’s sex in advance, so we let the medical radiologist know as sometimes the genital organs are distinguishable and the sex can be surmised with ultrasound. Since ultrasound is safe for me and our baby we took the options for more regular scanning’s every four weeks unto due time. They offer that because of my rheumatism. No studies show that rheumatism could give any big problems, but just to be on the safe side. If they advice us to take extra ultrasounds it's fine with us. It is also nice to know if the baby is placed on her/his back, where the placenta is and so on for the C-section. We gladly take it all - for the sake of the baby. But since we don't think there will be any problems, Neil will not take time off from work for every scanning, I guess. In the end they gave us an approximately date for C-section; 14 of December. So I will be on leave from work round 1 of November. So life is good to us here!

140807 Our baby weighs approximately 10.5 ounces, is about 7.2 inches from head to rump (about 10.5 inches head to heel), and is busy moving within my uterus, surrounded by amniotic fluid. The Bump is learning how its arms and legs move, and using its hands to feel its facial features, which we also saw on the last ultrasound. Most clinics and hospitals offer to videotape your ultrasound for a nominal charge; it must be a great keepsake! I'm working on the cheapest possibility.

A stranger at the hospital asked me: "Is this your first baby?" and she continued: "You are a beautiful pregnant woman". Hmm, I guess you can tell I'm pregnant and not just a little chubby :-)

The hospital is still very content with me and my blood tests. However, they like me to come a little more frequently. I do that off course but I'm a little aggravated that I can't do my job so well in these days being a way from work that often. No one at work complain about it. It's just me since I only have two month left and some many things to achieve before then.

"Tina, do you look forward being a mum? Imagine that you are going to be someone’s mom", said Cecilie. Big words form the girl, I still think of as a small girl. But she has grown and has a lot of clever questions. But no, I'm not eager for the due date. I enjoy every single day of this pregnancy. But I look forward to see that the Bump looks like and most of all to raise the Bump to become the most loved, self-confident and safe baby (and later person) ever. Nothing less! :-)

240807 This is day number 153 and I’m 22 weeks pregnant! I have 127 days or 18 weeks left, and are 55.0% of the way there. Baby's age since conception is 139 days or 20 weeks. Our baby weighs about 11 ounces, measures about 7.6 inches from head to rump, and is growing eyelashes and eyebrows. These two latest developments will be a key method of communicating the Bump’s happiness, frustration, confusion, or interest until he or she can talk.
These days I have read a lot about things that reduces stress hormones in the body, improves mood and sleep patterns, and reduces anxiety and back pain. But nothing can make me happier, more relaxed and sleep better then now knowing deep in my heart that everything is great; we are expecting a healthy baby child. So… I don’t bother. I’m confident that my great husband, good health, good friends, stress less job, all my exercise, healthy food, happy mind and my daily rest is all that the baby and I need. I feel as thankful as never before.

250807 Today Neil felt the baby kicking for the first time :-) I'm happy to be able to share it with him - finally.

020907 Our 7th year anniversary! Our baby now weighs a little less than one pound, and is about 8 inches from crown to rump (or about 11.5 inches head to heel). The Bump is continuing to develop facial features and I'm feeling a lot of movement as our baby continues to explore its body and world in the comfort of his or her own personal "living womb." Our baby now has eyes that open and close, ears that can hear, and a thumb well worth sucking. I feel our baby making regular, jerky movements, good I read not to panic - our baby has the hiccups! The hiccups are harmless for baby but can be a little annoying if they last for a long period of time. The baby also starts trying to control how I should sit. If I'm sitting leaned forward the Bump keep on kicking me. I guess I better be use to being out of control - the Bump already has certain demands :-)
It's time to actively enjoy this period of our life. Neil and I try to do something more romantic; we have every second Sunday as Neil and Tina day where we just relax and spend some time on our own. Enjoying that Cecilie and the Bump is not here. We do all the things we soon won't be able to do easily until our child is grown and we are up all night worrying about college expenses. I think we will be glad we took this time for ourselves. The nursery is soon totally ready. I want it to be over with before the last trimester in case I get tired and heavy. I still need to remember to have energy for Cecilie. Now that I have reached my 23rd week, my body is beginning to prepare for the impending delivery of our baby, at around 40 weeks. I still feel great though, but I'm afraid to hope these great days will continue the last period as well. I think I have put on a couple of extra kilos now. I don't feel heavier but my stomach shows more.

