Wailing and Gnashing of Teeth (Week 9)

What a week it's been.

Let's start this blog with a list:

1. Bacon
2. Getting up too early
3. Having to go to work
4. Problems at work
5. Special music on Sunday
6. The movie "Peggie Sue Got Married"
7. The fact that she's crying

This is the list of things that Jennifer has cried about this past week. Apparently all of these things are quite upsetting. Jenn has had a rough time recently. The baby is growing at a rapid rate and even though it isn't very big, it's making a HUGE impact on Jenn's wellbeing. The upside to this is that we are using the episodes (NOT mood swings) to show that our baby is growing healthily. If Jenn is going crazy, the baby's probably doing okay.

Aside from the crying, things have been pretty normal. We've learned how to deal with the Dragon (which hasn't really been that bad) and she's settled into a routine of only getting up one time per night to go to the bathroom. Her appetite has also settled into a routine. She has really been wanting pork (a sure sign that we won't have a Jewish baby) and has been keeping her distance from all things chicken.

Tonight, Jenn went to a Junior League meeting. I don't really know much about it except that it's all women and it's NOT a sorority. Aside from that, it might as well be a secret society to me. Things are pretty much the same for me. Work is work and we've been really busy at the church, making some changes to our media packages.

Now that you've heard about Jenn's week and my week, let's talk about the baby's week. According to our friends at BabyCenter.com: "Your baby is about an inch long - about the size of a grape - and weighs just a fraction of an ounce. He's starting to look more and more human. His essential body parts are accounted for, though they'll go through plenty of fine-tuning in the coming months. Other changes abound: Your baby's heart finishes dividing into four chambers, and the valves start to form — as do his tiny teeth. The embryonic "tail" is completely gone. Your baby's organs, muscles, and nerves are kicking into gear. The external sex organs are there but won't be distinguishable as male or female for another few weeks. His eyes are fully formed, but his eyelids are fused shut and won't open until 27 weeks. He has tiny earlobes, and his mouth, nose, and nostrils are more distinct. The placenta is developed enough now to take over most of the critical job of producing hormones. Now that your baby's basic physiology is in place, he's poised for rapid weight gain."

If you go look at pictures of a nine week old embryo, it almost looks like a little person. Like they said in the movie Juno, "...I'm guessing it looks probably like a sea-monkey right now and we should let it get a little cuter." That's right, Juno. Keep it in the oven for awhile longer.

See you next week.