27 weeks
May 4th, 200925 Weeks
April 22nd, 2009
Wow, it’s been a long time since I last checked in here and Jacoby is now 25 weeks old and almost in his third trimester in Colleen’s womb. We have been so usy the last 9 weeks, traveling to Florida for 2 weeks and a couple trips to Boston that being pregnant is almost an afterthought, that is until I put my hands on Colleen’s belly and feel our little Jacoby kicking. Colleen says he is way more active than Ambiana was and that he gets in some strange positions in her belly.
Jacoby now weighs about 2 pounds and is about 14 inches long. He looks like a fully formed baby at this point, only smaller and very thin. Anothe growth spurt is coming soon
Some experts believe that babies begin to dream at week 28, because the brain is so very active now. I disagree believing that Jacoby is a dream becoming human.
16 weeks
February 17th, 2009
Jacoby is 14 weeks old this week. The post title reflects the traditional definition of pregnancy commencing 2 weeks prior to the last menstrual cycle. For previous posts we were referring to the growth of Jacoby not Colleen’s pregnancy but to avoid confusion when comparing Colleen’s belly with Ambiana inside and jacoby inside we are dating the pregnancy the same as we did with Ambiana. Jacoby is 14 weeks but Colleen is 16 weeks pregnant. Colleen’s belly is BIG. She can feel Jacoby move and even Ambiana has felt him move when snugglin’ mommy. It is very exciting for her. She is constantly talking about how we are all going to take turns helping with Jacoby when he is born. She even insists that she is going to cut the cord!
During the last month Jacoby grew from 5cm long to over 10cm or from 2 inches to 4 inches. He is now about 4 ½ inches long and weighs about 51/2 ounces. Jacoby gets the hiccups, but since he has fluid instead of air in his trachea they don’t make any sound. He also like to play, by pulling and tugging and squeezing on the umbilical cord.
Jacoby’s legs are beginning to grow longer than his arms and his movements of all his limbs is becoming more coordinated. His eyes have reached their final destination on the head and are no longer on the sides of the face, his lids have closed and will remain closed for the next 3 months. Jacoby is urinating about every 40-45 minutes and Meconium – the first poo he produces is beginning to collect in his bowels.
Jacoby’s skin is very thin — so thin blood vessel are visible. It’s covered by a fine, soft layer of hair called lanugo. Lanugo comes from a Latin word meaning “down.” The three tiny bones inJacoby’s middle ear have begun to harden. The auditory centers in Jacoby’s brain haven’t developed yet, so he might not really understand what you say but his hearing capacity is in the process of developing. Fingernails and toenails are growing. Eyebrows are beginning to grow and even the hair on his head is sprouting.
11 weeks
January 25th, 2009
As Colleen nears the end of her first trimester, Jacoby is almost 3 inches long and weighs about ½ an ounce. Colleen had a midwife appointment yesterday and has gained 16 pounds already. Both Ambiana and Gaelen went to the appointment and Gaelen especially was excited and asked los of questions, was weighed also and had his blood pressure taken, Ambiana inflated the cuff!
Jacoby ’s face is looking more and morehuman. His eyes have moved closer together and his ears are near their normal position on the side of his head. His head now rests on the neck as opposed to the shoulders and is still roughly half the entire length of his body.
Right now, Jacoby’s heart is pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day. At birth about 300 quarts of blood per day are pumped. His liver is making bile and is supervising the activity of the fully working spleen. His spleen removes old red blood cells and produces antibodies. Jacoby is also able to absorb sugar, or glucose, at this point.
If Jacoby were a girl she would have about 2 million eggs inside her ovaries at this time, although by birth this number will drop down to about 1 million, and when she is older – around 17, she’ll have a mere 200,000 eggs.
Jacoby is rapidly acquiring reflexes and would respond to a touch on his palms by closing his fingers, or curling his toes if you tickled his feet. Jacoby’s sweat glands are beginning to emerge and veins remain very visible, since his skin is still very thin.
10 weeks
January 18th, 2009
Jacoby weighs about ½ an ounce and is about 3 inches long. His genitals are forming and his brain is fcreating 250,000 neurons every minute. Brain development is very rapid at this time.
Jacoby’s head is upright and he can turn his head, open his mouth and smile. His outer ears are completely formed and the inner ears are nearly complete. Jacoby’s intestines are beginning their move from the umbilical cord to the abdomen and all his vital organs are formed and starting to work together and his lungs are continuing to develop.
Jacoby’s arms and legs are well formed and his fingers and toes are not webbed any longer. All of Jacoby’s joints are formed, so he can bend his fingers and make a fist as well as kick and curl up his toes.
Jacoby now has a chin and a nose and a facial profile. His vocal chords are complete, and he can and does sometimes cry silently. His eyelids now cover the eyes, and will remain shut until the seventh month to protect the delicate optical nerve fibers. There is hair is on Jacoby’s head, his fingers and toes have developed soft nailsand his kidneys are developed and beginning to secrete urine.
9 weeks
January 11th, 2009
Colleen’s uterus has now grown to about the size of a grapefruit to accommodate Jacoby, who is about one inch long and weighs 4 grams. Jacoby’s tail disappears this week and he is beginning to look more and more like a human at this point.
Most of Jacoby’s internal organs like the heart, brain, liver, lungs, kidneys and guts have developed in their basic forms even though they have not taken their final shape as yet. The next eight days are crucial for the development of Jacoby’s eyes and the inner ear, which is responsible for balance and hearing. You can just about see his outer ears taking shape although they are not fully grown as yet.
Jacoby’s eyes are covered by a temporary skin, which will ultimately open up to create the eyelids. The tip of his nose is visible now as the nostrils have formed. His tongue has appeared and the two sides of his jaw are coming together to shape the mouth. Once the upper and lower jaws begin to fuse, Jacoby will be able to open his mouth and suck or chew. Jacoby’s leg and arm bones are becoming harder and growing longer and the shoulder, hip, knee and elbow joints are forming this week. Even his fingers and toes are more obviously apparent right through the webs of skin. Jacoby’s heartbeat has regularized and the pumping capacity has increased. You can see a network of blood vessels running through his little body through the transparent paper-thin skin.
8 weeks
January 4th, 2009
Colleen’s belly is a big at 8 weeks as it was at 16 weeks when she was pregnant with Ambiana. She says it is normal for a belly to be bigger earlier in a subsequent pregnancy…or could it be twins???
Jacoby is now a tiny bundle about the size of a lima bean. He is well-cushioned in his uterine home, afloat in the clear “waters” of the ever-growing amniotic sac. Here, he can drift around freely, while still remaining attached to the placenta by the bungee-like umbilical cord. The placenta is busy processing nutrients from Colleen’s bloodstream to nourish Jacoby, while also disposing of his waste.
At this point, Jacoby’s entire body is beginning to uncurl a bit, but his head is still very large in proportion to the rest of his body. This will also be true after birth: a newborn’s head makes up about a quarter of its length, while an adult’s is only an eighth.
Jacoby’s esophagus, which brings food to his stomach, forms this week, and on either side of it, two buds that are the beginning of lungs. Imagine: it will be eight months until those lungs gulp their first breath of air.
Our Jacoby square on the schedule.
How do we know Jacoby is a he? Because we have intended it. Ever since Ambiana was born we knew we wanted another baby and another brother for her so we have been sending that thought out to the universe of which we are co-creative participants. If the universe sees fit to bless us with a sister for Ambiana then it’s still Jacobi.
Week 7
December 28th, 2008
Jacoby is this week transitioning from an embryo to a fetus as he begins his 8th week of development within Colleen’ womb.
Jacoby is about the size of a small bean – about ½ an inch long this week.
His head is very oversized and all of his facial features are becoming more defined. His eyes are formed and sealed shut until the 28th week of pregnancy. Eyelids are beginning to form. Ear indentations and the semicircular canals begin to form in the inner ear to help with balance. Jacoby’s brain is close to completion at this point and is growing at an amazing rate.
