Q: What happens during weeks 7 and 8 of pregnancy? A: Weeks seven and eight are a remarkable period of fetal development. Hands and feet are forming fingers and toes are beginning to differentiate and the embryonic tail — yes there is one — is disappearing. The brain is developing rapidly and the heart is beating at an extraordinary rate of approximately 175 beats per minute which is roughly three times the resting heart rate of a healthy adult. Everything that will make your baby who they are is beginning to take shape at a speed that is genuinely humbling.

Q: How fast does a baby’s heart beat at 8 weeks pregnant? A: At eight weeks a developing baby’s heart beats at approximately 150 to 175 beats per minute — significantly faster than an adult resting heart rate of 60 to 100 beats per minute. Adam calculated that at 175 bpm baby Lil goes from zero to 60 beats per minute in 20.61 seconds compared to his 65.9 seconds. He found this deeply impressive and slightly humbling from a horsepower perspective.

Q: What do babies crave in early pregnancy through their mothers? A: Every pregnancy is different but our early pregnancy cravings that baby Lil seemed to love most were orange juice cucumbers and saltines. The body’s wisdom in early pregnancy is remarkable — the things that sound most appealing are often exactly what both mother and baby need most at that particular stage of development.

Q: What is it like having a final prenatal appointment before leaving South Korea? A: Bittersweet in the most profound way. Korean prenatal care was thorough warm and genuinely excellent and saying goodbye to our doctor and the country where Lil’s earliest weeks were spent felt significant. The ultrasound images from those Korean appointments are among our most treasured possessions from our time there.

Q: How do you write meaningful letters to your unborn baby? A: You just start writing honestly about what you are feeling and observing. Adam’s instinct to translate fetal heart rate into automotive horsepower statistics is the most perfectly him thing imaginable — and someday Lil will read this letter and understand immediately who their father is. The best letters to unborn children are not polished they are real.