Graduation - Week 13

I'm basking in the final week of my first trimester. Saturday is graduation day as we move on to the second trimester. Sometimes it's hard to believe that this journey is already 1/3 over...at other times it feels like it can't move fast enough. I just can't wait to meet this new member of our family! He/she is already 3 inches long from crown to rump, about the size of a peach, and our little brainiac has quite the head, which right now is about 1/2 the length of his/her body. Not to worry though...over the next few months, the body will catch up and, by the end of July, that huge head will only be 1/4 the body length. A new development this week is our little peach's vocal cords! And I'm sure those little vocal cords will get quite the crying workout in those late night hours after birth. Another new development this week was the addition of elastic-waist maternity pants to my wardrobe! They're not the most fashionable jeans in my drawer, but boy are they comfortable!!! It's like wearing sweatpants all day. I love it!

There's not much about the first trimester that I mind leaving behind...nausea, vomiting, exhaustion. I may miss the ability to see my shoes in a few months, but right now I'm just so excited for the second trimester! I'm looking forward to getting my "pregnant look". Sometimes I wonder if people look at me and wonder, "Is she pregnant or is she just getting fat?" It'll be nice to have that unmistakably beautiful pregnant belly. I'm also looking forward to more energy and a larger appetite. But, my list-topper of exciting developments in the second trimester is definitely finding out if we're having a boy or a girl. I'm so tired of saying "he or she" and I can't wait to call the baby by name. I think everything will feel a bit less surreal when our little bambino has a gender and a name. In the meantime, I just pray he/she is enjoying his/her stay in my warm and watery womb and that everything is progressing as it should.

In other news, we enjoyed quite the North Carolina snow storm this week, along with a lovely day off of school. We snatched the opportunity to go for a walk in our own winter wonderland and snap a few memorable photos...Enjoy!

What's up in the life of Baby Frueh? - Week 12

The physical changes to Mommy Frueh have been visible and obvious to the world in the last few weeks, but what's been happening in the life of Baby Frueh? Well, thanks to "What to Expect When You're Expecting" and Babycenter.com, we can take a peek at what's been happening in Baby Frueh's watery world for the past few weeks.

Our baby has more than doubled in size during the past three weeks, weighing in now at 1/2 ounce and measuring about 2.5 inches from crown to rump. About the size of a large fresh plum, Baby Frueh's body is hard at work in the growth and development department. Though most of his or her body systems are fully formed, there's still lots of maturing to do. The digestive system is beginning to practice muscular movements needed for digestion later on (practice makes perfect!); the bone marrow is making white blood cells (to fight off all the germs he/she will enounter in this world); and the pituitary gland has started producing hormones (which will contribute to a bit of strife in 13-14 years!!!)

Movement and reflexes are another big development this week. Our little bambino can open and close fingers, curl toes, clench his/her eye muscles (although the eyes will stay fused shut for quite a while yet), and his/her mouth can make tiny sucking movements...another practice-makes-perfect scenario. Baby Frueh can even squirm in response to prods on Mommy's abdomen, although I probably won't feel the tiny squirms for another 6-8 weeks or so. Finally, Baby Frueh's ears have traveled close to their final positions on the sides of his/her head. Just a few weeks ago, those same cute ears were located down on the neck!!! I, for one, am thankful for that development!

11 & 12 Week Updates

The next Frueh Family blog post has now arrived. I've had many people asking when it would come. I guess I did not realize I had so many loyal blog followers! After the lovely respite of Christmas break, my return to school was a rough one to say the least. Baby Frueh did not appreciate the return to a 6am wake-up call and a 4-hour fast between breakfast and lunch. It was back to riding the porcelain bus each morning and night and a diet of toast, bananas and applesauce. My saving grace the past few weeks have been Preggie Pops (thanks Valerie) and these lovely tropical hard candies from Whole Foods (thank you to whoever put those in the workroom!).

