36 Weeks 3 days

9 MONTHS

Wow.  I can't believe I'm posting that I am 9 months pregnant.  I remember the day that Chris started this blog and how excited we were.  I also remember thinking how far away November felt.  Welp, Monday is November 1st and our first baby is almost here.  We want to thank everyone who has used this blog to keep up with the health and wellbeing of our baby and us and hope you continue to read it as the "big day" approaches.  I'm also toying with the idea of continuing this blog once McKenzie is born.  I think it would be cool to show her where she started (Literally!  When she was the size of a poppy seed in my belly).  So stay tuned!

NINE MONTHS PREGNANT!

Your baby's skull isn't the only soft structure in his or her little body. Most of your baby's bones and cartilage are quite soft as well (they'll harden over the first few years of life) — allowing for an easier journey as your baby squeezes through the birth canal at delivery (and less prodding and poking for Mom along the way). At 36 weeks pregnant, the skull bones are also not fused together yet so that the head can easily (well, relatively easily) maneuver through the birth canal.

So your little bruiser (who you've now learned won't be bruising you all that much with those soft bones) is now about six pounds in weight and measures slightly more than 20 inches in length. Growth will experience a slowdown now, both so your baby will be able to fit the narrow passageway to the outside and also so he or she can store up all the energy needed for delivery.



By now, many of your baby's systems are pretty mature, at least in baby terms — and just about ready for life on the outside. Blood circulation, for instance, has been perfected and your baby's immune system has matured enough to protect him or her from infections outside the womb. Other systems, however, still need a few finishing touches. Once such notable example: digestion — which actually won't be fully mature until sometime after birth. Why's that? Inside his or her little gestational cocoon, your baby has relied on the umbilical cord for nutrition, meaning that the digestive system — though developed — hasn't been operational. So your baby will take the first year or two to bring that system up to speed.



Less than a month until my due date!!!!!!

COUNTDOWN

ONE MONTH FROM TODAY IS MY DUE DATE!!!!  WE ARE VERY EXCITED!

BUT technically...she can arrive anytime between November 4th and December 9th.....

Pray that she comes sooner than later!!

35 Weeks!

35 Weeks Pregnant

Wow!  Ok...I think it's REALLY hit me, I'm going to have to deliver this baby soon!  We've attended childbirth class, had our shower, been to every OB visit, and more...I guess we are as ready as we'll ever be!

 

At about 20 inches and five and a half pounds (but with about five more weeks to grow), most of your baby's growth over the next month or so before you meet will be in weight (with a gain of anywhere from one pound to several), not height (baby's pretty much reached the in utero limit in that department). Accordingly, fat continues to accumulate at a rapid pace these days (on baby, not just on your hips). Back in the middle of your pregnancy, your baby's weight was made up of only two percent fat; now at 35 weeks pregnant, that percentage has soared to closer to 15 percent (and will increase to 30 percent at term). Which means your baby's once skinny arms and legs are now quite plump…and irresistibly, squeezably soft.

Also continuing to grow at an amazing pace is your baby's brain power. Luckily, the part that surrounds that amazing brain — the skull — remains soft. And for good reason: A soft skull will allow your baby to squeeze more easily through the birth canal. (Mother Nature was really thinking this one through — imagine trying to push out a rock-hard head…ouch!)



5 weeks until we meet our little one!

34 Weeks 4 Days

Today we had another OB appointment.  Here are the highlights:

• I've gained 10 pounds over the course of my pregnancy
• My blood pressure was 110/70
• Baby's heartrate was 140
• Baby is still head down!
• I had my Group B Strep Test
• I've got a little carpal tunnel (ouch!)
• My fundal height is 34 cm (34 weeks)
• I got my 34 week packet that tells about recognizing labor and when to call your provider! (ahhh!)

This weekend Chris and I will attend an Infant Care Class at NWH and in two weeks I will be considered FULL TERM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

38 days until my due date!!!!!!!!

34 Weeks!!!!!!!!

At 34 weeks pregnant we are starting to get very anxious for the impending arrival of our first child!  This weekend we will attend our childbirth class, next weekend we have infant care and then in a few weeks I'll go to breastfeeding class!  We are ready to learn about how to navigate our new life ahead!



Your baby could be as tall as 20 inches right now and about five pounds. Need a visual? Hold a five-pound bag of flour in your arms and imagine it's your soon-to-be-born baby (cradle it, and you'll only get strange looks in the baking aisle). Then stack three such bags one on top of the other (and get ready for some more strange looks, maybe from the same clerks who saw you grinning and holding that one-pound box of sugar a few weeks ago). That's how tall your baby is at 34 weeks pregnant. (Now go bake some oatmeal raisin cookies with all that flour!)

If your little doughboy is, well, a boy, then you'll be pleased to know that this week his testicles are making their way down from his abdomen to his scrotum. (Some baby boys — three to four percent — are born with undescended testicles, but they usually make the trip down sometime before the first birthday.)



Your baby's fingernails now reach the end of the fingertips and may even curl over the tip, making a manicure one of the first things you'll need to do for your little bundle.

6 weeks until our daughter is here!

33 Weeks!

Today we had our 33 week OB appointment!  Highlights:

• Baby's heartrate was 130 bpm.
• Baby is still head down, but has not dropped.
• I am measuring right on target (33 weeks)
• My blood pressure was 122/78
• I've gained 7 pounds over the pregnancy
• I got my flu shot!
• Next appointment I'll be screened for Group B Strep

33 Weeks Pregnant!

This week your baby may be anywhere between 17 to 19 inches in length and weigh more than four and a half pounds. At this stage in fetal development, your baby could grow a full inch more this week alone — especially if he or she has been on the shorter side. Weight gain can range from a third more growth to a full doubling before the big debut.

The level of amniotic fluid in your uterus has reached its maximum at 33 weeks pregnant, making it likely that you have more baby than fluid now. That's one reason why you're probably feeling lots of nudges and pushes — there's less liquid to cushion the blows. (Of course that means you're even closer to your baby now!)

If your uterine walls had eyes, here's what you'd see: your fetus acting more and more like a baby, with his or her eyes closing during sleep and opening while awake. And because those uterine walls are becoming thinner, more light penetrates the womb, helping your baby differentiate between day and night (now if only baby can remember that difference on the outside!).

And good news! Your baby has reached an important milestone about now: The development of his or her own immune system that (along with antibodies from you) will be able to provide protection from mild infections.

7 weeks until we get to meet our little one!

Coming Soon...

A new ultrasound video!  We went back to Goldenview ultrasound to see baby again at 31 weeks!  Chris will post the new video asap!

32 Weeks 5 days!