How we got to this point

Come on, do you really not know how babies are made? ;-) We think THAT happened back on Wednesday, Dec. 10, or Thursday, Dec. 11, although we can't really recall.

Suffice to say, I was completely oblivious when I ran the Jingle Bell All The Way 10K on Sunday, Dec. 14, clocking a 56:55 time at a 9:10/mi pace! At that point, Lima Bean was a mere "ball of cells," measuring just 0.006 inches (0.150mm) long, barely the size of the period at the end of this sentence.

Then, we had some very sad news on Dec. 15 that sent us up to West Orange, NJ, for the better part of the week to say goodbye to a dear uncle who never knew that Lima Bean was starting to grow. I'm sure he knows now! We can only imagine how excited he must be.

By Dec. 23, we were headed to Ocean City, NJ, to celebrate Christmas Eve. Not aware yet about Lima Bean, wine was drunk and I ran a hard seven miles on the Boardwalk at a fantastic pace. This will be a good year for me, running-wise, I thought. Little did I know.

On Dec. 25, we flew to Tucson, Arizona, to spend Christmas with Aunt Kelly and Uncle Benny. So, as you can see, little Lima Bean is already quite a seasoned traveler! By Arizona, I was starting Week 4 of my pregnancy, although we didn't know it at the time.

Little Lima Bean was still just 0.014 to 0.04 inches in size (0.36mm to 1mm), so tiny that he or she was barely visible. But as we explored Tucson, hiked Sedona and toured the Grand Canyon, Lima Bean was busy as well! This was the week in which Lima Bean transformed from a blastocyst (a ball of cells) into an "embryo."

A week later, on Dec. 31, we spent New Year's Eve camping out in Tucson, then enjoyed a wonderful New Year's Day hike. We explored the Sonora Desert Museum and watched an amazing sunset overlooking the Saguaro National Monument at Gate's Pass.

Meanwhile, I was progressing into Week 5, a very important week for Lima Bean! By this time, implantation was complete and Lima Bean had become deeply embedded in my uterus, measuring 0.05 inches (1.25mm) long. What's amazing is that by this time, it was possible to identify the fold of skin that was to become Lima Bean's head. A heart forming plate had developed and the central nervous system, muscles and bone were already in the early stages of development. The brain, spine and beginnings of the nervous system were also forming.

Even more amazing, by this time, Lima Bean's heart had started beating! We think Lima Bean must have been very excited about Arizona, and thus decided to hang on and stay around a bit. We'll have to take Lima Bean back there someday!

We returned to Washington, D.C., on Friday, Jan. 2, and suspecting something was amiss, decided that I should POAS (pee on a stick).

I did, and wouldn't you know... It said I was PREGNANT!

Shocked, we rushed to CVS to buy three more tests. And one by one they each said the same thing: PREGNANT!

And that was how the journey began ... At Week 5/Day 2.