Week 10 – June 1, 2010

Your Body: The roller coaster of nausea may almost be over, but the roller coaster of emotions (happy, sad, crying, mad; and that's all in the last 30 seconds) is just revving up. The hormones raging through your body can wreak havoc on your emotional sanity, so be prepared to spend the next few months swinging from one end of the emotional pendulum to the other. Even if you're not moody, you've gotta be tired. Many pregnant women spend the first few months so exhausted they can barely hold their heads up. Try to take naps, go to bed early, and delegate as much work as you can to others. Before you got pregnant, your uterus was the size of a small pear. By this week, it's as big as a grapefruit. You may or may not be ready for maternity wear now. Even if you're not there yet, your regular clothes are probably feeling uncomfortably tight and your blossoming breasts are straining the seams of your bra. The thickening in your midsection is most likely due to slight weight gain and bloating. If you're between regular and maternity clothes, pants and skirts with forgiving elastic waistbands (or low-rise waistlines that sit below your belly) will provide some much-needed comfort. Now that your bump is starting to show, you may be wondering what you can do to keep your weight in check and what kind of exercise is sensible. Depending on your level of fitness, you can most likely participate in a wide range of activities during pregnancy. Swimming and walking are excellent choices for the whole nine months. Exercise promotes muscle tone, strength, and endurance — three qualities that can help you carry the weight you gain during pregnancy, prepare you for the physical stress of labor, and make it easier to get back into shape after your baby is born. Take it easy with your workout and make sure to get plenty of rest.

Your Baby: Your baby has finally morphed from a little tadpole into, well, a baby. Not only is the face more human-like, but that unflattering "tail" (really just the developing spinal cord) has disappeared, fusing into the spinal column. Your baby now has discernible fingers and toes, which will explain the steady stream of kicks and punches you'll feel down the line. The baby's swallowing fluid and kicking up a storm. Vital organs — including his kidneys, intestines, brain, and liver (now making red blood cells in place of the disappearing yolk sac) — are in place and starting to function, though they'll continue to develop throughout your pregnancy. From crown to rump, he's about 1 1/4 inches long, about the size of a kumquat, and weighs less than a quarter of an ounce (about 4 grams). In the coming weeks, your baby will again double in size — to nearly 3 inches.

"Hey," called out Cameron as she stood next to the doors of the NICU. "Are you ready to go home yet?"

"Almost," said Chase as he finished checking on an infant who had been born only a month before at nearly seven months. "This little one here is being fussing because she's hungry."

"Where's her mom at?"

"She was here earlier but had to go take care of her other children tonight because her husband's out of town for the next couple of days. I told her I would feed the baby for her tonight," he explained to Cameron as he prepared to lift the tiny baby out of her bassinet. "Hey," he whispered to her. "Come over here, I just got an idea."

"What?" asked Cameron as she quietly walked in.

"I think you should feed her tonight. Just to give her a new face to look at for a change," he said as he motioned for Cameron to sit in the rocking chair.

"I'm not really sure about this. I mean, this is suppose to be your job."

"I know it is but I think it would be a good idea," he said as he lifted the infant into his arms gently before placing her into Cameron's waiting but slightly unsteady arms. Leaning down to whisper in her ear, he said: "It's also good practice for when our little one arrives."

"Good point," she agreed looking around to see if anyone heard or noticed anything. "It's also a good thing we are the only ones in here or else the cat would have been let out of the bag."

"My thoughts exactly," agreed Chase as he gently maneuvered the baby around to get her ready for her bottle. "Since Miss Josie here was born a bit too early, she's fed a little bit differently than normal babies," he said as he showed Cameron how to hold Josie and how to feed her the bottle. "There you go, that's it."

"Wow, for someone who was born last month you certainly like to eat," said Cameron as she fed Josie her bottle. As Chase went to write notes on Josie's medical file, he glanced up to see his wife interacting with the baby. While Josie was eating, Cameron was smiling at her and whispering sweet words to her. A moment later, Cameron looked up from what she was doing to see Chase smiling at her. "What?"

"Nothing. How's she doing?"

"Just about done here," she said as Josie finished the rest of her bottle in a few final suckles. "All done."

"Good girl Josie," smiled Chase as he took the baby from Cameron so he could burp her before putting her back in the bassinet for the night. "You ate every little bit of that bottle. Your mommy is going to be so happy when she hears about it tomorrow."

"I'm going to go get changed. See you in a minute," said Cameron as she left the NICU, but not before saying goodnight to Josie. After she left, Josie made a little squeal as if to say "thank-you for feeding me my bottle" to Cameron.

"Did you like it when my wife fed you your bottle tonight?" asked Chase as he saw a tiny smile come from Josie. "Yeah, I thought so too. Night night little one, see you tomorrow," he whispered as he quietly left the NICU to head for home.

Later that night as they laid in bed, both waiting for sleep to overcome them, Chase was slowly awakened by the sound of someone crying. Realizing it was Cameron, he rolled over and pulled her into his arms.

"Hey, you okay?" he asked. When she sniffled a reply of yes, Chase reached back around him to turn on the light so that he could see her more clearly.

"I'm fine. Just turn that back off."

"Not until I know you're all right," he told her gently as he sat up on one arm to get a better look at her. When he did he noticed several tear tracks on Cameron's face, causing Chase to reach his other hand up to gently wipe away the still lingering tears. "What's wrong sweetheart?"

"I've just been having my thoughts get all jumbled up again."

"It's probably your hormones going into overdrive again. Or does it have anything to do with you feeding the baby in the NICU tonight?"

"It's mainly about baby Josie," said Cameron as she slowly sat up. "It was such an amazing experience, holding that tiny baby and watching her eat like there's no tomorrow. That sweet precious gift that was brought into the world earlier than expected is here and full of life. It just… sparked something inside of me."

"I think I saw that spark myself," remarked Chase as he too sat up and began to rub his hand up and down her back. "That look in your eyes was filled with the hope and joy that we will both have when our baby is born."

"I know. I just want this baby here with us, right now."

"As do I. But we still have plenty of time left before that happens."

"I know that too," said Cameron as she laid back down. "In the mean time, I guess the only thing we can do is stare at my growing belly and watch the baby move around when I become a beached whale."

"Hey, I will love you no matter what size your belly will look like in a few months," he told her as he glided his hand slowly but gently across her still small baby bump. "Speaking of which, when are we going to tell everyone the news?"

"Let's just get past the first trimester, then we'll somehow get everyone together and tell them. I just hope I can hide it for a few more weeks without it becoming too noticeable. Which reminds me, I need to do a bit of clothes shopping this weekend anyway."

"Since both of us have the weekend off, let's make it a date of shopping and maybe a movie," suggested Chase as he laid back down next to her then reaching over to shut the light off. "And then afterwards, a nice stroll through the park."

"I like the sound of it already," agreed Cameron as she turned toward Chase to snuggle in closer to him. A minute later, they were gently kissing each other before she broke it off. "I want you to promise me something."

"What?"

"Promise me that no matter what happens throughout this pregnancy, our baby will be born healthy with no medical complications. Promise me that right now, please."

"I can certainly promise you that," he said. "I promise you both that." Within moments, they were both sound asleep.