Week 5: The Mask and PN

Not much activity this week, as far as the pregnancy goes. I called my doctor, and she recommended I go ahead and start taking baby aspirin (81mg/day) and prometrium, just to be safe. I took both, once I found out I was pregnant with Jadon (which was at eight weeks). There's no evidence that taking extra progesterone will actually help sustain a pregnancy, once implantation has occurred, but it can't hurt either...well, if I have too much progesterone, I tend to get headaches, become extra sleepy, and irritable (sorry, James). I already got a few headaches, so I cut my dose back. Hopefully that means everything is going as it should, and I really don't need the prometrium afterall. We'll find out at my first doctor's appt. on June 16th! Jadon also has a doctor's appt. that day...more immunizations :( Should be a bittersweet day, huh?

Symptoms I am having so far that are worth noting is a "pregnancy mask". What the heck??? I figured I might be pregnant, once I saw brown patches forming on my cheeks, when I was in the sun. This happened to me, during one of my other pregnancies years ago. It fades, once you aren't pregnant any longer, and you have to stay out of the sun to avoid it :( It's South Carolina in the summer! Are you kidding? Can't do it...no way! We have a huge pool in our development, and Jadon loves swimming. It looks terrible, but what other option do I have? Nada. It really doesn't bother me, but I'm trying to prepare myself to hear a kid say to his mom, "What's wrong with her face?" That may bother me...slightly. I have bigger things to think about, like a baby growing in my belly :) Just call me Rocky Dennis (you know, the movie Mask...with Cher?)

The only other symptom I'm having is frequent urination. It's not terrible yet, but there is a definite change. I haven't woken up in the middle of the night to pee, since I was ready to give birth to Jadon. All things point to "yes"...I am truly pregnant :) So what does a five week old fetus look like, you ask? Here's what our little...uh...amoeba/tadpole looks like right about now: Kinda gross, right? Only the size of a sesame seed! Oh, I have a LONG WAY to go! But he/she is growing at a furious pace :) If you care to know about the crazy/amazing stuff going on inside of me, read on. If not, check back next week :)

The neural tube — from which your baby's brain, spinal cord, nerves, and backbone will sprout — is starting to develop in the top layer, called the ectoderm. This layer will also give rise to his skin, hair, nails, mammary and sweat glands, and tooth enamel.

His heart and circulatory system begin to form in the middle layer, or mesoderm. (This week, in fact, his tiny heart begins to divide into chambers and beat and pump blood.) The mesoderm will also form your baby's muscles, cartilage, bone, and subcutaneous (under skin) tissue.

The third layer, or endoderm, will house his lungs, intestines, and rudimentary urinary system, as well as his thyroid, liver, and pancreas. In the meantime, the primitive placenta and umbilical cord, which deliver nourishment and oxygen to your baby, are already on the job.