Week 14: Our baby is a LEMON!

Welcome to Week 14! For those of you that didn't know (including me) a lemon (this week's fruit) is bigger than a peach (last week's fruit). Who knew?
I have really been feeling better this past week. That doesn't mean that everyday is a good day, but I certainly have more good days than bad days at this point. I'm happy to report that I even used the word GREAT to describe how I was feeling yesterday. I honestly don't think that word has been a part of my vocabulary for the past 2 and a half months!
J.D. and I also started really talking to the baby this week. I don't think the baby can hear yet (with the exception of maybe my heartbeat and maybe a hum of my voice), but it's never too early. It's fun!

We also just wanted to thank everyone for their kind words and support during these exciting times!

Here's what's going on in my belly:

This week's big developments: Your baby can now squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly suck his thumb! Thanks to brain impulses, his facial muscles are getting a workout as his tiny features form one expression after another. His kidneys are producing urine, which he releases into the amniotic fluid around him — a process he'll keep up until birth. He can grasp, too, and if you're having an ultrasound now, you may even catch him sucking his thumb.
In other news: Your baby's stretching out. From head to bottom, he measures 3 1/2 inches — about the size of a lemon — and he weighs 1 1/2 ounces. His body's growing faster than his head, which now sits upon a more distinct neck. By the end of this week, his arms will have grown to a length that's in proportion to the rest of his body. (His legs still have some lengthening to do.) Your baby's liver starts making bile this week — a sign that it's doing its job right — and his spleen starts helping in the production of red blood cells. Though you can't feel his tiny punches and kicks yet, your little pugilist's hands and feet (which now measure about 1/2 inch long) are more flexible and active.By weeks 14-17, your baby's bone marrow is producing blood cells; his liver is secreting bile; his pancreas is producing insulin.
Growing by leaps and bounds, by week 14 of pregnancy, your baby is leaping and bounding. He or she is on the move almost constantly — and those movements are a far cry from those jerky twitches of last trimester (though you won't feel any of them for weeks to come). They are now ballet-like, smooth and fluid.
No slouch anymore, your baby's neck is getting longer, helping his or her head stand more erect. This gives your 14-week-old fetus a more straightened-out appearance.
* Thyroid gland
has matured and your baby begins producing hormones which will be used throughout his or her life.
* In boys, the prostate gland develops
* In girls, the ovaries move from the abdomen to the pelvis
* Your little one may have learned to suck his thumb by this point!
* Your child's bones are getting harder and stronger by the day!
* Your baby's skin is very transparent still
* Lanugo (very fine hair) covers the baby's body and will continue to grow until 26 weeks gestational age - Generally this will be shed prior to birth. Its purpose is to help protect baby's skin while in all that water!