Dear Baby, You're growing...

6 weeks

You’re still here! We had another sonogram today, and you measured right on track. Your heartbeat was strong—121 bpm! We heard it! We weren’t expecting to so when it came on, our eyes got big! We were all smiles!

After our appointment, we went to get lunch at Taco Villa. I had your sonogram picture in my wallet, and the cashier saw it and asked me if it was mine. I was startled and stammered a bit, as we aren’t telling anyone yet. Finally, I said “yes”. She congratulated me, and Daddy told her that she was the first person to know. We laughed because the first person who knew about you was a Taco Villa cashier!

When I got back to the office, I looked up the old wives’ tale about heartbeat range being a predictor for the gender of your baby. Supposedly, if it’s 140bpm or above, you’re a girl; and if it’s below 140 bpm, you’re a boy. I also looked to see what the Chinese calendar says (which predicts gender based on maternal age and month of conception), and it says you are a girl. Go figure! A 50/50 chance! I think you are a boy, and Daddy thinks you are a girl. We don’t care what you are; we just hope you are healthy. And if you are not healthy, we hope we are molded into exactly the parents who can best care for you.

Our best friends came to town tonight. We decided we would tell them, as we won’t see them again for awhile, and we really wanted to tell them in person. We always joke about how we haven’t made any great friends since they moved. We told them that we finally made a new friend, as in we-literally-had-to-“make”-a-new-friend and showed them your picture! They were excited for us, and we talked about you a lot throughout the evening.

Here’s what you were up to this week:

The formations of the lungs, jaw, nose, and palate have begun. The hand and feet buds have webbed-like structures that will become the fingers and toes. The brain is continuing to form into its complex parts.

Your baby is about ¾ of an inch in length.

These were my prayers for you this week:

That I eat well and exercise to nourish you the best I can. That your brain develops correctly, and that you use it to make thoughtful decisions. That you have 2 arms to play ball and hug my neck with and 2 legs which you can use to run and walk your own path, and that I would be the type of parent who allows you to discover your natural talents and help them blossom.

Love,

Momma