13 weeks -- the time is going by fast!

13 weeks! YAY! I made it through the first trimester *knock on wood* with little to no worries! WHOOT! CJ and I are so excited and happy at the progress that Keifer is making and I'm now VERY anxious to be able to eventually feel him/her kicking away inside me. I'm sure soon I may regret wanting to feel it all the time, but at this point, I'll take kicks and jabs over the morning sickness that tells me Keifer is snug as a bug inside me.

Babycenter tells me this week: Your belly may soon be big enough to announce to the world that you're expecting, but your baby is still tiny. In fact, he's only about 3 inches long crown to rump — roughly the size of a jumbo shrimp — and weighs just about an ounce. Despite the small proportions, there's a fully formed baby inside your womb now. Much more proportional than it was a few weeks ago, his head is now only about a third the size of his body. His tiny, unique fingerprints are already in place. His kidneys and urinary tract are functional, and he's starting to urinate out the amniotic fluid he's been swallowing. As you start your second trimester, most of your baby's critical development will be completed, and your odds of miscarriage will drop considerably.Note: Every baby develops a little differently — even in the womb. Our information is designed to give you a general idea of your baby's development.

Time to celebrate! This is the last week of your first trimester. Next week you'll be in your second trimester. That's great news for two reasons: One, your risk of miscarriage drops dramatically, and two, many women see early pregnancy symptoms, such as morning sickness, subside. (In some cases, though, heartburn replaces the nausea.) Birth is still months away, but your breasts may have already started making colostrum, the nutrient-rich fluid that feeds your baby for the first few days after birth, before your milk starts to flow. Many couples also notice a distinct libido lift in the second trimester as nausea abates and energy returns.

What's sad is that looking at that jumbo shrimp picture makes me intensely crave the shrimp scampi meal at the Elbo Room in Superior (across the bridge from Duluth, my hometown). NUM. Now I'm hungry. CJ is making us steaks on the grill and some hash browns tonight; the fact that I'm thinking about food means I AM HUNGRY! LOL. Which is a good thing. I can ONLY think or talk about food when I'm hungry. Otherwise, don't talk about food, don't show me pictures or billboards or commercials of food (gag), or even a can of Coke. Puke. This will get better. I know it will. In the meantime, as I've said before, I'm happy Keifer is telling me he/she is safe and cozy inside me. Now just start dancing on my belly, Keif!!!!