He put in his thumb, and pulled out a....

...PLUM! The most dramatic development this week: reflexes. The twins fingers will soon begin to open and close, thier toes will curl, thier eye muscles will clench, and thier mouth will make sucking movements. In fact, if you prod your abdomen, the babies will squirm in response, although you won't be able to feel it. Their intestines, which have grown so fast that they protrude into the umbilical cord, will start to move into their abdominal cavity about now, and thier kidneys will begin excreting urine into thier bladder.Meanwhile, nerve cells are multiplying rapidly, and in the babies brain, synapses are forming furiously. Their face looks unquestionably human: their eyes have moved from the sides to the front of thier head, and thier ears are right where they should be. From crown to rump, the babies are just over 2 inches long and weighs half an ounce.

Here is a diagram of what the twins look like in the womb at 12 weeks...

put the lime in the coconut... (or should we say TWO limes in the coconut)

Slightly more than two inches long now and weighing about a third of an ounce,the twins are growing by leaps and bounds. And so are their heads, which is equal in length to the rest of the body. On the crown of that large head (and over the rest of the body), hair follicles are forming. Fingernail and toenail beds begin to develop this week and by next week, the nails themselves will start to grow. Your baby's body is straightening and his or her torso is lengthening. Other poses the babies can assume now: stretches, somersaults, and forward rolls. And while you can't tell this baby's gender by its cover yet, testes are developing if it's a boy and ovaries if it's a girl.

End of week 10

With bones and cartilage starting to form and vital organs beginning to function, baby is making major progress. Body length will almost double in the next three weeks, and arm joints are now working. (Soon, legs will start working too.)

They are nearly an inch and a half long and the size of a prune, but not nearly as shriveled (even with all the time it spends in water). In fact, the babies are really taking a human shape now. Bones and cartilage are forming, and small indentations on the legs are developing into knees and ankles. The arms (complete with elbows) can flex already. Though the baby's arms are taking shape and getting stronger, each one is only about the size of this number 1. The tooth bud fairy is making her appearance this week, heralding the arrival of the twins first little choppers, which are forming under the gums. Other systems are go, too. Their stomach is producing digestive juices, the kidneys are producing larger quantities of urine, and, if they are boys, or if one of them are a boy, he's already producing testosterone.

Ultrasound pictures will be posted tomorrow!

Graduation of the Twins

Things seem to be falling in place for C and I. It seems that God works all at once sometimes. We were talking about things last night and were thanking God over and over for everything...but then stopped to remember that even when everything seemed to be going wrong, we were still thankful then. We knew that God had an ultimate plan and it is so nice going through life knowing that we can rest in that fact. Such an extreme sense of peace...because truth be known, it probably will not be long before we have another season in the valley, and in that season we will know that we can trust and rest in HIM! We just sold our home and are planning a trip to KY in a couple of weeks to look for new homes. we feel so blessed that God is making all of this work like clockwork! All praise to Him!

Just for my memory, here is what The Laney Twins are up to this week:

Sunrise, sunset: The babies are having thier first graduation already! Yes, it's true: At 9 weeks pregnant, the twins have left the embryonic stage and are entering the fetal period now (good-bye embryo, hello fetus). They are now about one inch long, the size of a medium green olive (but no martinis, please). The head has straightened out and is more fully developed, the ears are much more prominent, and some new organs (the liver, spleen, and gallbladder) are forming. They are also making spontaneous movements of their arms and legs now that minuscule muscles are beginning to develop, though I won't feel the tiny dancers for at least another two months.

2 little Raspberries!

The babies are now the size of a raspberry!
They are growing like mad, putting on about a millimeter every day and continuing to straighten out in the trunk. They are moving those little arms, legs, and (now only slightly) webbed fingers and toes like crazy.

At a length of about half an inch right now, the babies have graduated from blueberry-sized to raspberry-sized. They are growing in my womb about a millimeter each day, and are looking a lot less reptilian and more baby-like, as lips, nose and eyelids take shape.
What else is changing at 8 weeks pregnant? A close-up view of our little embryos (say cheese!) would reveal a more baby-like appearance (and thankfully, a less reptilian one). You'd see an upper lip forming, the protruding tip of that cute button nose, and tiny (and very thin) eyelids. And check out those hands and feet! The babies webbed fingers and toes are differentiating now. His or her hearts are beating at the incredible rate of 150 times per minute. (That's twice as fast as your heart beats.)

