Why Lima Bean?

Some of our family members latched on to the name "Lima Bean" quickly. We even had one suggest that we call it "Limey."

Even our friends took to the moniker, choosing it over the other option of "Baby H," which really is so lab-like.

Of course one of my sisters verbally guffawed at the idea that we would use "Lima Bean" as a nickname. Since her complaints came after we had already started this blog, I chuckled as I told her the name was, obviously, here to stay.

So how did we come up on the name Lima Bean?

It started at our first ultrasound, on Jan. 22, when I was at Week 8/Day 1. This was our first official prenatal appointment and an ultrasound was done to make sure there was a heartbeat.

When the picture came up in the screen, we saw a little blob that can best be described as looking like a lima bean! Our doctor told us that it was also the size of a lima bean (1/2 to 3/4 of an inch). So, of course, when we described what we saw on the screen to family members, we kept repeating the "lima bean" description.

Pretty soon, it stuck.

Beans, it turns out, are a common way to describe the early growth of a baby. According to pregnancy books and Web sites, an embryo at Week 6 is the size of a lentil bean (0.08 to 0.16 inch). By Week 7, it turns into pinto bean (0.16 to 0.2 inch) only to morph into a lima bean or kidney bean (1/2 inch) by the start of Week 8.

So, for those who don't like the name Lima Bean, just think, it could have been worse.

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.