Baby’s first frosting

Bubble bath season began this evening in my house.

I’m a huge fan of bubble baths. I love a good soak with my lavender scented bubbles and whatever book I happen to be engrossed in at the time.

Plus, I’m at the tail end of one mother of a cold, so it seemed like a good idea.

The view, however, is slightly different than it was before.

Hello, belly.

Also, I know there are all kinds of crazy changes that happen to breasts during pregnancy, including darkening of the nipples and all that jazz, but why do mine look like they’ve turned blue due to lack of oxygen?

Have I been that congested that Private Placenta ordered an invasion elsewhere?

All right, baby maker, the nose is a lost cause. Get some of the good stuff from where ever you can.

Now my nipples can’t breathe.

Okay, I know nipples don’t breathe. But if they did, and mine were suffocating, I’m pretty sure I know what they’d look like.

Speaking of nipples, I’m reminded of a joke:

How do you make five pounds of fat look good?

Put a nipple on it.

Okay, enough about nipples.

I’m now 21 weeks, and on Monday I had my follow up with Dr. V from last week’s ultrasound.

He said, and I quote, that my ultrasound was “absolutely perfect”. Everything is exactly as it should be; measurements, heart rate, the appropriate number of fingers and toes, etc.

He also okayed the Sudafed I had to start dosing myself with on the weekend in order to function like a human. Maybe decongestants aren’t awesome for baby, but I figured neither is the mama not being able to breathe.

Side note: there is no conclusive evidence that decongestants are harmful to babies that are still baking. Believe me, I looked. A lot.

I also discovered that I’ve only gained 1 pound in 8 weeks, and less than 5 pounds throughout the entire pregnancy thus far.

Which means, of course, that I can have a piece of chocolate cake.

Or two.

The little bambino now weighs three-quarters of a pound and is about 10.5 inches long from crown to heel; or, the length of a carrot.

Eyebrows are now filling in (thank goodness) and fingernails cover the fingertips, meaning baby can start scratching the hell out of its own face.

Even better, I can now start influencing my baby’s taste in music because he or she can now hear. Fingers crossed that my ticket to December’s Celine Dion concert solidifies that fandom. It’s really only a matter of time, after all.

Another one of baby’s senses is getting a boost this week: taste.

At 21 weeks, baby starts to swallow a bit of amniotic fluid every day, for nutrition and hydration, as well as to practice swallowing and digesting skills.

The taste of the amniotic fluid varies from day to day based on what I’ve eaten, and since the little one has already developed taste buds, the differing flavours are not lost on it.

Some research even shows that babies exposed to certain foods in utero are more eager to eat those same foods after birth.

Now, about that chocolate cake…