However, morning sickness has done nothing to curb the growth of my baby belly, as you can tell. That little bambino has done his/her best to push everything in my previously-flat abdomen up and out as fast as he/she can! I was amazed this week when I looked back at my 6-week belly shot and compared! Notice the unbuttoned jeans...I've officially reached the point where not a single pair of my pants can be buttoned. Enter the best maternity invention I've found...THE BELLA BAND! I wear my bella band with absolutely everything and nobody knows that my pants are unbuttoned (and sometimes even unzipped...shhhh!). It's definitely the newly-pregnant girl's best friend!

Thankfully, my rough adjustment back to the school schedule didn't last long and it seems that the first trimester symptoms are FINALLY beginning to taper off. As of today, I have not gotten sick in 5 WHOLE DAYS...a record for me and Baby Frueh! I'm praying the streak continues. My appetite has begun to return and I think I'm finally consuming the recommended 2100 calories per day with nothing being lost. YAY! Enter...the famous pregnancy food cravings. I haven't had any cravings for weird foods or combinations yet (although I have felt the need for dill pickles...so cliche, I know). Mostly, I just know exactly what I want when I want it. Case in point: Thursday night Eric and I returned from the grocery store with bags full of wonderful foods...apples, oranges, greek yogurt, oatmeal, bread...all of my typical favorites. Yet, all I wanted was bananas and chocolate milk (We went out last night and got some:-) This morning, I woke up knowing that I wanted a soft-boiled egg on toast. Unfortunately, NC is experiencing the coldest temps in 10 years and the 8 degree weather last night froze our well pump. No water...no soft-boiled egg:-( I settled for Raisin Bran and thanks to the innovation of a very kind neighbor and his space heater, 12 hours later we have water. But now I don't want a soft-boiled egg. I think I'll go make some pasta...

'Til next time...stay warm!

Happy 2009!

Well, it was a whirlwind holiday season once again, but it was a bit more poignant this year as we looked ahead with excitement to the coming year and the changes our family is going to experience. We spent Christmas morning with Eric's family in Pittsburgh and received lots of great pregnancy and parenting books to read. I already read WAY ahead in "What To Expect When You're Expecting" on the car ride home to North Carolina. We also had the opportunity to celebrate Christmas with both Fred and Jeri's extended families. This was so wonderful since we haven't had the chance to catch up with all the aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents in quite a while. We drove to Eden, NC on the 27th to celebrate a late Christmas with my parents and my younger sister, Joy. They were spending the week at my oldest sister, Jessica's house. We even had the opportunity to visit with my cousin Paula, her husband and 5 kids. This was such an awesome blessing because it's been at least 5 years since I had seen them. In that time, they've adopted 3 beautiful girls from Colombia and I had the chance to meet all of them as they were driving from NY to Florida. Finally, the whole Schillinger clan treked to Mebane to celebrate the New Year at the Frueh house. WOW! What a week! It was a blessing to be able to see nearly ALL of our relatives in a one week span!

A few changes have occurred in "baby-land" over the last 10 days or so, the first of which is my ever-growing belly, which you'll see in the pictures. I believe two events are to blame for my rapid expansion: (1) The long-awaited and much celebrated departure of my constant "all-day sickness" (morning sickness is an extremely erroneous term!!) and (2) The abundance of amazing holiday food I've consumed over the course of 3 holiday dinners! My constant nausea has thankfully been reduced to the occasional icky feeling that I get when I eat too fast, smell strong coffee, or brush my teeth with too much toothpaste. This lovely turn of events came just in time for the Frueh family feasts of braciole, chicken cordon bleu, festive cheeses, and the all-time favorite peppermint ice cream cups. Baby Frueh couldn't be more thankful. I was beginning to think I was going to starve the little guy/girl.

In other news, Baby Frueh has officially graduated from "embryo" to "fetus" and, with the arrival of knees and elbows, he/she is dancing about. Unfortunately, we won't be able to feel the dance moves for another month or two because the baby is only the size of a kumquat inside of a cavernous grapefruit-sized womb. We're eagerly anticipating those first discernable movements as we trek toward the end of the first trimester...only 3 weeks to go! Time flies!