The Feeling of amazement

 It’s amazing! 
 When do you become you? 

 A STORY OF CONCEPTION

​Two weeks into your Mother’s monthly cycle, one of the eggs (that will become you) starts to grow. It is automatic. It is a fluid-filled sac called a follicle. Your Mother’s body will not desert you, as it will release a hormone that thickens the lining of her uterus and is now ready to protect the egg. Thank you, Mother! 
Next, nature steps in, and you, (the egg) travel to the fallopian tube and reside there for approximately 24 hours. Here’s where the excitement starts…You are waiting for one single sperm to fertilize you.  
 Just ONE, mind you! It’s AMAZING! 
 
There are millions of sperm.  
 The winner, a sperm  
 (THE sperm)  
 penetrates the egg.  

A big change occurs, and NOW, no other sperm can enter the egg. You have been fertilized and at that very instant, your genes and sex are set. If the sperm has a Y chromosome, you will be a boy. If it has an X chromosome, you will be a girl. Life has begun. Amazing! 

You, the egg, will comfortably stay in your mother’s fallopian tube for about 3-4 days. (Thank  goodness for the well-earned rest) However, within 24 hours after being fertilized a division of cells starts. Slowly it begins the journey to the uterus for implantation or attachment and you are where you are supposed to be! By the 10th-12th day, you are given the title: 
 EMBRYO.  
 You are now considered a whole human being. 
  
 IT’S AMAZING!!!!! 
  
Within 3 weeks, your first nerve cells have formed. Shortly after, your brain has started to appear.
 At 4 weeks, forms of your face and neck develop...The lungs,  heart, blood vessels, stomach, and liver are coming into being.  

You need nourishment and the evolving placenta will do that for you. 
At 8 weeks, you are actually a tiny bit more than half an inch…Everything is forming. Your eyelids, ears, tip of nose, arms, legs, fingers, toes.  
Are you, YOU, … yet? 

At the end of the 10th week, you have graduated, as you are now considered A FETUS!  
This title is yours until birth. 

At 12 weeks, Fetus, You, measures approximately 2 inches. You can move! You can hear, and you have a heartbeat!  
Your sex organs are now clear. The end of the first trimester. 

16 weeks…You measure 4 – 4.6 inches. You weigh about 3.5 ounces. Wow, you can blink. Your heart and blood vessels are fully formed. You are unique as your fingers and toes now have fingerprints. 

At 20 weeks, you are halfway through your 40-week process. You have found comfort and can now suck your thumb, it feels good to yawn, and stretch. You are moving. 
Those people outside want to do an ultrasound. They want to know if you are a boy or a girl. (The secret is now out.) They are excited. You guess that they are what are known as parents.   

24 weeks…You feel a jerking response when your Mom hiccups. Your inner ear is fully developed.  
A network of nerve cells provides consciousness. 
  
28 weeks, third-trimester beginning. 
Good chance you will survive now! 
What have you been doing? You have spent 95% of the day sleeping, mostly in REM sleep. It is likely that you are dreaming. Your brain will develop and so will your memory. 

32 weeks and you are almost 4 lbs. and its fun to move.  
Layers of fat are forming under your skin.

36 weeks. You are about 18.6 inches and about 6 lbs.  
Your brain has developed quickly. Your lungs are almost fully developed. Wow, your head is now positioned down your Mom’s pelvis. 

40 weeks…..is the optimum for your birth. 
​

Birth

Lungs are the last organ to develop, but they are formed now. 
You are starting to feel pressure as you are squeezed and heading down the birth canal. You have been cushioned in Mother’s womb and suddenly this is the beginning of your journey. 

You have heard your Mother’s voice and your Father’s too. There were other people who talked to you. You are so happy that no one disturbed your trip of becoming YOU…They allowed you to develop. You wanted to live and are grateful that no one stopped you…You are almost there…Your Mother is helping and pushing you out. Soon you will meet her. 

Your head is out and slowly your whole body is delivered. People are helping to clear the fluid from your mouth and throat and your lungs are filling with air.  

You take your first precious breath! 

You cry, telling the world that your respiratory and circulatory system has made the transition from life inside your Mom’s womb to YOUR life outside.  

​OMG!  
It is shocking.  

They are cutting the umbilical cord.  
Will it hurt?  
No, there is no pain because the umbilical cord does not have nerves.  

You are brought to this wonderful human being who is your mother and being held skin-to-skin.  She is beautiful and holding you with so much love. You are covered with a blanket and they put a  pink hat on your head. Your Dad is looking at you with amazement and swears to protect you.  

YOU ARE AMAZING! YOU ARE UNIQUE! YOU ARE BORN!   
  
HAPPY  BIRTHDAY!! 
  
“I made it! “ 
“Life is beautiful! 
​