12 weeks

I am 12 weeks pregnant today. Still sick, but hoping that as I leave the first trimester I will also "leave" behind the sickness. :) Once we get into the new year it is going to seem much closer, because it will be 2013 and that's when the baby will be born. Of course we are super excited, and the kids have been quite excited too. Luke tells me often that he loves the baby already, and Lydia just plans how she will take over...I mean, help with house chores.

What makes us love this baby so much? It's already part of our family - a child that has been long awaited for and hoped for. We still have quite a while to go before it comes out to join us, but there is no question that is it real and alive right now.

Here are a few facts about our baby at 12 weeks in-utero:

- it is about 4.5 cm long
- it has every organ that a full grown adult has
- it can hiccup and move and test out its new appendages
- it has a beating heart
- its brain has connecting nerve paths already developed

I know that every mother that has ever carried a child, or even watched an expected child develop through another person, understands how precious life is - even at 12 weeks. But it also important to remember that many people claim, or choose to believe, that this baby - MY baby - is NOT a real human being. Abortion is legal until 20 weeks (and doctors can now save babies before 25 weeks premature). At 12 weeks I can abort my baby in many states in the US....or I can also go and have an ultrasound and watch my baby move around; see its heart beating. I am so thankful for the life I am carrying inside of me.