Dear Baby, Week 7

Well, Baby, we've established a few things this week that have made us very happy. First, your heart is beating nice and strong. Second, you're growing in the right place. And third, you're on your own in there.

You're about the size of a lima bean. You have distinct, slightly webbed fingers and toes. And you're moving in fits and starts. Your liver is currently churning out large amounts of red blood cells until your bone marrow forms to take over this job.

And we saw you on an ultrasound screen yesterday - it was really amazing. We saw your tiny little head (which is just under 3 mm) and your little heart beat. Your heart beat was like a candle flame, flickering away. It was pretty phenomenal.

You're already an overachiever - you're about four days ahead of schedule in terms of average size and development. And your heart beat is going quickly at 140 bpm. This is a great number.

You're starting to become real to us now, and that's exciting. Within half an hour of seeing you on that screen and finding out that you are doing ok, your Daddy got very, very tired. He'd be really worried about you - and he was just so relieved that you are ok. We both are. I went home and crawled into bed to try and muster up some extra energy for you. Because you sure are using up a lot of my energy! But I'm happy to give it to you - it's what is going to make you nice and strong.

You are doing a great job growing, Baby. Keep up the great work - we're really proud of you.