a Sproutalicious update

This isn't Sprout.

But it is a wittle baby at 15 weeks gestation. So I imagine that Sprout probably looks a lot like this little critter. Except, just like Sprout's older brothers, I doubt Sprout would be hiding behind a hand, all camera shy-ish. Sprout would probably be looking at the ultrasound tech with a big smile on his/her face! I just know it...

So, as I've said, Sprout is in his/her 15th week of gestation. Just a little update on the new tricks that Sprout is sporting:

• (S)he can also grasp, squint, frown, grimace and maybe suck her thumb!
• His/her eyelids are still fused shut, but (s)he can sense light!
• (S)he is forming taste buds! Yum Yum!
• Sprout is just a smidge over 4 inches long.. so teeny!
  

This isn't Sprout, either. It looks like this kid is saying, "Look, Mommy! I have all 5 fingers!"

Now, in Fort Cox fashion, I'll load you with some information that you didn't want. Because I'm good like that. You know you love it.

Remember when I said that I bought Dr. Oz's new book? Well, I've learned so much already. The book is fascinating and it is definitely my favorite pregnancy and childbirth book ever.

1. Need more evidence that junk food is just that? An addictive? Researchers found that when you feed some rats good food and some rats good food plus junk food, the rats enjoying the junk food wind up consuming 40 percent more food by weight and 56 percent more calories. Even worse: Their pups develop an affinity for junk, eat more, and gain more weight during their lifetimes than normal pups. If you want fat kids, feed yourself junk during pregnancy.
2. Want to see the interaction between the sense of smell and taste, and the fetal environment? Unwashed newborns are more successful at bringing their hands to their mouths in the first hour after birth and initiating self-calming behavior than newborns that are washed.
3. The preference for sucking a particular thumb in utero correlates with right- or left-handedness, and this preference is visible as early as fourteen weeks.
4. Think about this the next time you opt for a five-pepper burrito: It's well documented among obstetricians and midwives that the amniotic fluid of mothers who ingest spicy food shortly before delivery smells spicy.
   
5. Bottle-fed babies do not recognize their own mom's underarm odor after two weeks of age. If yuo do not breast-feed, it may be better to bottle-feed while holding a baby bare chested or under your shirt. And if you do breast-feed, consider this: Babies prefer to nurse on a mother's unwashed breast, so don't use soap on your nipples, just water.
6. Research shows mom's anxiety is associated with mixed-handedness in her child. so what if your kid can throw a baseball with either hand? Great for a sports future, you say. But it eems that mixed-handedness is also associated with neurodevelopmental problems such as dyslexia, autism, and attention deficit disorder.
7. When women are obese during tehir first pregnancy, then lose weight via diet or bariatric surgery before getting pregnant again, the children born before the weight loss end up being heavier than those born afterward. Why? Think epigenetics, as the environment in a heavy mom lowers a baby's metabolism and teaches his body that it needs to store fat to survive.
8. New research shows that maternal nutrition is important not just for the immediate health of a fetus but also for his long-term health. Just recently, in fact, prenatal nutritional deficiency was linked to developing schizophrenia in adults. It may seem like an odd association, but not when you consider how fundamental in utero nutrition is to brain development.
   

Thanks, Dr. Oz!

We find out Sprout's gender on January 13th! Can't wait! Do you think I'll be getting a third nephew? Or do you think I'll have a new baby niece in June?!

Personally, I think Sprout is all girl -- but I'd love to hear your thoughts!