Thirty-seven Weeks.

It's official! You are full term this week :) That means that your lungs are developed enough that if you were born today you probably wouldn't need any help breathing and we would be able to take you home with us! This is great news - it means you can safely make your appearance at any time now! You are still just growing bigger and bigger - this week you are about the size of a watermelon, you weigh a little over 6 pounds and you are probably about 19 inches long.

I'm now going to see the doctor once a week - yesterday was my 37 week appointment and everything looks good! My blood pressure, weight, urine, iron, and platelets all look good and you are measuring right on track. Your heart rate was a healthy 153 bpm yesterday and you were moving around like crazy when the doctor was trying to determine your position. Your head is still down, but you are kind of laying horizontally now - which is ok, you definitely aren't breech or transverse, but it just means your head isn't engaged in my pelvis yet to get ready for birth. Hopefully you'll make that move soon - because I'm getting anxious to meet you!!

Today is my 'Friday' at work - tomorrow is a Holiday for the 4th of July and I'm taking vacation days on Thursday & Friday - yay!! I'm looking forward to a few relaxing days at home! Hopefully your Grandma & Grandpa E. are going to come visit us for a few days this week, and your dad and I have some other things getting done around the house. A plumber is coming to install a garbage disposal and fix our outside faucet today and then on Saturday we have someone coming to clean out the air ducts in the house. I know you aren't going to care if we have a working garbage disposal when you come home with us - but I'm still so glad to be getting it done before you arrive!

How far along? 37 weeks
Maternity clothes? I'm really loving dresses these days - I stay so much cooler in them than in pants or shorts with the full belly panel to hold them up.
Stretch marks? Nope!
Sleep: I've been getting up to go to the bathroom more than ever lately and my back and shoulders are starting to get really sore... so sleep has not been so wonderful.
Best moment this week? Reaching full-term with you and knowing that you can now come out at anytime!
Miss anything? I miss lots of things - running, a cold beer, normal sized feet, and generally just feeling healthy and mobile!
Movement? You are still definitely my little squirms :)
Food cravings? Fruit! Pineapple, watermelon, cantaloupe, strawberries!
Anything making you queasy or sick? Just the excessive heat!
Mood? Trying to stay patient, but I'm getting really ready to meet you!
Labor Signs? Some Braxton-Hicks contractions, not much else
What are you looking forward to this week? My long weekend and seeing my parents!


All my love, Mom

Appointment Update.

Now that we have appointments with the doctor so often, it's getting hard to keep up with writing about them! Anyway, we had our 32 week check-up on Wednesday morning and the way the scheduling worked out, I had to go at a time when your dad couldn't make it because of work. So that was kind of a bummer, but luckily the appointments are still pretty routine and boring so he didn't miss much!


The actual appointment consisted of the usual - take my weight, blood pressure and urine sample - all looked normal! I'm now to the point where I can't see my feet anymore past my belly when I'm standing up, which means I can no longer see the numbers on the scale - good news! I think that will be my strategy for the next couple months - out of sight, out of mind :)


The doctor then had me lay back and measured my belly (and you!) - you are measuring right on track, if anything maybe a day or two ahead of schedule! The doctor said that it doesn't really mean much because the measurements can change just depending on how you are laying at the time, so I shouldn't worry about it too much unless you really start to consistently measure a lot bigger. So it sounds like we are on the right track! She then listened to your heartbeat - still going strong at 158 bpm.


After that we talked a little bit more about labor and delivery and she answered some questions I had about random stuff that moms think about and then we were done! Quick & painless... and I'll be back to do it all over again in two weeks... 


Tonight is the first part of our childbirth class that we are taking at the hospital, so I'm excited to see how that goes. I hope it is interesting information, and that we have lots of potty breaks :) The rest of the class is for most of the day tomorrow and hopefully we will leave there being better more prepared for you to arrive! You've been squirming like crazy today, so I take that to mean you are excited too :) 


All my love, Mom

Appointment Update.

Last night we had our 30 week appointment with the doctor and it went great! We started with the basics - my weight and blood pressure, which are both good - no signs of complications! The doctor then measured my belly and I am measuring right on track at 30 cm. At this point, the number of centimeters should correspond with the number of weeks pregnant I am, so we are right where we need to be! The doctor also listened to your heartbeat, which is going strong at 150 bpm.

