God’s design of human beings is amazing. Our bodies are intricately designed–the more we learn about them, the more we realize we have more to learn! I’m always particularly amazed at the way God forms little bodies within the womb. He truly cares for even the smallest details!
Ten Facts About Babies in the Womb
- By the end of the fourth week of pregnancy (two weeks after conception), a baby’s heart is beating.
- By weeks five and six, a baby’s ears, eyes, and nose are visibly growing.
- By week seven, a baby’s growing neck is showing, and the heart has two separate chambers.
- By week eight, babies have elbows, eyelids, and fingers. All the organs–except the lungs–have begun to work.
- By week ten, a baby has all his or her muscles in place, and is using them!
- By week fourteen, a baby is swallowing amniotic fluid and is passing that fluid through working kidneys.
- By week eighteen, a baby has a full set of baby teeth beneath the gums and functional sweet and sour taste buds.
- By weeks nineteen and twenty, babies can hear their mother’s beating heart, pumping blood, voice, and the music she’s listening to.
- By week twenty-six, a baby has growing fingernails and can see six to eight inches away.
- By week twenty-eight, three months before the due date, babies begin to dream.
Sharing God’s Magnificent Story of Life with Our Children
Our children can see God’s providential design in the formation of babies in the womb. My kids have always loved hearing the story of their own development and birth, and sharing the story has always been such a special bonding time for us!
I want you to be able to share this special time with your child as well, teaching about God’s plan for life, His special care in the creation of babies in the womb, and that He has created each of your children with a plan and a purpose. For that reason, I wrote Wonderfully Made: God’s Story of Life from Conception to Birth, aimed at 5-11 year olds. It’s a simple, visual way for you to share with your child how God formed him or her. The book is full of scientific facts, beautiful illustrations, and Scripture. It’s written as a story from mother to child.
Danika Cooley is a mother of four, two who grew in her womb and two who grew in her heart. She and her husband live in the Pacific Northwest where they homeschool their youngest two children. In addition to her new book, Wonderfully Made, Danika is the author of When Lightning Struck!: The Story of Martin Luther (Fortress Press, 2015), and Bible Road Trip.