Justus Andrew

Our dear friends, the Fuccillos, had quite the surpise last week when Sarah's water broke at 30 weeks (10 weeks early)...she was rushed to the hospital to prepare for their baby to come very prematurely. After a long few days, Justus Andrew was born on Friday, 11/14/08, at 12:50pm. He weighed 3lbs 7oz and was 17 inches long. They have a long road ahead of them with Justus in the NICU to get strong enough to go home, but have faith that he is in great hands and has already proven to be a very strong little boy. Thanks for keeping them in your prayers!

So small!


His head is about the length of Andy's thumb...

Justus' incubator in the NICU

The support team

The new dad, Andy, with Justus' lion of courage

Amazing Growth

Having a life growing inside of you is truly amazing...so amazing that it is becoming increasingly more difficult to focus on anything else (like work)! I made the chart above to show you some perspective on how our little one has grown so far (in comparison with a quarter) and want to explain all of the amazing things that have happened and are happening as you read this. You CAN'T tell me life doesn't BEGIN AT CONCEPTION!!!

Week 4 - Our baby is the size of a poppy seed. This week, the cells that make up the embryo split in 2; 1 part will form the baby, 1 part will form the placenta. There are 3 layers of cells that will grow into different parts of our baby. The inner cells will form the digestive system, liver & lungs. The middle will form the heart, sex organs, bones, kidney & muscles, and the outer will form the organs, tissues, nervous system, hair, skin & eyes.

Week 5 - Our baby is the size of a sesame seed. The heart has formed into two tiny channels and is beating! The neural tube is starting to form which is the precurser for the brain and spinal cord.

Week 6 - Our baby is the size of a sweet pea. The jaw, cheeks, chin & ear canals are forming. There are small bumps on the face that will be the eyes and nose in a few weeks. The kidneys, liver & lungs are also beginning to form.

Week 7 - Our baby is the size of a blueberry. He or she is 10,000 times bigger than at conception about a month ago. The head is forming and brain cells are generating at 100 cells a minute! The arm and leg buds are sprouting and the mouth and tongue are forming. Our baby has gone through 3 sets of kidneys by now and is now using the permanent ones and is starting to urinate. At least we don't start changing diapers yet!

Week 8 - Our baby is the size of a raspberry. The upper lip, tip of the nose & tiny eyelids form this week. The fingers and toes are starting to differentiate themselves from being webbed. The heart is beating 150 times per minute and our baby is growing about a millimeter a day!

Week 9 - This is where we are this week! Our baby is the size of a grape. The head will straighten out and become more developed. The ears are becoming more prominent and new organs such as the liver, spleen & gallbladder are forming. Our baby is moving his/her arms and legs spontaneously with mini muscles! The heart is beating strong enough to be heard on a doppler....which we pray we will get to hear next week at our FIRST appointment since finding out we are pregnant!

For those of you confused why I started my chart at week 4, it's because full term pregnancy is 40 weeks. Conception begins about week 3. If you have more questions (or are a man), just ask a woman. :)

Stay tuned...

SURPRISE!!!

Last weekend we surprised our family and friends with the most exciting news and news that now makes us "blog worthy"...I'M PREGNANT!!! We are due June 17th, so we have a ways to go, but so far so good! I am in my 8th week and feeling great...just really tired and with an extreme sense of smell, but other than that we just keep pinching ourselves that we have a baby on the way. We feel so blessed and this blog will be a way for us to share updates about our lives and our growing baby (who is the size of a raspberry this week!). We truly appreciate all of your prayers and support. Here are some pictures of our parents when we told them...PRICELESS!