My Dad and Step-Mom (Bob and Nancy) live in New Hampshire, so unfortunately telling them in person was not an option. Instead, we were able to have a Skype chat (an online video phone call) with them one morning. We decided it might be fun to slip in the announcement, and it worked out great. The conversation went something like this:
Laura: We were thinking of coming up to New England later this year, but decided it might be more fun if we wait until next year when we can bring our baby.
Bob and Nancy: (blinking with mouths open for a second) Did you say what we think you said?!
It was great fun. My Nana (Elizabeth a.k.a. Zibby) recently had total knee replacement and is recovering at a rehab hospital in New Hampshire. Dad gave us the phone number to her room and suggested we call during lunchtime when they would be visiting her. We shared the news with Nana in the same sly way, and she was so excited that she got a little teary! This will be great-grandchild #2 on the Heinlein side as my cousin, Jessica, had a baby boy named Oliver earlier in January.
For my Mom (Joyce), Grammie (Ann), and Ben's parents (Ben Sr. and Peggy) we were able to share the news in person. I purchased some (tiny!) newborn sized onesies and wrote "Coming Soon!" on them with fabric paint. Here's what they look like:
Mom happened to be celebrating her birthday so we wrapped it up and had her open it as a birthday present. I think it was safe to assume that finding out she is going to be a grandmother trumped the Land's End gift card that was her "real" birthday gift! We went to visit Grammie later that afternoon and wanted to surprise her as well. I re-wrapped the onesie and we told Grammie that we thought she might enjoy seeing one of Mom's birthday gifts and asked her to open the present. I don't think I've ever seen her look so surprised in my life! She literally sat back in her chair with wide eyes, eyebrows up, and her mouth in an "O" shape.
Ben's parents also received a wrapped up onesie posed as an early Valentine's Day gift. I handed them the gift bag and said, "Here's a little early Valentine's Day gift. It's just a little something that we thought might be fun for everyone to play with in Hiawassee." Ben added, "You already have a couple of these...." as Peggy unwrapped the tissue paper. Lots of squealing, jumping, and tears ensued! Henry, the golden retriever, just raised an eyebrow.... takes a lot to get him going these days. ;-)
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I'm still feeling great and the only notable change is that my fingernails are awesome. Usually my nails are really weak and they split and peel, but now they actually have little white tips and aren't peeling off! Really, it's the little things in life. :-) Oh, one not so fun change has been three wake-ups between 3:00am and 4:00am over the past week. I'll have that queasy, but hungry feeling I've described before, and can't get back to sleep so I get up and eat some cereal which eases the queasiness and allows me to fall back asleep. Ben was able to figure out that is has only happened on evenings when I eat sugar. With that, I'm going to avoid eating anything sugary after mid-day. (But the baggie of dry Cheerios and bottle of water are going to continue to live on my nightstand just in case!)
Our little baby has graduated from embryo to fetus this week!
Though he's barely the size of a kumquat — a little over an inch or so long, crown to bottom — and weighs less than a quarter of an ounce, your baby has now completed the most critical portion of his development. This is the beginning of the so-called fetal period, a time when the tissues and organs in his body rapidly grow and mature.
He's swallowing fluid and kicking up a storm. Vital organs — including his kidneys, intestines, brain, and liver (now making red blood cells in place of the disappearing yolk sac) — are in place and starting to function, though they'll continue to develop throughout your pregnancy.
If you could take a peek inside your womb, you'd spot minute details, like tiny nails forming on fingers and toes (no more webbing) and peach-fuzz hair beginning to grow on tender skin.
In other developments: Your baby's limbs can bend now. His hands are flexed at the wrist and meet over his heart, and his feet may be long enough to meet in front of his body. The outline of his spine is clearly visible through translucent skin, and spinal nerves are beginning to stretch out from his spinal cord. Your baby's forehead temporarily bulges with his developing brain and sits very high on his head, which measures half the length of his body. From crown to rump, he's about 1 1/4 inches long. In the coming weeks, your baby will again double in size — to nearly 3 inches.
Given that the baby is still so small, there isn't much to see in my weekly "belly photo" this week. When we were taking the photo on Tuesday we joked that I could almost keep re-posting the same picture because I look exactly the same! Here it is anyway:
