doctor/38 weeks

We saw the doc again yesterday and still no change. No dilation, no effacement, no dropping baby. So no news. I'll see him again Thursday, but he's still thinking I'll probably deliver close to my due date.

I've decided to stop working after Friday, though. I'm wrapping up all my projects at work this week. And I'm getting increasingly more uncomfortable since I'm not sleeping well, I'm swollen most of the time and I'm having random cramps and aches. It feels weird to have made that decision though. Everything's been so hypothetical for so long, so it's strange to finally execute these plans. I really thought I'd work up until my due date, but I figure throwing in the towel one week early isn't bad. I want to maximize the amount of time I have with the baby after she's born, but, since my doc isn't going to let me go more than a week past my due date, I'll only be sacrificing a maximum of 2 of my 12 weeks off beforehand. And it will be nice to have the time for myself to rest.

Here's what's going on with the baby this week:

38 weeks
Your baby has really plumped up. She weighs about 6.8 pounds and she's over 19 1/2 inches long (like a leek). She has a firm grasp, which you'll soon be able to test when you hold her hand for the first time! Her organs have matured and are ready for life outside the womb. Wondering what color your baby's eyes will be? You may not be able to tell right away. If she's born with brown eyes, they'll likely stay brown. If she's born with steel gray or dark blue eyes, they may stay gray or blue or turn green, hazel, or brown by the time she's 9 months old. That's because a child's irises (the colored part of the eye) may gain more pigment in the months after she's born, but they usually won't get "lighter" or more blue. (Green, hazel, and brown eyes have more pigment than gray or blue eyes.)