The Blessing of Friends

Pat and I have a small group through our church that is much more that just a group of people getting together for a bible study. They have quickly become close friends and a huge and important part of our lives. We are so thankful for them and their amazing support as we have started this whole crazy baby thing. One of the most impactful times thus far in our pregnancy was just this Monday. We were hanging out with our small group and our friend Beth suggested that they all lay hands on us and pray for us and the baby, so they all gathered around and prayed for us and our little growing baby. I felt so blessed to have people praying specifically for us. Our baby is so early in development and people are already praying that he/she will be a person who loves and serves the Lord. It was pretty amazing. I am so thankful that the Lord has brought them into our lives. The joy of new life should be shared with friends.

First Dr. Visit

I had my first real dr appointment yesterday! I went great though nothing too exciting. It was super long. They did all of the standard physical exam stuff and then talked to me for about 45 minutes about the myriad of test options available and which are standard. I opted for the middle of the road testing which will happen at 16 weeks. She also talked to me a lot about what the doctor will do and what the appointments are like. Then I gave about a gallon of blood for a bunch of tests for myself.

My next appointment is on Aug. 20 at almost 12 weeks, so we should be able to hear the heart beat then. She also mentioned that they don’t do an ultrasound until 20 weeks unless they think that I am high risk- which I am not at this point. So, the first view of our baby will be in late Oct when we find out if it is a boy or a girl!

The dr also confirmed that my uterus is growing so I can say goodbye to my cute little jeans. :) Bring on the baby pudge! I can say that I have been eating much more than normal. I feel better when I am eating so I just keep eating. Thankfully I have good stuff like fruit, veggies, and yogurt to keep me from eating Specialties cookies al day long. That would be bad news.

Fingers and Toes

Well, we hit 8 weeks today! This next week also brings some crazy changes. Our baby is now the size of a kidney bean and working its way toward the next size mark with is a grape! Here are the development details.

From BabyCenter:
Webbed fingers and toes are poking out from your baby's hands and feet, his eyelids practically cover his eyes, breathing tubes extend from his throat to the branches of his developing lungs, and his "tail" is just about gone. In his brain, nerve cells are branching out to connect with one another, forming primitive neural pathways. You may be daydreaming about your baby as one sex or the other, but the external genitals still haven't developed enough to reveal whether you're having a boy or a girl. Either way, your baby -about the size of a kidney bean- is constantly moving and shifting, though you still can't feel it.

Sleepy Time

I think that the biggest change that I have noticed in the first few weeks of pregnancy is the unbelievable desire to sleep all the time! I usually love being active and can't handle sitting still. I am so tired now that every action seems to take so much energy. I guess that means our little baby is growing fast and stealing all my energy! I did, however, have a great weekend in Portland with Jai and Kathy. We had a ton of fun shopping around and eating tasty food. I guess the trick is to power through the sleepy feelings and keep moving. :)

Our baby grows a pancreas this week!

Well, friends, crazy things will be happening inside me this week. I have included all of the details below. It is hard to imagine that all of this growth and development happens in seven short days. There is quite the list of organs developing this week along with our baby's little hand and leg paddles. The Lord is mighty in His accomplishments! I am also starting to feel the affects of our little growing baby because all I really want to do is sleep all day long.

From BabyCenter:
The big news this week: Hands and feet are emerging from developing arms and legs — although they look more like paddles at this point. Technically, your baby is still considered an embryo and has something of a small tail, which is an extension of her tailbone. The tail will disappear within a few weeks, but that's the only thing getting smaller. Your baby has doubled in size since last week and now measures half an inch long, about the size of a blueberry.

If you could see inside your womb, you'd spot eyelid folds partially covering her peepers, which already have some color, as well as the tip of her nose and tiny veins beneath parchment-thin skin. Both hemispheres of your baby's brain are growing, and her liver is churning out red blood cells until her bone marrow forms and takes over this role. She also has an appendix and a pancreas, which will eventually produce the hormone insulin to aid in digestion. A loop in your baby's growing intestines is bulging into her umbilical cord, which now has distinct blood vessels to carry oxygen and nutrients to and from her tiny body.

First Baby Outfit

Jai and Sten gave us our first little baby outfit! It is crazy and fun to think that we will have a little person to fill that outfit in 7.5 months! It is also hard to believe that a person that size will fit inside me...I am going to get LARGE.

Baby during week 6

I thought that I would share what our little lentil bean size baby has been up to this week. I'll have something new tomorrow to tell you what is coming in the week ahead. It is pretty amazing stuff that certainly points to the power of our Lord. The design and plan for development is perfect.

From www.babycenter.com

This week's major developments: The nose, mouth, and ears that you'll spend so much time kissing in eight months are beginning to take shape. If you could see into your uterus, you'd find an oversize head and dark spots where your baby's eyes and nostrils are starting to form. His emerging ears are marked by small depressions on the sides of the head, and his arms and legs by protruding buds. His heart is beating about 100 to 160 times a minute — almost twice as fast as yours — and blood is beginning to course through his body. His intestines are developing, and the bud of tissue that will give rise to his lungs has appeared. His pituitary gland is forming, as are the rest of his brain, muscles, and bones. Right now, your baby is a quarter of an inch long, about the size of a lentil bean.