Baby Cartner and Tummy Update

This past Saturday, Baby Cartner turned 12 weeks old. This is a huge milestone for us because that means the risk of miscarriage is virtually 0% and we are in the 2nd trimester. Praise Jesus for His grace!!! Critter seems to be growing along just normally (at least my stomach is!!!) so hopefully everything is just perfect. My next appointment is January 31st and I can't wait. Here is an excerpt from my doctor's website that tells you what is going on inside of me...

Baby's Physical Development
Baby weighs 8-14 grams and is 2.5 inches long.
The placenta has reached full functional maturity, acting as the baby's lungs, kidneys, liver and digestive and immune systems.
Urinary tract is on line and working fine. A big portion of the amniotic fluid from this point on will be baby urine.
Lungs are developing.
The pituitary gland is beginning to make many hormones.
Bile is being secreted by this time.
The arms have almost reached their final relative lengths, but the legs are still not so well developed and are slightly shorter than their final relative lengths.
Finger and toes have separated.
External genitalia are beginning to show distinct signs of male/female characteristics.

Critter and I have been reading stories every night before bed. It's my favorite thing to do. I can't wait until he's really here and I can rock him and read to him and watch him giggle at all of the funny stories. I absolutely love children's books and am thankful for the collection I have aquired over the years. Many are from my childhood and some I have purchased over the years and then Sally & Clarence always get us good ones for Christmas. This week I have pulled out some old school "Golden Books" like The Tawny Scrawny Lion and Panda Bear's Paintbox. These sure do bring back some memories.

Anyway...I gotta get back to work. But a parting shot before I go...Here's my growing belly! I plan on taking a photo every month until the end. We'll see how long this tank top lasts :) I think this picture makes me look a little bigger than I really am right now (don't they say cameras add like 15 lbs?). In all fairness I had just eaten dinner :).

P.S I will post about the past 2 weekends here in a little bit. It's no fun writing posts without pictures and I always forget to get them from Jacob!