Week 11 ~ Stomach Virus

Your Pregnancy:Week 11

 Baby's now the size of a lime!Your baby currently enjoys a 1:1 ratio between body and head, and has skin so transparent that blood vessels show right through it. But fingers and toes are no longer webbed, and hair follicles, tooth buds, and nail beds are forming -- setting up a significantly more attractive future. www.thebump.com

Your baby, just over 1 1/2 inches long and about the size of a fig, is now almost fully formed. Her hands will soon open and close into fists, tiny tooth buds are beginning to appear under her gums, and some of her bones are beginning to harden.

She's already busy kicking and stretching, and her tiny movements are so effortless they look like water ballet. These movements will become more frequent as her body grows and becomes more developed and functional. You won't feel your baby's acrobatics for another month or two — nor will you notice the hiccuping that may be happening now that her diaphragm is forming.  www.babycenter.com

To watch a great video on baby's development from weeks 10-14, click here.
 For weeks 1-9, click here (i think i forgot to post this one earlier??).

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This past week was very crazy! 

A few of my children came down with a stomach virus that consisted of fevers, vomiting, stomach cramping, and diarrhea.  Then I came down with it Wednesday and spent the day throwing up and feeling horrible.  Unfortunately for my son, it was also his 11th birthday so the poor boy had a pretty long, boring day while mom rested and everyone else watched movies.  At least the day started off better as we took him to breakfast at Denny's (his choice) before i realized i wasn't just experiencing morning sickness.  He was such a trooper about it and never once complained.  He is a great kid young man!

On Tuesday we closed on our new land which is 14.77 acres that is next to our 2.5 acres where we live.  It is a dream come true for us as we have been patiently looking and waiting for just the right land to buy for about 8 years.  The Lord has really blessed us with a beautiful piece of land that is so conveniently located to town but has all of the living in the country benefits we wanted:  trees, open space, pasture, a barn, a pond and all the adventure and exploration our children could want.  It also has a mobile home on it that we will be using as rental property.  Hopefully, we will be able to live on it some day, but for now, we are just soaking it all in. 

All of these things were mixed and mingled with the weekly events like Taekwondo, gymnastics, meetings, etc.  I'm looking forward to a less eventful week next week!

This weeks topic:  Dealing with a Stomach Virus while Pregnant ; (

Since this is fresh on my mind, i thought i'd share some tips:

~Rest, sleep, relax- Do whatever you need to do to make this happen.  Actually, you won't have a choice, that's all you'll want to do!  If you have other children and no help, don't feel bad about letting them watch movies or tv for a day or so.  If games or activities work for you, go with that too.  I have found that if i want things to be peaceful, movies are the way to go for us.  Games seem to end up needing more supervision than i can give while sick and a loose toddler running around can get into a lot of trouble!  I tuck them up in the bed with me, turn on a movie, and rest.

~Fluids- Start with only sips of ginger ale, Sprite, water (ice chips), or Gatorade.  Don't over load your stomach with liquids too soon or you will continue throwing up.  As you get better, increase the water intake so you don't get dehydrated.  I got to a point where i felt very thirsty and knew my body was saying that it was ok to drink more liquids.

~Food- Initially don't try to eat anything until you know you can keep it down (say 1 or 2 hours without vomiting).  Then slowly add in small amounts from the BRAT diet- bananas, rice, apples, toast.  I stuck to eating these items for about 24 hrs after i stopped vomiting and kept it all down.  The apples tasted best to me as they were juicy and full of water which i was craving.  I was amazed that while sick, all of my typical early pregnancy symptoms went away ie food induced nausea, hunger nausea, etc.  For almost 48 hours, i never felt morning sickness nausea or felt the need to eat all day long.  I just ate little bits from the BRAT diet here or there and felt better very quickly.

~Probiotics- Once you are over the worst of it and taking in some foods, start on a probiotic to help replenish the flora in your body.

Hope you don't ever experience a stomach virus while pregnant, but if you do, hope this helps!