"Blessed are the young, for they shall inherit the national debt." - Herbert Hoover

170907 This is day number 176 and I'm 26 weeks pregnant! I have 104 days or 14 weeks left, and are 65.0% of the way there. Baby's age since conception is 162 days or 24 weeks. Our baby weighs almost 2 pounds; measures around 9.2 inches from crown to rump; and hears noises, responds to light, and is generally more aware of its surroundings. In the same way that you can see a flashlight if you hold it against your palm, our baby can see the light coming through my belly. I defiantly notice increased activity when in brighter light and decreased activity in darkened rooms. Its hearing is fully developed, and as the Bump reacts to sounds, its pulse increases. Our baby will even move in rhythm to music! Our little grower’s physical proportions are evening out at this point and most of their remaining development will largely be weight gain and lots and lots of nervous system development. The good news is: if our child is born premature now they’ll be more likely to survive without too much trauma as their lungs began to produce “surfactant” last week, which means their tiny respiratory system is getting stronger with each passing day. Yes, now’s a good time for a minor sigh of relief and a quick pat on the back. All that hard work and conscientious living is really getting our child prepared for a healthy delivery. I'm trying to keep up the fabulous mama work. This week the Bump will be scotching slowly out of the old breech position and start rotating (already!) into a better position for exit during their birth. I feel that and the first time, I got so surprised. The head and feet are slowly rotating so that the head is pointed down towards the birth canal. Time is short —just 14 weeks left before I can go back to being a single-resident human. I am starting to get a little more anxious about the baby's coming. But I still enjoy the pregnancy, so I take one day at the time.

And how's mom doing? Trimester two is finally over, which means I have that one final trimester of pregnancy to enjoy. I'm getting larger by the week now. Speaking of larger, I'm obviously carrying more weight now and my back is letting me know. But it's still only 3 kilogram. I still attend water aerobics three times a week and feel I have the same good condition as normal. I will try to practice good posture—it will alleviate some of the back fatigue as slouching is actually harder on your back. It is more and more common to experience leg cramps during this period. Sometimes all the way up on the thighs. I regret that I have wished for thicker legs!!! I have a serious problem with my shoulder area. The muscles are swollen and very painful. The doctor told me to stop using the arm for some time. But that is impossible since I use the arms to get up from chairs and so. Neil gave me massage yesterday. Now I will try to find a spa that specializes in pregnancy massages and get the full-treatment. The last extra scanning went very well. Three out of four measurements’ where exactly average. The last one around the stomach was a little over the average. Defiantly a Campbell Baby :-) So funny that it already has a little Campbell stomach like Neil and Cecilie. By the way I saw my own doctor a week ago. She guesses that I will gain 10 kilograms all together. I get off very well.

Slowly the style is getting there. I like the warm colour on the walls and to keep it in light brown and white colours. The old fashion teddy bears are great. I found some English teddy pictures for the wall as well :-)

"My life is a performance for which I was never given a chance to rehearse."

- Ashleigh Brilliant

111007 I’m scheduled to go to the mid wife. Neil and I go together. She found my blood pressure being way too high. She got scared and wanted me to go to the hospital right a way. I know how low my blood pressure normally is. So I knew this was very wrong. I was a little scared my self. I couldn’t stop thinking about the week before when the doctor at the scanning also found it too high. I couldn’t believe it was a coincidence twice within the same week. In the same time I was thinking about my stress level the last weeks. Some afternoons I had felt so exhausted if someone had spooked me I would either cry or throw up.
I drove Neil back to work before I went to hospital myself. I stayed there for 5.5 hours with the blood pressure 164/108 and it just keep going up and up. In the afternoon they admitted me.

121007 The hospital wanted me for some days for observation. They where afraid I had Preeclampsia. It is the development of elevated blood pressure and protein in the urine after the 20th week of pregnancy. It may be associated with swelling of the face and hands. I had no swelling but this morning just a bit protein in the urine. Since I was 28 weeks pregnant they saw it as a big risk with this preeclampsia, which I didn’t understand. They explained, the exact cause of preeclampsia is not known. Many unproved theories of potential causes exist, including genetic, dietary, vascular (blood vessel), and autoimmune factors. Preeclampsia occurs in approximately 8% of all pregnancies. Increased risk is associated with first pregnancies, advanced maternal age, African-American heritage, multiple pregnancies, and a past history of diabetes, high blood pressure, or kidney disease. I was just thinking, that since I didn’t have any edema and only a weight gain at 6 kilo it couldn’t be it. I have had some enormous headaches but I have found it difficult to differentiate between normal discomfort and pregnancy difficulties. Preeclampsia may also alter the results of some laboratory tests. So they tested my blood. For some days they kept on changing their opinion if it was preeclampsia or just high blood pressure.
151007 I had an appointment at the hospital for scanning the baby. Since I was hospitalized few floors up from the scanning section, it was easy to keep the appointment. They scanned me and I was told the baby was round 1127g. The doctor at the ward told me that and that currently, the only way to cure preeclampsia is to deliver the baby. However, if that delivery would be very premature, the disease may be managed by bed rest, close monitoring, and delivery as soon as the fetus has a good chance of surviving outside the womb. But since they just told me the little weight of our baby - that scared me. During this time, I was treated with steroid injections which help speed the maturity of some fetal organs including the lungs. Both the Bump and I where closely monitored for complications. During induction of labor and delivery, medications where given to prevent seizures and to keep blood pressure under good control. The doctor wanted to talk with me about details for Cesarean section. It all made me more and more nervous. Would our baby survive this?

181007 The night was awful. I felt really bad. Diastolic blood pressure greater than 100 mmHg consistently for a 24 hour period was now confirmed. The reading often over 110 mmHg. I had persistent and severe headache, abdominal pain, pain round the liver, rising serum creatinine, edema in my face, Thrombocytopenia (low platelet count) and where short of breath. The only good thing: the Bump was still very lively. They decided to make acute Cesarean section.
Maternal deaths caused by preeclampsia are rare in Europe. Fetal or perinatal deaths are high and generally decrease as the fetus matures. The risk of recurrent preeclampsia in subsequent pregnancies is approximately 33%. Preeclampsia does not appear to lead to chronic high blood pressure. Preeclampsia may develop into eclampsia, the occurrence of seizures. Fetal complications may occur because of prematurity at time of delivery.
The following days where scary. I was admitted at the intensive care section for three days. I just remember a lot of machines going off all the time. Neil was there. But I didn’t want to chat, just sleep. I didn’t want to make any decisions. That really freaked Neil out! He still talks about that part. I just couldn’t handle him and even less that a child was longing to see me more than any other. It was so strange then I woke up the last day at the intensive care section. I suddenly felt like visiting this little baby as soon as I was allowed. The rest is luckily history.
281007 Now, a week later. I fell fine and back to “normal”, yet I’m thinner then before I got pregnant. Nothing is really normal any more. We fell like it’s natural to have a baby that small and with tubes and everything else to go with it. We are now parents for the most perfect child. She is small but strong. Acts lively and curiously. She has dark curls and has her own opinion about how to be placed and what to do. She scores all the points for premature babies and can even breathe on her own in spite of her young age. She eats well through a tube and sleeps the rest of the time. Things are looking bright. We are proud parents and no baby could be more perfect for us in spite the drama of having a baby 2,5 month too early because of severe PREECLAMPSIA
We now need to find a routine here between having a normal life and being at the hospital as often as possible. That indeed requires my planning skills. We take one day at the time. In the weekend we still plan for the following week. We just have to have more space between the appointments since Mary Ann’s routine easily can be changed be the doctors. I still plan it with Cecilie day every other Friday. And once a month we still have to have a Neil and Tina day. I think it is important to remember also here in the beginning of “the Mary Ann life”.
Friends and neighbours have been SO absolutely great. We can’t tell how many text messages and phone calls we have had every day through the whole week. That was great for Neil – being able to talk with friends about it all. I had no energy. I just wanted to sleep through it all. It was also great for me to know that someone could look after my absolutely wonderful supporting and caring husband.

A week later everything seems normal

Supply List for the Bump

Guide To Pregnancy And Arthritis

Pregnancy in the rheumatic diseases

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