Tito week 15 & 16 - Kit Kat, Avos and sneezing

Tomorrow we will cross the 4 month threshold (if your month is only 4 weeks long...) with Tito being 16 weeks old. Till then, we are still 15 weeks pregnant.

During week 15 Tito grew eyebrows and lashes to flutter at me in 15 years time when (s)he says "ag paleeeeez, ma". I am working on it to make them very adorable, to carry me through those years...Tito is also growing hair on Tito's head, something that, judged from Tito's parents, must be a lot of work.

Tito's senses are developing even more, with Tito now being able to sense light. Apparently if you shine a torch at my tummy, Tito will move away from the beam, although I'm not quite sure where Tito will move to! Tito is also swallowing the fluids (yuk), which causes Tito to occasionally hiccup (it does not make me hiccup, though). It's not too yuk for Tito, though, because Tito is still forming taste buds. This is my excuse for only eating yummy food (to ensure a delicate palate for Tito). Swallowing the goo also helps develop Tito's lungs and respiratory tract, which will be helpful once Tito is outside the tummy. Size wise Tito is apparently the size of a Kit Kat and about 60 grams - about the weight of a 60 gram apple. If we wanted to, we could find out whether Tito is a Tito or a Tita, but we will leave that to (round about) the 7th of April.

The coming week Tito will be practicing more facial expressions, some of which will come in very handy when Tito meets Dad the first time...Tito's skin is still see-through since there is no fat between the skin and the meet. Mom will make sure that Tito is fattened up adequately (good excuse to devour that extra tjoppie), so that Tito don't look like a transparent vein-alien when (s)he greets the world. Tito's eyes should be ready to look forward, staring the world straight in the eyes. Oh, and we'll be making toenails this week. By the end of this week, Tito would have gained 15 grams (YOU imagine picking up a quarter of your weight in one week!!) and will be about 12 cm long. That is as long as a 12 cm gherkin. Or an avocado.

As for me - I'm expanding by the day, and although this is frustrating (normal clothes are uncomfortable and maternity clothes are too big [and a bit ambitious]), it is quite amazing. Especially as far as the boobies are concerned. Apart from body & booby expansion, it's also weird that I sneeze more than often, which apparently is due to "rhinitis of pregnancy", what the hell that might be. I'm fine with it just being more sneezing than normal. Oh, and my uterus is travelling! How weird is that?? Other than that I’m doing fine (apart from the stress of finishing my doctorate), and being temperamental as it is, I don’t know if I’m having pregnancy mood swings. But I can say that Heiko is still standing (with his head on), and we are still happily married. For now at least. I might change in 5 minutes, but it will hopefully stay like this forever.

So, hopefully by the next update I will be closer to being Dr du Plessis, who can bask around in the sun just being radiantly pregnant!

Tito week 13 & 14 (a medium size shrimp swimming in a large grapefruit)

Tito's mom must be suffering from pregnancy dementia. Tito's mom and her friend Thys went to see Tito at what we believed was a 13 week scan. [interlude: the scan on the right explained: the yellow is the head, the green the body, and the big red thing? the feet...) It turns out it was the 10 and a half week scan, although thankfully everything is perfect. Then Tito's mom thought she already DID a week 12, only to find out now that it was only a week 10 and 11. So, anyways, there is a lot to catch up on...

Tito can now be convicted of a crime, having fingerprints and all, and is starting to look less like an alien with the body growing faster than the head. If Tito is a Tita, then she already has 2 million eggs in her ovaries (how tiny they must be!!). At the end of week 13 (now) Tito is about 7.5 cm long and weighs 30 grams.

The week ahead will see Tito pulling faces - frowning (like grandpa) and squinting. Tito will also learn to peepee. Clever Tito might also already be a thumbsucker. Tito is growing at an exceptional rate, tiring mom a bit. At the end of week 14 Tito will be 8.5 cm and a whopping 45 grams. Tito should also have a neck. Oh, and taking after dad, Tito is growing some hair, or lanugo all over Tito's body.

As for mommy - she's got a tiny tummy which can be mistaken for a fat belly by strangers... she's still waiting for the time of comfort and the surge of energy to spill over her, but until then she'll still take 2 cat naps during the day. She's also finishing her doctorate, which adds to the fatigue (and also the reason for some absenteeism...)

Dad is also happy to be united with The Family In Making, and jumped onto the pregnancy wagon by promising not to drink (in solidarity with mom) until Tito is born. A promise that is very hard to keep (also seeing as it was made in an attempt to end a disagreement...). Especially since it seems that Köln just beat M'gladbach on home turf... We'll see. Mommy is looking forward to a proper glass of champers on the day of Tito's birth, which is still 26 weeks away. Till then, she'll marvel in the wonderful wonders of a 2003 sparkling mineral water...

Prost, till next time.