Week 8: What's happening this week

Our baby is now 5/8 of an inch long, about the size of a kidney bean. Little Mc is constantly moving and shifting, although I won't be able to feel these womb wiggles for several weeks. Still slightly webbed, little Mc's fingers and toes are growing longer. LMc's knee and elbow joints have formed, so she can now bend both. Breathing tubes extend from the baby's throat to the branches of her developing lungs. The nerve cells in her brain are also branching out, forming primitive neural pathways. The external genitals still haven't developed enough to reveal whether you're having a boy or a girl .

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Baby McFadden 6-25-07

You can now start to see the head and other little body parts. The fun thing today was seeing the little one's heart beat flashing on the monitor!

Week 7: What's happening this week

Now almost half an inch long — roughly the size of a raspberry — our baby has elbow joints and distinct, slightly webbed fingers and toes. In his oversized head, both hemispheres of little Mc's brain are developing. His teeth and the inside of his mouth are forming, and his ears continue to develop. Eyelid folds partially cover his tiny peepers. His skin is paper-thin, and his veins are clearly visible. You can't feel his gyrations yet, but your little jumping bean is moving in fits and starts around his watery home.

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Baby McFadden 6-14-2007

This is Baby McFadden at 6 weeks...and the baby is doing exactly what the doctors want her to. Little Mc looks like a diamond ring. The diamond is the beginning of the fetus and the ring is the yolk sack.

Week 6: What's happening this week

Our baby's heart is growing, and dividing into the right and left chambers. But the most exciting part is that her tiny heart is now beating (at a speedy 100 to 130 beats a minute) and pumping blood throughout her body. The cells that will make up all of our baby's body parts and systems are dividing furiously as her body begins to take shape. Right now she's about the size of a small lentil bean (4 to 5 millimeters across). She's starting to build muscle fibers, and halfway through this week, she'll likely start moving her tiny limbs.

Week 5: What's happening this week

Our baby is about the size of a sesame seed, and he looks more like a tiny tadpole than a human. The big development this week: Our baby's brain is beginning to grow! It develops from the neural tube, a structure that will also spawn our baby's spinal cord, nerves, and backbone. Since folic acid helps prevent neural tube defects, you can see why it's so important early in pregnancy. In the meantime, the primitive placenta and umbilical cord, which deliver nourishment and oxygen to your baby, are already on the job.

First Glance at Baby McFadden

This is the first picture of Baby McFadden. Mike and I were so excited to go to the doctors today and get to see the little one growing in us. Well, actually, all you are seeing is the sac our baby is in...I guess next week we will be able to see a little bit more. We continue to pray to meet this little one in nine months and that the Lord protects this little baby.

Letting the family know...