Week 9

What happened to week 8, you ask? Apparently, Peanut is too good for week 8. The ultrasound technician bumped us up a couple of days, and between that and my late blogging, I'm afraid you'll have to satisfy your week 8 needs somewhere else.


Peanut is about the size of a grape now--about an inch long--and while most pregnancy books describe her as looking more "human-like" now, we'll let you be the judge. It's a good thing full size humans don't look like this.

We're continuing to monitor the blod clots in my uterus (which is why we've had so many ultrasounds) and are happy to report that they remain small, and are, according to the doctor, not something we should be too concerned about. We ask you to continue to pray that they would completely go away so that we could take the doctor's advice.

Her heart was beating like crazy today -- 174 beats a minute -- and at this stage of development her heart has finished dividing into four chambers. Her eyelids will remain fused shut for some time, and her tiny nose, nostrils and earlobes are getting more distinct. She's passed from the embryonic to the fetal stage and should begin some rapid weight gain soon.

Meanwhile, I'm continuing to suffer from and whine about morning sickness (a misnomer, by the way--it actually lasts from sun up to sun down). I'm twice as tired growing our little Peanut as I was when I was growing Abby, probably due in part to the fact that I'm chasing Abby around now. Since the energy exerted by my body in this stage of pregnancy is the equivalent of running a marathon every day (which I was not trained for), I'd like to point out that I am actually running that marathon with a ten-month-old on my hip. Let's see Uncle Matt try that one.

We praise God this week for good reports on Peanut's development. What a miracle this is, and what a blessing to be entrusted with another one of His little ones to care for!

Week 7

(It's okay--it's looks like a blob to me too.
The longer blob on the bottom in the dark area is the baby.
The smaller blob on top is the yolk sac.)

There's lots happening in my belly this week! Paddle-like hands and feet are sprouting at the ends of Peanut's developing arms and legs, and Peanut has almost doubled in size since last week to be about a half an inch long now (about the size of a blueberry). Her eyes already have some color to them at this point, and the tip of her nose is beginning to protrude from her tiny little face. And already wrapped up in that tiny package are her appendix, pancreas, and beating heart. In fact, in our most recent ultrasound, we were able to easily make out the heart because of its rapid beating--158 beats a minute!

This pregnancy is already proving very different from the first, in more ways than one. I'm guessing they call it morning sickness because you notice it when you wake up, but my version is something akin to all-day-long sickness that just sort of hangs around making me feel queasy all the time.

We're also continuing to monitor the blod clots in my uterus (called subchorionic hemorrhages). It's a frustrating condition that doctors seem to know little about, other than that it happens in one percent of all pregnancies and is something that may or may not go away on its own. What we do know is that they are small areas of bleeding on the gestational sac (the "chorion") that are slightly larger this week than they were a week and a half ago. Our doctor tells us they are not a major concern at this point, just something that needs to be monitored. (Not worrying about a blood clot that is the size of my baby is easier said than done.) Meanwhile, I'm being commanded to continue to take it easy and rest.

Aside from that, Peanut seems to be developing well according to the most recent ultrasound and is still on track for a January 31 due date. Please continue to pray that the subchorionic hemorrhages would heal completely and Peanut would have a safe place to continue developing.

Week 6

We're happy to announce that Baby Fisher #2 is on the way! Little Peanut's official due date at this point is January 31, 2009.

In keeping with tradition, we will alternate the choice of pronouns we use to refer to our baby until we have some concrete evidence that we should stick to either "he" or "she" exclusively, sometime around week 20.

This week in my belly, Peanut's nose, mouth and ears are beginning to take shape and he'll start to have little arm and leg buds protruding from his bean-like body. As you can see from the ultrasound, "bean-like" is the most appropriate descriptor for our little baby. Peanut is the little bean --about a half an inch long now--that you see at the bottom of the ring inside the dark spot at the center of the picture.

Meanwhile, we found out that there are two small blod clots on Peanut's gestational sac that need to heal. My part in this is to take it easy, rest, and not lift anything heavy (like Abby). Your part in this is to pray for quick healing and that Peanut would continue to develop normally and have a healthy environment in which to grow.

Having been through this once before makes this no less of a wonder to me and Justin. We were still blown away to see that little bean moving around in the ultrasound, still amazed at the miracle of life, and still thrilled that God would bless us with another one of his children to care for. Thanks for helping us countdown to Peanut's arrival!