I have had the nicest week. The sunshine in Bangor was amazing so I spent a lot of hours in my favourite place - my hammock. I bought the hammock in Thailand while I was in Khao Tao with two friends. When it is sunny it lives slung between the tree and the birdhouse. The view from the hammock through the branches is so relaxing I could stay there all day & sometimes do.

I also had an appointment with anti-natal doc to discuss various tests that I can have done to detect various problems like downs syndrome. All very scary and worrying and I guess like all Pregnant women you have to think about what you want to do both about the tests and if there was anything wrong. Decided needed place to get away and what better place than your Mum and Dad's.

At mum's. Had a lovely week swimming every day, walking the dogs and going hunting for great wool and knitting patterns for mum who is a fabulously crafty person and can knit really well. We found this fab cute pattern to knit a multi-coloured cardigan and hat. I am in very good health, feeling more energetic, less sea sick, appetite back still get tired if do too much but generally 'Feeling Good' and in love with my peanut.

Week 14 photo of Tonya pregnant

Not a great photo of me but the first one I have taken of me & my bump. I found this nice website of a lady in america who had a photograph taken every week while pregnant to see how her bunp developed. I thought it was a good idea and might try & remeber to have pics taken & periodically add them to my pregnancy diary. Just so long as I don't look completely awful of course !

Pretty tired this week and finding clothes increasing becoming a problem. I usually live in a denim skirt or denim cropped jeans. Neither will comfortably do up anymore. I didn't want to spend much on maternity clothes but may have to get a few basics & maybe some nice additions as a treat so I feel nice & pretty.

Pregnancy Diary Week 14 the Official stuff - Second Trimester

Baby's hair is sprouting on the head, including fine little eyebrows. Lanugo, that fine, dark hair that grows all over your baby's body in order to protect the skin, also starts to grow this week. The neck is complete, and peanut even has fingerprints. How cool !

He or she is beginning to move around in the amniotic fluid, which replenishes itself every three hours. Foetal movement, or 'quickening', can occur as early as this week so apparently its time to watch for for fluttering sensations. It does say not to worry if you can't feel them, as they're more likely to occur between the 18th and 22nd week. Baby is making smooth, almost rhythmical movements. The baby would still fit into the palm of the hand, but features are more discernable. Baby now has a button nose, upturned for breathing during breastfeeding.

The baby is now about 4 1/2 inches long and weighs 45g.

Talking of noses mine has gone haywire. This apparently is the point at which you open the fridge and hate the smell of the cheese when actually you normally love cheese. In fact, almost 85 per cent of pregnant women develop at least one food aversion partly due to smell. One explanation, according to researchers, is that food aversions peak when hormones are fluctuating. As you progress through the second trimester and your hormones stabilise, the aversions should disappear. Mine is cooked meat. I can't stand the smell but have decided I adore the smell of coconut.

Friday 5th August 2005 House & dog sitting for a friend (week 14) Molly the Staffy

Molly's owner likes someone to house sit and animal sit when she goes away and to be honest she lives in a beautiful part of the world not far from Blackpool. Its a nice break for me too and walking Molly is good fun. The only pain was a flat tyre in one of my two week old brand new tyres which meant I had to cancel my plans to go to my friends little boys birthday party and head off early to Manchester on Saturday to buy another new tyre. As if I didn't have better things to spend the money on, like clothes that fit.

Tuesday August 16th 2005. Week 15 for me and a mad week at home

I woke up Sunday night for my usual run to the bathroom at 4am and decided I could smell damp. After an obsessive 30 mins awake imagining the baby in this damp house I fell asleep but awoke with a mission. To banish damp. I mixed bleach with water donned elbow length rubber gloves and wiped every skirting board and corner of the house including the bottom of the walls in my bedroom. That was after removing all the furniture and wiping it all down before putting it back again. In the end I realised it was the t-shirt I slept in that smelt stale so re-washed all my recently washed laundry. Its the nose and smell thing that affects a pregnant women. Your sense of smell goes haywire and seems heightened. I think that's why around weeks 8 - 12 I couldn't stand food being cooked. Henry (the hoover) & I chased dust bunnies all over the house. He ate them!

I woke up this morning and decided I had one two many white skirts and would wear it more if it were blue. I went for a swim then into Bangor town to buy blue dye and proceeded to dye a range of items including the skirt various shades of Dylon Madonna Blue - No 18. The neighbours think I have gone mad. Actually I am blissfully happy & feeling great. Muchly in love with bump and blue is my favourite colour.

Pregnancy Diary week 15 - The official stuff

Baby now weighs about 70 grams and you can clearly see the blood vessels beneath the skin. The heart is pumping 25 quarts of blood a day, which will increase to 300 at birth. During this week, the baby develops skin so thin and translucent that you can see the blood vessels through it. Hair growth on the eyebrows and the head continues this week.

If the baby is destined to be a brunette, the hair follicles may begin to make the pigment that colors the hair. Baby's ears are almost in position now, although they are still set a bit low on the head. Internally, the bone and marrow in the baby's skeletal system continue to develop. Muscle development continues, too, and your baby may be able to make a fist and bend his or her arms at the elbows and wrists.

Baby may now be sucking her thumb and grabbing the umbilical cord. Fingernails are beginning to grow. Part of the baby's skeleton hardens and taste buds form on the tongue. The baby will hear her first sounds, listening to your heartbeat, digestion, and voice for the rest of your pregnancy. In my case Nina Simones 'Feeling Good' will be a popular tune as I play it every morning.

4 inches (10.1cm) long and may weigh 2.5 ounces (70gm)
Click here for small movie of 15 week foetus moving around. Its a big file so be patient. Alternatively you could download by clicking right mouse button on the link and choosing 'Save target As'.