The buds that will become his arms and legs are very noticeable now. Hands and feet look like paddles. This is the point where the critical development of the arms ends, but the hands will continue to develop over the next few days, although they have indentations where the fingers will separate now. The critical development of the legs will end soon, but the knees and ankles can be distinguished by small dots on the legs and the toes are notched and toenails are beginning to appear.
Jacoby’s gonads are formed which will become the testes or the ovaries if Jacoby is Jacobi. These will be responsible for producing sperm and ova, but also secrete hormones and are considered endocrine glands.
Jacoby’s heart is beating at around 150 beats per minute, about twice an adult’s heart rate, and will continue to do so throughout his time in utero. The kidneys produce urine for the first time. jacoby will rapidly go through three sets of kidneys, the second set will form this week. When bone marrow forms later, it will take over the production of red blood cells, but for now Jacoby’s liver is working over time to produce these.
Colleen is not so nauseus anymore, probably because she is eating all the time. She has gained 5 pounds since becoming pregnant is starting to notice her weight gain as well as a slight tummy bump. Ambiana is still nursing though we talk to her everyday about how the boobies are Jacoby’s once he is born. She says she will share, Jacoby gets the big booby and she gets the small one. (Ambiana nurses exclusively on the left booby and the right one produces no milk and has shrunk in size)
We are also getting her ready for Jacoby’s arrival by starting to let Daddy-Moch put Ambiana to bed. We are starting with one night a week (Monday) for now and will up it as the pegnancy develops. Ambiana has been practicing diapering on Bear-bear and Hippo for months just in case Mommy’s No-Diaper method fails.
6 weeks
December 21st, 2008
By the end of the fifth week of Colleen’s pregnancy, the fetus Jacoby has the beginnings of vertebrae, a bony jaw and clavicle, developing eyes, ears, and nose, a closed circulatory system, a working heart, lungs, limbs, hands, feet, and a pancreas. By the end of the sixth week of pregnancy, Jacoby has a vertebral column, a bony jaw and clavicle, a primative cranium, ribs, a developing nervous system, a closed circulatory system with a working heart, developing eyes, ears, and nose, lungs, limbs, hands, feet, a pancreas, a bladder, kidneys, a tongue, a larynx, a thyroid body, and germs of teeth. The arms and legs continue to develop These limbs are stretching out more and more. The embryonic tail has almost disappeared. The pituitary gland is also forming and the embryo is beginning to grow muscle fibers. The heart has divided into the right and left chambers and is beating about 150 beats a minute which is about twice the rate of an adult. Jacoby’s facial features are visible, including a mouth and tongue. The eyes have a retina and lens. The major muscle system is developed, and Jacoby is starting to practice moving. Jacoby has his own blood type and the blood cells are produced by the liver now instead of the yolk sac.
Colleen’s belly meanwhile had hardened and you can feel the small bump of the uterus within which Jacoby-fetus is growing. There is no appreciable weight gain though Colleen at meals is finishing both mine and Ambiana’s plates for us as well as eating everything in sight. We still have not settled on a mid-wife and are mulling going without one but asking our naturopath physician who used to be a mid-wife to attend the birth if she will consent to do so. If we go that route will make sure we find and are comfortable with pediatrician and OB/GYN at the hospital in Morrisville in case there are any complications. Both of us feel birth is a natural process NOT a medical condition and Colleen having been through one homebirth already feels confident in her self and her body to deliver Jacoby at home in a loving low stress-free enviroment as nature intended.
Colleen’s Belly- 6 weeks
December 21st, 2008
Colleen can feel a slight bulge as her womb expands to encompass the growing Jacoby-embryo. She has felt some morning sickness this time around unlike her previous pregnancy and has been drinking some herbal teas to remedy it. She believes it is related to fluid intake and has observed that when she does not drink a lot of liquids her nausea increases. Eating also helps with morning sickness and Colleen snacks every waking hour 