Since I've been feeling so much movement from you lately and most of the kicks are in the same spot - on my right side, below (and sometimes in) my ribcage - I was curious what position you are in. I asked the doctor and she said that she wouldn't start really worrying about it until I'm about 36 weeks, but that she could check anyways. After a little poking around, she could quickly tell that you are head down with your bottom up underneath my ribs and feet turned to the right - just what I thought! She said you can definitely still change positions easily, but if I continue to feel the same type of movement it probably means you are in that position still. It's cool to know where you are and what I'm feeling when you start moving about!

We also started talking about what I should do and expect during labor  - which made it feel very real!! Only a couple more months to go :) I'll keep seeing the doctor every other week for a while, then in the last month I'll be going every week so we can keep a closer eye on you!

I'm looking forward to this weekend - your dad and I have our May date tomorrow morning, so we'll be hitting the Farmer's Market and hopefully Meijer Gardens if it's not too hot. Then maybe we can get some yard work done in the afternoon - or just hang around in the shade! And on Sunday morning, you and I will go to Jessica's wedding shower while dad hangs out with Dennis - then hopefully we can all get together afterwards. The weather is supposed to be wonderful - so it's shaping up to be a nice couple of days!!

Keep squirming baby - I'm loving every minute!!

All my love, Mom

Nursery Progress & Appointment Update.

Last Thursday was our monthly doctor check-up and everything went great! Your dad wasn't able to make it to this visit so luckily nothing too exciting happened. It was a pretty standard appointment, the doctor took my weight and blood pressure, measured my belly and then listened to your heartbeat for a bit. Everything was just measuring just right, so it looks like we are both on track. We have been going to the doctor every four weeks, but now that I'm getting farther along we will start going more frequently. I have another appointment at the beginning of May and then after that we'll go every other week for a while, and then it will be every week! When the doctor told me that, it surprised me a bit - I knew that at some point I would be going every two weeks, but it really hit me that we are getting close when she explained that it would be sooner rather than later! I can't believe we are actually getting so close to meeting you :) :)

In other news, the rocking chair & ottoman that your Grandma & Grandpa P. bought us for your nursery arrived last week so your dad and I went to pick them up from the store on Saturday. Of course there was some assembly required, so your dad spent Saturday afternoon working on that. I helped as much as I could too, and of course Leo wanted to be in the middle of everything!

 Reading the directions :)

 It's a chair! Minus the cushions :)

 The ottoman was a lot easier... it came already assembled!

 All finished! It is very comfortable - I can't wait to cuddle with you in it!!!

The crew - relaxing after their hard work!!

We had planned on refinishing a dresser we got from your dad's Aunt Kathy, but we decided to save ourselves the work and ordered a new dresser from the furniture store on Saturday. That way we can keep the other dresser for the guest room and your new dresser will already match the crib and glider :) The new dresser gets delivered on Wednesday, so I'm excited to pick that up and see how it looks in the room!! We're making progress and that makes it feel so much more real that we'll get to meet you VERY soon!! Can't wait :)

All my love, Mom

Photo Shoot.

Yesterday was a really great day - we got to spend lots of time looking at you and the best part is that you are growing right on schedule and you are healthy as can be!! We had our anatomy scan ultrasound, so the main purpose of the ultrasound is to check that you are healthy and happy and to take some measurements of you to make sure you are growing at the the right rate. The sonographer was really great - we still have no idea if you are a boy or a girl, and she made sure to point out all of the things she measured.

She measured your arms, legs, spine, head circumference and estimated your weight (at 15 ounces, you are just under one pound!!). We also got to see your heart beating and the blood flowing through the umbilical cord, which was super cool. She also did some 3D pictures so we could see what your face looks like ... you had other ideas though! Throughout the scan you had your hands up by your face - hiding from us! I guess you just really want to be a surprise :) It was adorable.

After the ultrasound, I had my weekly check-up with the doctor and that went great too. I've gained some more weight (perhaps too many donuts!!?!) but I'm still on track and your heart is still beating strong at 151 bpm. All in all, it was a fantastic evening. And without further ado, here are your glamour shots!!

Your head is on the right, facing us, with your belly and spine to the right.

Arms up covering your face - you shy little thing!

Your belly on the right, with your knees and legs crossed to the left.

Your legs again - crossed.

Your adorable feet!!

Your head in profile on the right, with your hand up to your forehead - looks like you've had a long day :)

Head turned towards us on the right, with your belly on the left.

Your 3D profile with your left hand up by your face - you are seriously adorable!

And finally - a short little video of you squirming around and covering up your face again :)

We are so happy that you are doing so great in there!! We are beyond excited to meet you - until then, stay cozy baby!!!

All my love, Mom