Waitin' on Abby: Week 7

What a week! Ziggy's growing like a weed, nearly tripling in size to be about a half an inch long now--roughly the size of a rasberry. Both hemispheres of his brain are developing in his oversized head, and this week his teeth and the inside of his mouth are forming. His ears are continuing to develop, and he has eyelid folds partially covering his tiny eyes, which already have some color! The tip of Ziggy's nose is beginning to emerge from his growing face, and he now has distinct, although slightly webbed, fingers and toes. Ziggy's appendix and pancreas are in place, and his tiny liver is busy producing red blood cells. A loop of his growing intestines is bulging into his umbilical cord, which now has distinct blood vessels carrying oxygen and nutrients to and from his tiny body. Christina can't feel it yet, but Ziggy's like a little jumping bean, moving around in quick, frenetic fits in his watery home.
What Christina can feel is the effect of her body working hard to build a placenta, which exerts roughly the same amount of energy as running a marathon (about 26 miles) every day! She can't seem to get enough sleep and is exhausted when she gets home from work. Even though she's been sitting all day, her body's been working triple overtime. A half hour nap has become a regular part of her evening routine. Justin's been a tremendous help, pitching in even more than usual with dishes and other household chores to allow Christina to get some much-needed rest.
The genuine excitement and support from our friends and families has been so encouraging! Emma, our favorite little five-year-old at church, even offered to let our baby come over and play on her new trampoline when he's born. Christina is receiving stacks of books from friends who've been through all this before, and she's so thankful for all the advice and wisdom she's getting from other moms. Justin's coworkers have been patting him on the back and congratulating him, and one even offered us a crib and a bassinet already--what a blessing!
We'll go for our first prenatal visit in two weeks, and Justin is busy trying to figure out the best way to record the little heartbeat we'll be able to hear at that time. Please continue to pray for our little miracle, that even as Ziggy's tiny heart is beginning to beat, God would be preparing to give our baby a heart that would love Him at a young age.

'Til next week,

Justin, Christina and Ziggy :)