Week 14

To continue the tradition of comparing our child to various food items, Ziggy is about the size of a lemon this week--roughly 3 1/2 inches head to bottom--and weighs about 1 1/2 ounces. Her body is finally starting to grow faster than her oversized head, and she's got a more well-defined neck at this point. Ziggy's finally starting to looks like a pretty normal human! By the end of this week, her arms will have lengthened out and will be in proportion to the rest of her little body. Her legs still have a ways to go. Christina still can't feel the baby's movements yet, but Ziggy's hands and feet (which are about half an inch long!) are very active. Brain impulses are also causing her little facial muscles to work hard too, as she squints, frowns, and grimaces. She can grasp now, too, and may even be sucking her thumb inside the womb.

Healthwise, Christina is doing great. She's swimming and excercising regularly (the FitMama salsa workout was a great gift from a mom of four at church) and she and Justin are both enjoying the fruit smoothies they've perfected for breakfast. The early-pregnancy exhaustion is a thing of the past, and mom-to-be is happy to have her energy level back to normal.

In fact, now that we think about it, this has been a pretty easy pregnancy so far. (Please pray that that would continue!) Christina's had no real morning sickness to speak of, no weird food cravings (she always craved ice cream anyway...), and the first trimester passed incident-free. We're thankful for how smoothly things have gone and pray that this would be a trend throughout the remainder of the pregnancy--only 26 weeks to go!

It really is incredible to be a part of this miracle, and we're humbled when we stop to think that God's using us to bring a child into this world. What a tremendous gift little Ziggy already is! Please pray that God would prepare us for the responsibility of raising this little one, and that we would be able to show our baby His love from day one.

Loving this miracle,

Justin, Christina and Ziggy :)

Week 13

The race between Ziggy and Christina's belly is on, and the contestants are tied so far...Ziggy grew another inch this week to be about three inches long (about the size of a jumbo shrimp) and Christina added another inch to her belly for a total of about three inches in gain since the start of the pregnancy. Ziggy is getting to be much more proportional now, with his formerly oversized head now only about a third the size of his tiny body. His fingerprints are already in place and his kidneys are functional now. Most of his critical development will be completed this week as we close out the first trimester.

Meanwhile, in belly news, Christina broke down this week and bought her first pair of maternity pants. (And they're not the least bit frumpy.) Reports are in, and they are much more comfortable than the jeans that were beginning to cut into her growing belly. The doctor warned us that because Christina's small, we'd probably notice her growing belly sooner than some pregnant women. She was right!

The cold that plagued our household last week has come and gone, and all the Fishers seem to be back in good health. Thank you for your prayers!

The excitement continues to build as this pregnancy progresses. It's overwhelming sometimes thinking about just how tiny and helpless this little child is, but it serves as an excellent reminder of our own standing as children of God. Little Ziggy can do nothing for himself right now. He can't make himself grow, he can't keep himself healthy, and he can't sustain himself. Everything that happens from the moment of conception on is in God's hands as He works to grow and nourish this little baby. How easily we forget how true that is in our own lives! Far too often we forget how desperate we'd be if our relationship with God depended on us. It is He who created us, and it is He who sustains us. Were it not for His great love for us in sending His Son, our situation would be pretty grim! As we continue to pray for Ziggy, we're reminded also to praise our heavenly Father for calling us out of darkness into His great light!

By His grace,

Justin, Christina and Ziggy :)

Week 12

Ziggy hit the 2-inch mark this week, growing to about the size of a small lime, and weighing about a half and ounce. She's almost tripled in size in just the past three weeks! Her face starts to look less alien this week as her eyes, which started out on the sides of her head, are moving closer together on her face, and her ears near their final positions on either side of her tiny head. Her nerve cells are multiplying rapidly and the neurological pathways in her brain are forming. Ziggy's developed quite a few more reflexes by now, including sucking, and apparently she'll now squirm a little, open her mouth and even move her fingers and toes if we prod Christina's abdomen (although we still won't feel any movement for a number of weeks).

Ziggy's growth is becoming more and more obvious outside the womb as well. We were amazed at how much Christina's belly seemed to grow just over the past week! (Though we know she's still got a lot of growing left to do...)

We also hit another milestone this week. The following is an exerpt from a morning in the Fishers' closet:

Christina: Grrrrrr....
Justin: Whatcha doing there, babe?
Christina: Buttoning my pants. (More grunting)
Justin: Do you need some help?
Christina: No, I've got it. They're just a little snug.
Justin: Do we need to get you some bigger pants?
Christina: No, it's not that I can't button them. They're just more comfortable if I don't.

It'll be time for maternity clothes soon enough. For now we've successfully added an inch to Christina's pants with the help of a rubberband.

Christina's been fighting a cold all week, so please pray that she'll heal quickly and be back to normal. The good news is that Ziggy doesn't feel a thing--she's taken over the majority of Christina's immune system and is nice and snug and healthy inside her little womb.

Please continue to pray for Ziggy's normal, healthy development. Now that we've heard the heartbeat and seen her little movements, we're more excited than ever, but realize just how delicate this little life is. It's still amazing to read about how much she's growing and changing from week to week. Please pray with us that God will continue to oversee her healthy development and that Christina will be over this cold quickly.

In His grip,

Justin, Christina and Ziggy :)

Week 11

Our little baby is now fully formed--although still so tiny, measuring 1.25 inches exactly and weighing about a quarter of an ounce. Some of Ziggy's bones are beginning to harden, and tiny toothbuds are starting to appear under his gums. His fingers and toes have separated, and as we saw in the ultrasound, he's busy opening and closing his fists.

There are a few milestones we'll never forget, and yesterday we added one more amazing one. We got to see what you can see by clicking the play button on the video above--our little baby, dancing, kicking, squirming and stretching in his temporary home inside Christina's uterus. There are simply no adequate words to describe how we felt watching this little life move around, and we'll simply have to trust that all the parents reading this know what we mean. What a miracle! The ultrasound technician noted that Ziggy was wide awake for his first pictures, and he put on quite a show for us during the brief minutes we were able to catch these early glimpses of him. How incredible to see tiny legs and feet and arms and hands moving around, and to know that God is overseeing every detail of his development. Turn your speakers on, because about halfway through the video you'll be able to hear the fetal heartbeat--160 beats per minute. Strong and healthy! And if you pay close attention, you'll see Ziggy stretch an arm over his face and you can just make out those tiny, tiny fingers. We like to think he was waving. Toward the end the technician added some thermal imaging that shows Ziggy's blood pumping through his little body.

Christina continues to stay healthy but is getting a little bored of trying to eat so many fruits and vegetables. If anyone has any secrets for dressing up healthy foods to make them more palatable, send them our way! Her stomach is being quite finicky this morning, so please say a prayer that that will subside quickly so she can make sure to get Ziggy all the nutrients he needs.

"Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, and you are exalted as head above all. Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. And now we thank you, our God, and praise your glorious name." -- 1 Chronicles 29:11-13

We praise God for this tiny miracle that He's creating and thank Him that He sees fit to give us one of His children to care for! Please pray with us that Ziggy would continue to develop properly by God's strength and according to His soveriegn plan, and that our little baby would learn to praise His glorious name from a very young age.

We love this little baby so much already, and are so excited about all the friends and family Ziggy will have when he finally shows himself to the world. Thank you for your continued prayers for this little gift!

By grace alone,

Justin, Christina and Ziggy :)