{I am copying this infomation from "The Bump" and "What to Expect"}

7 weeks

I am a full 7 weeks today, and I obviously have 2 little people inside of me that are about the size of a blueberry! :) Here is the info on "The 2 doodles" this week:
At 7 week pregnant, your baby's length is approximately a quarter of an inch — the size of a blueberry. Sounds pretty tiny still? Consider this for a little perspective: Your baby is 10,000 times bigger now than it was at conception a month ago. The biggest fetal growth this week is your baby's head (the better to store all those smarts in), with new brain cells being generated at the rate of 100 cells per minute. How's that for a budding genius? And talking about buds, your baby is going out on a limb this week as his or her arm and leg buds begin to sprout and grow longer (and stronger), dividing into hand, arm, and shoulder segments — and leg, knee, and foot segments (though the limb buds look more like paddles than hands or feet at this early stage).
Also forming this week are your baby's mouth and tongue. And although your embryo is just one month old, it's already gone through three sets of kidneys. The ones in place now are the permanent set and are poised to begin their important work of waste management. In about a week, your baby will start producing urine. Lucky for you, there's no need for diapers (yet). As your baby matures inside you, much of that urine will be excreted into the amniotic fluid, swallowed again by your baby, and then excreted again in a continuous cycle.

I just don't think I will ever tire of thanking HIM!

6 weeks, The Most Beautiful Thing...

C and I saw the most beautiful thing we have ever seen in our lives today. C and I were able to see both of the baby's beautiful, strong heartbeats! I started crying. I was in such a blur of emotions...but C said that I said, "I have been waiting my whole life to see that"! C had to run grab the tissues for me, of course. I cannot believe how much they grew in 6 days! You could actually see the little beans and see their little hearts beating. It was truly amazing! They both measured 5 weeks and 6 days...and I am 6 weeks today, so they were right on target...I couldn't believe that they measured the exact same size.

Baby B's sac is sort of behind Baby A...so you can tell that it looks like Baby B's sac is peeking around the side of Baby A's sac. Baby A (below)- the arrows are around the baby

Baby B (below)- at the bottom of the sac.

Baby B's sac is measuring just a tad smaller than Baby A's sac, but the babies are the exact same size. The nurse explained to me that with multiples, the sacs are pushed up against one another- so they will measure differently than a singleton's sac. She assured me that she is the nurse that is "brutally honest" with the patients and she looked at both of us and said that everything looked "textbook perfect" again! Their heartbeats were 110 beats per minutes, which a very strong heart beat! I am completely taken away by the mercy of our God. I just can't stop thanking Him...I feel so honored to carry these little souls and to have the honor and blessing to parent them. C and I just can't stop praising!!!!

Also, today is 6 weeks....

So, here is the weekly info on "The 2 doodles":

Your baby's jaw, cheeks, chin, eyes, ears, and nose are beginning to form what will eventually become one adorable face. In addition, her kidneys, liver, and lungs are developing, and her heart is now beating 80 times a minute (and getting faster every day). All this and she's still no bigger than the length of a nail head (about a quarter of an inch) from crown to rump!

5 weeks today!

Here is the info on doodles this week:
Your baby now resembles a teeny tadpole (complete with a tiny tail) and is about the size of an orange seed. The circulatory (or blood) system, along with the heart, is the first part of that tiny body to be functional; and as your baby's heart starts to form, you may even be able to see it beating on an early ultrasound. Another part of your little tadpole that is under construction: the neural tube, which will eventually become your baby's brain and spinal cord.

A detailed picture of what "doodles" looks like today! So amazing!

4 weeks- Little Poppyseed!

....and this is what we will call "doodles" looks like until we know the gender... he or she (or they)are/is the size of a poppyseed! Thank you God!!!!!!!

Weekly info on the "doodles"-

In week 4, now safe in your womb, the ball of cells (blastocyst) splits in two, becoming the embryo and the placenta. The amniotic sac and fluid are forming around baby, and will act as a cushion for the next eight months!
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From my devotion this morning: What a powerful message:
From reading Psalm 30:1-12

In verse 6 David gives a testimony: "Now in my prosperity I said, 'I shall never be moved."' When we have prosperity without humility, it leads to adversity. Why? Because we start to be more concerned with things than we are with God. David said in his prosperity, "I shall never be moved." But then he found out that he could be moved. He found out that his prosperity did not guarantee security. So instead of saying "I shall" or "I shall not," he began saying "You have." He submitted his will to God's will. "You have" defeated the enemy. "For You have lifted me up, and have not let my foes rejoice over me" (v. 1). "You have" given me victory. "You have" answered prayer. "You have healed me" (v. 2). "You have brought my soul up from the grave; You have kept me alive" (v. 3).
God did some marvelous things for David. He defeated his enemy, answered his prayer, saved his life and established him (v. 7). And then He gave him joy. "You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness" (v. 11). Move from "I shall" to "You have" and, in humility, praise God for what He has done.