Date of ultrasound: 09 February 2002

During this month’s checkup, Mom asked Dad to accompany her inside the doctor’s office for the ultrasound, and of course Dad was only too happy to be there as well. It was his first time to see me on the monitor. Unfortunately, this also happened to be my “nap time” as well, and I wasn’t moving around as much as in the previous checkup. There I am, in a curled-up position. “My God, it has turned into a kitten!!!” was my Mom’s first reaction. Later on my Mom and Dad would call this position my “Garfield” position. My CRL is now 11.6 cm. The doctor can now measure the diameter of my head (they call it the Biparietal Diameter, or BPD) – at this time it was around 5 cm!

Mom was so happy this month when she finally felt me give her my first “kick”, called the “quickening.” She describes it as something like “passing gas.” Dad can’t feel my kicks yet, but I’d make sure to give them quite an exhibition in the coming weeks!

By now, heat-producing brown fat has begun to form on the baby’s neck, chest, and crotch areas. Brown fat has a protective function: it helps keep the baby warm in cold environments. Brown fat exists in newborns, but only vestiges of brown fat remain to adulthood.

The baby sleeps and wakes as much as a newborn does now. When the baby sleeps, it characteristically settles into its favorite position or “lie.” Some babies sleep with their chins resting on their chest, while others tilt their heads back.