We’ve made it to six weeks! It seemed like time to take our first “progress” shot:

It’s worth mentioning that very little of that belly is due to pregnancy — it’s actually due to the fact that I found vegan Ben & Jerry’s ice cream this winter. No shame.

This week started out in San Francisco. Boy, was it hot! On Sunday, the temp surpassed 95 degrees! It was wonderful getting to spend time with our new niece. We told Lynn and Marc our news the day I got back. We worked the surprise into a slideshow of our photos from Italy. It worked out well!

The next day, our first full day back home, we laid down the new Flor tiles in the entry and dining room. Hooray! We need to order more for the stairs, hallway, and living room, but that should be easy now that we have the process started. It motivated me to look critically at all the stuff that is clogging up the house. It’s good that this thought came about in time for our lawn sale this weekend. Whatever doesn’t sell is going to be donated. We need less stuff and more space before February gets here!

Development

As of today, the little one is about the size of a small blueberry, about a quarter of an inch long. It now has tiny arm buds. Facial features like eyes and nose are starting to form. Passages and arches that will develop into ears are forming. In the coming week, its neural tube will be closing along its back.

Symptoms

While I have a touch of nausea some days, exhaustion seems to be the most noticeable symptom I have. One or two power naps a day keep me going. Even though I haven’t grown much in size, my body is producing more blood than it’s used to in order to get nutrients to the fetus. This, along with increased progesterone, leaves me with lower blood pressure (which started out low anyway) and lower blood sugar.