Week 9

Ziggy hit a growth spurt this week, nearly doubling in size to be about an inch long now and weighing just a fraction of an ounce. He's packing a lot of punch into that little body though. This week his organs, muscles and nerves will be kicking into high gear and starting their rapid development. He has earlobes now, and by the end of the week the inner workings of his ears will be complete. (Maybe it's time for Justin to start teaching him to appreciate the electric guitar...) His facial features are starting to look even more human, and his mouth, nose and nostrils are more distinct. All of Ziggy's major joints are working now, and he's busy exercising his shoulders, elbows, wrists, knees and ankles. His tiny heart has divided into its four chambers and the heart valves are beginning to develop. All this in a package no bigger than a grape!

Christina continues to do remarkably well and is beginning to get used to the need for a daily nap. The finicky stomach seems to be subsiding, thanks to some welcome advice that she should snack more frequently. Justin has made packing her a bag of grapes to take to work part of his regular morning routine.

We just returned from our first prenatal visit--how exciting! We have so much information to read through now. The initial report shows Christina to be healthy and the pregnancy progressing as it should be. We weren't able to have an ultrasound today, so we'll have to wait another two weeks to go back and hear the baby's heartbeat. (On a side note, Christina would like to take a second to brag about the fact that she managed to have her blood drawn without crying today. Trust us--this is a big step!)

Thank you for your continued prayers for our little one. How exciting will it be for you to be able to tell Ziggy one day, "Hey, I prayed for you when you were just the size of a grape!" We are trusting God with this tiny miracle--it's His, after all--and continue to pray that our baby will be born healthy, and that God will equip us to meet all his needs.

In His grip,

Justin, Christina and Ziggy :)