doctor/36 weeks

We saw the doctor today. Everything is still normal. The baby hasn't dropped and my cervix still hasn't changed at all. He said his gut feeling was that I would deliver pretty close to my due date, probably because everything has been right on track and perfectly average my entire pregnancy. He was happy with the weight estimate from the ultrasound and guessed that the baby would weigh about 7.5 pounds when she's born.

I'm really starting to feel the effects of her packing on the pounds, though. My feet, hands and wrists are pretty much constantly swollen and achy, I'm moving more slowly and stiffly, and I feel like there's no room left in my stomach. From what I've heard, this is all par for the course and part of Mother Nature's grand plan to ready me for birth and motherhood!

Here's the scoop for this week:

week 36
Your baby is still packing on the pounds — at the rate of about an ounce a day. She now weighs almost 6 pounds (like a crenshaw melon) and is more than 18 1/2 inches long. She's shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered her body as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered and protected her skin during her nine-month amniotic bath. Your baby swallows both of these substances, along with other secretions, resulting in a blackish mixture, called meconium, will form the contents of her first bowel movement.

At the end of this week, your baby will be considered full-term. (Full-term is 37 to 42 weeks; babies born before 37 weeks are pre-term and those born after 42 are post-term.) Most likely she's in a head-down position. But if she isn't, your practitioner may suggest scheduling an "external cephalic version," which is a fancy way of saying she'll try to coax your baby into a head-down position by manipulating her from the outside of your belly.

ultrasound

We had an ultrasound today, and they estimated that she weighs 6 pounds, 6 ounces right now. It's a perfectly average size for 36.5 weeks, which isn't surprising, since everything has been right on target thus far. She should be gaining about a half pound a week right now, so that would put her at roughly 8 to 8.5 pounds on my due date. My amniotic fluid level was great, and the baby is head down. We didn't get to see too much of her face because it was pressed right up against my placenta, and the photos aren't that great this time since she's so big. We did detect some hair on the back of her head and got some good hand and foot shots. She kept swallowing fluid, which was really cute. And it's definitely a girl! We have an appointment Thursday and will discuss all of this with my doctor.

My dad is flying in for a weeklong visit tonight. Unfortunately, Candy isn't coming this time, but they'll both be back in September to meet the baby. Although it's a little early still, it would be kind of cool if she made her debut while my dad was here, since it would be impossible for him to time a visit for her delivery otherwise. We'll see!

i'm thirty, yee haw!

Apparently I had a good time celebrating my birthday last night, but you'll have to ask Sarah because I don't remember too much. Fortunately for you, she took some good pictures and even a little video. Enjoy!

doctor update

I had my 35/36 week appointment yesterday, and all is still well. My blood pressure is low, baby's heartbeat is good, and the doc said she's head down, although still no signs of any internal change. I've been gaining about 3 pounds every 2 weeks, which seems crazy to me, but I think it's mostly in my belly and appendages. I'm starting to barely recognize my hands and feet, and they hurt pretty much all the time. I've heard (a million times) that that's what having a summer baby is all about. Thank god for crocs! I got a really cute pair a few months ago to wear as my more casual shoes, and now I wear them every day.

We scheduled an ultrasound for next Tuesday to see how big baby girl is. I'm so excited to see her, although I'm sure she'll look all smushed in there. And I really want to see how she's positioned because I feel her all the time, but I have no idea what's what. I'll see the doctor again next Thursday.

We also selected a pediatrician. I was so excited to have this info for my OB because he's been asking about it every appointment for the last 3 months, but we couldn't meet with this second doctor until a month before my due date. So, of course, he didn't ask about it yesterday. We picked Dr. Z, Mellisa's pediatrician for Maddie and Sydney. The office is really close to the house, and we liked that it has separate well and sick waiting rooms. And we really clicked with the doctor. So that's another big thing we can cross off our list. The only major thing left (and it's really major) is daycare, but I'm doing all I can to collect info in order to make that decision. I don't think we're going to have that nailed down until well after she's born though.

happy 30th birthday, kevin!

