Week 24: Viability
Hi!  Amilia Sonia Taylor, "the world's youngest premature baby," survived birth at just 21 weeks and 6 days, but the given age for viability is usually considered to be 24 weeks.  At this point, my chance for survival outside the womb is between 40-70%.  The development of my lungs is crucial to this survival.  Right now they're beginning to make surfactant, a substance that will help me breathe outside my mom's womb.
--Emma

Week 22: Balance

I'm back!
This week my inner ear finishes its development, giving me my senses of balance and hearing.  I'm also growing tooth buds beneath my gums and taste buds on my tongue.  My weight is almost up to a pound, and I'm a whole eleven inches long!  Amilia Sonia Taylor, "the world's youngest premature baby," survived birth at just 21 weeks and 6 days! 
--Ethan

With 4D ultrasound technology, my mom can already watch me move around!

Week 16: Hi Mom!

Emma here--
Mom may start to feel me moving for the first time!  If she goes in for an ultrasound and I cooperate, she might also learn that I'm a little girl.  I'm experiencing new sensations as well: my taste buds are developing, and I can sense light.  Though my body is only four-and-a-half inches, my heart is pumping twenty-five quarts of blood a day.

 

Week 14: Smiles

It's Ethan! 
By now, I've grown to about the size of a lemon, and I weigh over one ounce.  My liver, kidneys, and spleen are all functioning, and impulses from my brain are causing a number of facial movements.  I can smile, frown, and even suck my thumb!  I can also respond to pokes to Mom's tummy and swim away.

 

Week 8: Elbows!

Emma here!
The embryonic period ended and the fetal period has begun.  All of my essential organs are present!  My neural pathways are forming in my brain, and though my heart continues developing, the most critical formations are complete.  Additionally, I have elbows, wrists, ankles, eyelids, and an upper lip!

 

Keep visiting! Someone commented a few posts ago and we're happy that people are talking. Did you see the flags by slantwalk last week? http://www.miamistudent.net/home/index.cfm?event=displaySlideShow&islides=22274&currentImage=4
3600 to remember every unborn child aborted each day in America, and his or her mom. What did you think?

--Emma & Ethan

Hey again!
Time is flying--my heart started beating! I may have a different blood type than my mom, and my heart is pumping at 75-80 beats per minute. Mom is considered 4 weeks pregnant if you go by my gestational age, which is counted from the LMP, or Last Menstrual Period. My life undoubtedly began at the moment of fertilization, but I still wish more people knew that every abortion stops a beating heart. Maybe they'd think differently about people my age.
Keep checking in!
Until next time,
Emma