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.