The Eleven-Week Belly

So it turns out the first belly shot was more like seven weeks rather than nine, and here it is four weeks later at the ultrasound-corrected timestamp of eleven weeks.

I would have waited until 12 weeks to post the next photo, just to try to keep things even, but Jarrett is on an airplane as I type this, headed out on business for nearly two weeks (cue the sad, lonely music), so he will not be here at the 12-week mark to help me capture the image.

In other baby news, according to BabyCenter, the Second Baby Helms is just over one-and-a-half inches long, is about the size of a fig, and is now almost fully formed. Its hands will soon open and close into fists, tiny tooth buds are beginning to appear under its gums, and some of its bones are beginning to harden. He or she is already busy kicking and stretching, and these movements will become more frequent as her body grows and becomes more developed and functional.

I am feeling more pregnant, especially as I see my belly start to pop out after eating a meal. This is worrying me just a tad, as I know I did not have to start wearing the BellaBand until 15 or 16 weeks last time around. I have heard from several people, though, that your body has muscle memory when it comes to subsequent pregnancies, and it is fairly common to pop out much sooner, so we will see how it goes! I am also already having some pain on the left side of my back, kind of in my rib cage area, that is very familiar -- but it seems too soon! Dr. J. says this is also likely somewhat due to muscle memory. Thank goodness I have her and our massage therapist to help me out along the way.