okay, peanut.

… with one more week until we meet the bubble!

from me …

Note: I’m switching the What to Expect post to the matching week, as well. It’s just too confusing, and I’m 7 weeks even if they want to call it 8, so I’m posting 7 weeks. Instead of changing all previous posts, this week will just be a repeat.

This past week was seriously rough. On top of feeling ridiculously nauseous at times, I got what I’d like to refer to as the death cold/flu. Nauseous, tired, weak, aching like crazy, always cold, sore throat, yucky nose, can’t hear, and headache. I spent all weekend on the couch, with my biggest accomplishments being a shower each day and two whole loads of laundry! Sounds like a real party to me!

I’ve made the decision to subject myself to the flu shot this year. I’ve always been against it, and told myself I wouldn’t even get it this year, despite the fact that I’m carrying around a bubble. Well, after this weekend, I don’t think I can afford NOT to. This is a huge decision for me; one that I can’t believe I’ve made! Now all I have to do is follow through. Ugh.

My diet has consisted of extremely exotic foods: mini bagels, oyster crackers, plain elbow noodles, rice and chicken nuggets. (Yeah, the exotic was just a joke. Can we get any more bland?) For a little excitement, I’ve thrown in peppermints and Jolly Ranchers. I’ve been losing around 1 lb./day – woohoo. Oh, and I’ve made the switch to Flintstones for now. While I’m almost certain it’s not my prenatals making me sick, I just can’t bring myself to take them until I feel a little bit better. I’ll resume them when this phase settles down a bit.

Let’s hope for a better week this week and a speedy recovery from the death cold/flu; I really don’t like this!

P.S. – Don’t forget to enter your guess on the bubble’s vitals!

from babycenter …

Your pregnancy: 7 weeks

How your baby’s growing:
The big news this week: Hands and feet are emerging from developing arms and legs — although they look more like paddles at this point than the tiny, pudgy extremities you’re daydreaming about holding and tickling. Technically, your baby is still considered an embryo and has something of a small tail, which is an extension of her tailbone. The tail will disappear within a few weeks, but that’s the only thing getting smaller. Your baby has doubled in size since last week and now measures half an inch long, about the size of a blueberry.

If you could see inside your womb, you’d spot eyelid folds partially covering her peepers, which already have some color, as well as the tip of her nose and tiny veins beneath parchment-thin skin. Both hemispheres of your baby’s brain are growing, and her liver is churning out red blood cells until her bone marrow forms and takes over this role. She also has an appendix and a pancreas, which will eventually produce the hormone insulin to aid in digestion. A loop in your baby’s growing intestines is bulging into her umbilical cord, which now has distinct blood vessels to carry oxygen and nutrients to and from her tiny body.

stats @ 7 weeks:
Your baby, having doubled in size since last week, is as big as a blueberry (about 1/2 inch in length).

from whattoexpect …

Week 7 of Pregnancy: Your Baby’s Limbs Develop
How does your baby grow? Pretty fast, actually. At seven weeks pregnant, your baby’s length is approximately a quarter of an inch — the size of a blueberry. Sounds pretty tiny still? Consider this for a little perspective: Your baby is 10,000 times bigger now than it was at conception a month ago.

The biggest fetal growth this week is your baby’s head (the better to store all those smarts in), with new brain cells being generated at the rate of 100 cells per minute. How’s that for a budding genius?

And talking about buds, your baby is going out on a limb this week as his or her arm and leg buds begin to sprout and grow longer (and stronger), dividing into hand, arm, and shoulder segments — and leg, knee, and foot segments (though the limb buds look more like paddles than hands or feet at this early stage).

Also forming this week are your baby’s mouth and tongue. And although your embryo is just one month old, it’s already gone through three sets of kidneys. The ones in place now are the permanent set and are poised to begin their important work of waste management. In about a week, your baby will start producing urine. Lucky for you, there’s no need for diapers (yet). As your baby matures inside you, much of that urine will be excreted into the amniotic fluid, swallowed again by your baby, and then excreted again in a continuous cycle.