Bug is a Five Week Embryo

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There isn’t much to do in this early pregnancy. I don’t exactly feel pregnant and don’t at all look pregnant. But the truth is, a lot is happening and in the scheme of things, the little Bug is rapidly growing at an incredible rate.

I went to the website, Pregnology.org – because of their due date calculator which makes it more precise due to the length of your cycles. According to that page, I am due on July 29th, 2010 (which is funny considering Carli was due on June 29th 2008). With that due date, it would place me at 5 weeks, 2 days today.

In week 5: (Taken from MayoClinic.com)

The fifth week of pregnancy, or the third week after conception, marks the beginning of the embryonic period. This is when the baby’s brain, spinal cord, heart and other organs begin to form.

The embryo is now made of three layers. The top layer — the ectoderm — will give rise to your baby’s outermost layer of skin, central and peripheral nervous systems, eyes, inner ear, and many connective tissues.

Your baby’s heart and a primitive circulatory system will form in the middle layer of cells — the mesoderm. This layer of cells will also serve as the foundation for your baby’s bones, muscles, kidneys and much of the reproductive system.

The inner layer of cells — the endoderm — will become a simple tube lined with mucous membranes. Your baby’s lungs, intestines and bladder will develop here.

By the end of this week, your baby is likely between 1/16 and 1/8 inch (1.5 to 3 millimeters) long — about the size of the tip of a pen.

So even though I don’t look or feel pregnant, there is a baby beginning in there! I have about two weeks until my appointment with the OBGYN and I am impatiently waiting. I just want that first ultrasound. I want my official due date and I want to see the Bug growing nicely.

I still remember the first time I ever saw Carli on an ultrasound (and I do believe my husband teared up if I remember correctly!) But I was incredibly nauseous (I had just hit 6 weeks) and went to the hospital due to dehydration and weakness. We went to W.P. (The baby factory) and they did a transvaginal ultrasound so it was a pretty clear picture. She looked just like a kidney bean, but with a beating heart! When I had my official ultrasound a week or two later, she had already doubled in size. It was crazy and amazing all in one.

With Carli, I knew exactly (from the beginning) what I was having. I knew it was a girl. With Bug, I really don’t know. Although Forrest says that I am having a girl. My mother says girl. Blair says girl. The Chinese Lunar Calendar says a girl! I think there is enough belief in a girl to send that concept out into the Universe and bring us a girl! A girl would definitely be nice, as Carli and Bug can share a room and clothes. Plus, I just – I love having a daughter. I love the girly girl dresses and bows. I love putting Carli in skirts and cut sandals and bikinis. It definitely would be easier, that is for sure.

Forrest and I have talked about names but nothing seems 100% right, not like Carli – which she was named from the moment we found out we were pregnant. I try calling Bug different girl names and nothing seems right. So Bug is just “Bug” at the moment. So if you have any name suggestions – send them my way!

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