Week 32

Baby Girl's Development This Week: By now, baby girl is just shy of 4 pounds and is nearly 17 inches long, taking up a lot of space in my uterus. I'm gaining about a pound a week (let's not talk about it) and roughly half of that goes right to the baby. In fact, she'll gain a third to half of her birth weight during the next 7 weeks as she fattens up for survival outside the womb. So be prepared to see some major growth in my size!

The baby is certainly filling every corner of my belly! When she stretches, it is very uncomfortable -- her bum and feet push in my ribs like you would not believe! Some of her kicks are very strong, and it's really fun to lay with Chris and watch my belly do a dance as she kicks and pushes so that we can clearly see her moves.

This week I came down with my first illness during this pregnancy. Can you believe I made it through the winter and now I catch something?? I stayed home from work for 3 days with a bad cold, but after a negative strep test and some (safe) antibiotics, I feel much better and ready to get back to work.

It is so crazy to think that baby girl could come at virtually any time. We are slowly, but surely, getting everything done in the house that we planned to do -- and I think we're ready as we'll ever be!! :-) Have a great week everyone!

A Baby Bag (or Cat Bag?)

This week we received a beautiful gift in the mail from our friends in eastern PA. As we were opening the box, the cats were swarming to see what we got (mostly they just want to play with the box). Anyway, the gift was a beautiful diaper bag and some onesies and bibs. I put the bag on the floor so the cats could sniff it and then I put Lilly in it, since she always sits inside one of the bags we have in our closet. So, until baby's born, we'll call this a 'cat bag' :-) They really enjoyed it, and so do we!! Thank you so much Sandy and Bob!! Above that is me with Lilly in the bag...and Chris with Felix in the bag.

Week 31 & Happy Easter!

How Baby Girl is Developing This Week: She measures over 16 inches long and weighs a little over 3 lbs!! (think 4 naval oranges) Plus, baby girl is heading into a growth spurt. She can turn her head from side to side, and her arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath her skin. She's moving a lot, too, but all that movement is a sign that baby girl is active and healthy!

Happy Easter everyone! Baby girl got her first Easter basket today and she's going to really enjoy the toys once she's born :-) We went to church this morning and then had lunch at my parents house with several other family members -- who got to feel baby girl's moving foot as she rubbed it back and forth right under my right ribs. I really like when others get to feel her movements, since she tends to only do it for me right now! Maybe she's shy? Hmmmm...probably not with parents like Chris and myself! Hope everyone had a great day!

Week 30

Baby Girl's Development: She's about 15 1/2 inches long now and weighs almost 3 lbs! A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds her, but that volume will decrease as she gets bigger and takes up more room in my uterus. Her eyesight continues to develop, though it's not very keen; even after she's born, she'll keep her eyes closed for a good part of the day. When she does open them, she'll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision — which means she can only make out objects a few inches from her face.

My belly is definitely getting bigger each and every week. By this time, Baby Girl's bones are fully developed and her lungs exhibit rhythmic movement, but are not yet fully developed.


This week, we had our last Bradley Method Childbirth Class and also our last breastfeeding class...so we'll have lots more time in the evenings to relax! Which is good for me because I have been needing more time to sit and rest. We visited our friends in the hospital on Thursday evening -- they just had a baby boy named Rocco! He is the cutest little guy and SO tiny at 7 lbs 1 oz! Chris and I got to hold him and I couldn't believe how little he was. It was eye opening to think we'll be responsible for a tiny baby like that in just a few weeks!

Nursery Paint: Before & After

Chris and I finally got to paint the nursery this weekend! We choose a color called Lavander Sparkle. It turned out great and we love it! Now all we need is to add the furniture, which we hope will be finished soon. What do you think? Here are some before and after pictures:


While we were hard at work, so were the cats...

Week 29

Baby Girl's Development this week: She now weighs about half a pound more than she did last week (about 2 1/2 pounds total -- think butternut squash) and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel. Her muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and her head is getting bigger to accommodate her growing brain — which is busy developing billions of neurons. Every day, about 200 milligrams of calcium is deposited in baby girl's skeleton, which is now hardening. With this rapid growth, it's no surprise that her nutritional needs reach their peak during this trimester.

This week we had a really great appointment at the midwives office. I passed the gestational diabetes test (whew!), my blood pressure is right on, and best of all, the baby is head down! The midwife showed both Chris and I how to feel for her head. Her back is curled along my left side and her feet are in my ribs (all the time), but I can say that it is a glorious feeling. I am also measuring big. At 24 weeks, they start measuring your ‘fundal height,’ or the distance from your pubic bone to the top of your uterus, and the number of centimeters you are measuring should correspond to the number of weeks that you are. At my last appointment, I was 24 weeks and measured 24 cm. At this appointment, I was 28 weeks and measuring 30-31 cm! After the measurement, she looked at Chris and asked how tall he was, saying that we could have a long/big baby on our hands. The midwife said that as long as my growth is within 2 cm, it’s nothing to worry about, so that’s good. They also scheduled ALL of our appointments until the end of the pregnancy – only 6-7 more to go. I can’t believe it! Baby girl will be here in no time at all!

A little humor for my now (definitely showing) body:

"The Business of Being Born"

I also watched a documentary this week titled, "The Business of Being Born." I LOVED it! Here is a short synopsis:

"Birth: it’s a miracle. A rite of passage. A natural part of life. But more than anything, birth is a business. Compelled to find answers after a disappointing birth experience with her first child, actress Ricki Lake recruits filmmaker Abby Epstein to examine and question the way American women have babies. The film interlaces intimate birth stories with surprising historical, political and scientific insights and shocking statistics about the current maternity care system. When director Epstein discovers she is pregnant during the making of the film, the journey becomes even more personal. Should most births be viewed as a natural life process, or should every delivery be treated as a potentially catastrophic medical emergency?"

View the trailer in the toolbar to the left.I encourage everyone to watch it!!

Exercises

In our Bradley Methods Childbirth class, we learned different exercises to do each day to help prepare our bodies for labor and birth. One such exercise is called a pelvic rock and every day when I do them, Lilly insists on participating. She walks under me and puts her tail in my face. It's so cute!

Week 28

How Baby Girl is Developing: She weighs 2 1/4 lbs now (like a head of cabbage) and measures almost 15 inches from top of her head to her heels. She can open and close her eyes, which now sport lashes. This movement is more of a reflexive blink than a deliberate opening and closing, but it won't be long before she's batting those beauties at us. With her eyesight developing, she may be able to see the light that filters in through my womb. She's also developing billions of neurons in her brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world.

I had my 1-hour glucose test this week. I just had to drink about 10 oz. of this glucose drink (which was like flat orange soda) and then wait an hour for a woman to take my blood. We'll get the results at my next appointment. If I pass, great! But if I fail, I'll have to take the 3-hour test to determine if I have gestational diabetes. Let's hope not!! Other than that, this week hasn't been too eventful -- besides becoming more and more uncomfortable. Baby girl has her feet in my ribs continually and decides that she wants to push on them every now and then. It's quite a strange feeling and most of the time I just lean back and push her little feet away and then she retracts them.