Today is Kevin's 30th birthday, so be sure to send him a birthday greeting and stop by Cadillac Ranch after 5 tomorrow (Friday) for a little birthday celebration! Tonight I'm taking him to dinner--but he doesn't know where--and there are birthday muffins and coffee cooking up while he takes Gilmore on a morning walk. Happy birthday, Kevin!

our baby this week

Last Sunday we took a prenatal yoga workshop that was very informative and encouraging. We learned different positions you can use to manage pain and to help the baby get into the right position for delivery during labor. We also learned relaxation and massage techniques to use leading up to and during labor. We really enjoyed it and have also been learning a lot from reading "The Birth Book" by Dr. Sears together and watching "The Business of Being Born," a documentary about childbirth by Ricki Lake (thanks, Sue for letting us borrow both). We have another doctor's appointment Thursday, and I'm guessing we'll start seeing him once a week after that. Here's what's going on this week.

week 35
Your baby doesn't have much room to maneuver now that he's over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 1/4 pounds (pick up a honeydew melon). Because it's so snug in your womb, he isn't likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times he kicks should remain about the same. His kidneys are fully developed now, and his liver can process some waste products. Most of his basic physical development is now complete — he'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight.

web sight

I received an email last week announcing that Kelly Michelle Photography, the place where I had my maternity photos taken, has redesigned its website. I cruised on over to www.kellymichellephotography.com and was flattered to find that she posted two of my photos on the site (I signed a model release giving her permission to use them but didn't expect her to). If you want to check them out, just click on "Maternity" after you enter the site, then click through the thumbnails on the right side of the page. A heads up: One of the photos is topless but very tasteful and not revealing. The other is my favorite of all the photos--it's the one we bought in 8X10 for our room.

our baby this week

There's lots to talk about this week. First of all, thank you for all the happy birthday wishes! I've had a nice birthday weekend that included a good lunch with my staff on Friday, shopping and a casual dinner with Kevin Friday night, shopping and a nice dinner with Kevin last night, and lunch and a movie with Katie and Mom today. Plus lots of thoughtful gifts. So thank you.

We had a doctor's appointment Thursday, and the words of the day were "normal" and "average." My blood pressure was normal, the baby's/my size was average, my weight gain is average, my cervix hasn't changed and the baby hasn't dropped at all. So all is good with both me and the baby. I have another appointment in 2 weeks, then we'll schedule an ultrasound for week 36 to check her size and position.

We also had the last two baby classes this week. The first was Baby Care Basics, which was, well, basic. It was good to have reassurance that, for the most part, we're not clueless when it comes to taking care of an infant, though, and we did learn some new things. Yesterday we had Save a Baby, which is an American Heart Association-sponsored CPR and choking class. It was very informative, and we had a lot of fun.

Here's what's going on with the little one this week:

34 Weeks
Your baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds (like your average cantaloupe) and is almost 18 inches long. Her fat layers — which will help regulate her body temperature once she's born — are filling her out, making her rounder. Her skin is also smoother than ever. Her central nervous system is maturing and her lungs are continuing to mature as well. If you've been nervous about preterm labor, you'll be happy to know that babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine. They may need a short stay in the neonatal nursery and may have a few short-term health issues, but in the long run, they usually do as well as full-term babies.

the mom-to-be is thirty three!

My favorite expectant mother is having a birthday today! Be sure to wish her a happy one.
I love you Sarah!

before and after

Believe it or not, we've found time to take Sarah's picture every week since we found out she was pregnant . I know we're not all the way there yet and you've had photo updates every week, but I thought you might enjoy seeing this comparison at week 16 (when we thought we was starting to show... little did we know) and week 33. She is more beautiful to me every day and I'm getting really anxious to finally meet my daughter!!!

our baby: 33 weeks

This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds (heft a pineapple) and has passed the 17-inch mark. He's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and his skeleton is hardening. The bones in his skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for him to fit through the birth canal. (The pressure on the head during birth is so intense that many babies are born with a conehead-like appearance.) These bones don't entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as his brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood.