36 Weeks!! Only one more month to go!

Your baby is still packing on the pounds — at the rate of about an ounce a day. She now weighs almost 6 pounds (like a crenshaw melon) and is more than 18 1/2 inches long. She's shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered her body as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered and protected her skin during her nine-month amniotic bath. Your baby swallows both of these substances, along with other secretions, resulting in a blackish mixture, called meconium, will form the contents of her first bowel movement.

At the end of this week, your baby will be considered full-term. (Full-term is 37 to 42 weeks; babies born before 37 weeks are pre-term and those born after 42 are post-term.) Most likely she's in a head-down position. But if she isn't, your practitioner may suggest scheduling an "external cephalic version," which is a fancy way of saying she'll try to coax your baby into a head-down position by manipulating her from the outside of your belly.

I think I'm finally reaching the stage where I'm slightly uncomfortable at times. I think I'm very blessed to have gone 36 weeks and only just now started feeling uncomfortable here and there. For the most part this pregnancy has been a dream and I haven't had one single complaint! But these days I think Nugget is just getting too big for this small space and I feel like she is constantly trying to push my organs out of her way. She is already developing a bossy personality and I feel like she's shoving things and saying, "give me more room!" I guess though if she really is close to 6 pounds and 18.5" long that is a lot of baby to be crammed in this tiny space! I don't really think she's that big yet, but only time will tell!

I have my next doctor's appointment on Thursday and hopefully we'll be able to know more then. As of my last visit, Nugget was still breech and she doesn't have much more time to get it together and get in the position, so I'm praying feverishly that by this visit she's head down because I know if she doesn't get that way it means a c-section for me and that is so NOT what I want.

My mom and I worked really hard on the nursery this past weekend and we have gotten SO much accomplished. It's still not complete, but Joe is coming home this weekend and he will be helping us to finish what is left - hanging some shelves and the curtains along with a decal that I've ordered to go over the crib with her name on it. Here are some pictures of what we've gotten done thus far:

Here is her crib, complete with bedding and the cute little bunny that Mom and I made for Nugget at Build-A Bear!

Here is her changing table, complete with little baskets underneath for all of the accessories and toys we're going to have for her.

This is the bookcase that Mom and I put together for all of her toys and books (which are still over at Mom's house for the moment). All of the animals that are on there for now are gifts that she's gotten or ones from my own childhood.
This is the most adorable lamp ever which is sitting on the bookcase! I got this at one of my showers and I am just in love with it! SO cute!!


This is the rocker/recliner that is in the room. This rocker belonged to my parents back in the day and my little brother has had it since he was in college. Before I put the lovely slipcover on it, it was a horrid shade of green. The blanket draped over it is one that my grandmother (my mom's mom) crocheted for me when I was born and I think it's just fate that the colors match my scheme perfectly! The little stuffed tiger was a gift from my uncle when I was going off the college as a freshman at Auburn.

Here is a cute close up of the adorable tiger!!

This is a basket I got to put next to the recliner that will hold all of the various blankets. It's got two cute little stuffed turtles of mine sitting there keeping them company!

And finally, this is a basket holding a bunch of stuffed animals that are all from my childhood that I hope she loves playing with. Next to it is a rocking horse that my granddad (my mom's dad) hand made for me when I was born. I just love having all of these things of mine that I will be able to pass on to Nugget and hope that she will get the same enjoyment out of them as I did!

I will take more pictures this weekend after we get finished with all of the last minute things that we have to do. I can't believe that our little girl is going to be here in less than a month! How crazy is that??? I am SO excited! I can't wait!!!!

35 Weeks!!

Your baby doesn't have much room to maneuver now that she's over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 1/4 pounds (pick up a honeydew melon). Because it's so snug in your womb, she isn't likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times she kicks should remain about the same. Her kidneys are fully developed now, and her liver can process some waste products. Most of her basic physical development is now complete — she'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight.

5 weeks left! I can't believe it. We're in the homestretch! There is so much left to do - or at least I feel that way! There's still a bit of stuff I want to get done in the nursery. Mainly getting some stuff hung up on the walls and getting the closet cleaned out and ready for diapers and onesies! :)

I had 3 showers last week and now I have so many wonderful things - I really don't know what to do with it all! I am so blessed to have so many wonderful friends and family members who gave me so many wonderful things. I'm also amazed to find out how many of my friends are so talented and can make such beautiful gifts for Nugget!

I also went to the doctor last week for my 34 week checkup and apparently everything is still looking great! He said I'm measuring right where I need to be. My blood pressure is still excellent and somehow I've lost another pound. So this is 3 pounds now that I've lost and when I was only up 5 to begin with ... doesn't leave much! The doctor said he's not too worried about me losing weight though because he can tell that Nugget is still growing and that's what we want happening. I never in a million years ever thought I'd be concerned about not gaining enough weight when pregnant. I will never forget the first doctor's appointment I had when he told me he only wanted me to gain 10 pounds and I thought he was crazy. I've never had a problem with gaining weight! :) Unfortunately, Nugget is still breech. She needs to stop being stubborn and get to turning because she's only got about 2 weeks left to turn. The doctor gave me some exercises I could do to try and help her get in the right position. Unfortunately, I'm supposed to do them when she's most active and thus far, she's always been most active in places where I can't do the exercises - like in the middle of church on Sunday. :) So here's praying that she finally gets over her stubbornness and gets right!

Another good news item ... Joe starts his next rotation on September 7th. He is very fortunate in that this next rotation they are giving him the 6th (Labor Day) off so he can come home that weekend - earlier than we'd anticipated. Which also means that he'll come back 3 weeks from then which will be the weekend before my due date. So if Nugget holds out that long, we have a chance that maybe she'll come while he's already here! Which would be WONDERFUL! So I am putting in all kinds of prayers for that to happen! That has been my biggest fear throughout this entire pregnancy - that Joe wouldn't be able to make it back up here in time for Nugget's big day. So it would be such an incredible blessing if she could make an appearance while he's already here. :) But as mentioned before, she is our child and she is incredibly stubborn already, so she's probably going to be a pain in this too. :)

Oh and one more exciting piece of news! My doctor has informed me that every now and then they will decide to do what they call "specialing" a patient. What that means is that when I do go into labor, I will call in and let them know - if it's after hours and the doctor on call isn't my doctor, then the doctor on call will just come in to verify that I actually am in labor. Once they do verify that, then the on call doctor will call my doctor and let him know that I'm in labor and my doctor will come in and deliver Nugget no matter what! (well unless there is some reason that he physically is unable to do so, like he's out of town or something crazy like that). So no more anxiety over whether or not my doctor will be the one to deliver. I am so very blessed to have such a wonderful OB who has taken such ridiculously good care of me throughout this entire process. I couldn't have asked for better!

I am so excited to think that we are only 8 days away from next month and she will (hopefully) be here next month!! I have my next doctor's appointment next week on the 3rd and then I will start going in every week after that. Here's praying that she's turned and is getting into position by then!

I am going to try and get back over to the house sometime this weekend and get to work on the nursery and hopefully will get it close to finished and can post some pictures! :)

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.

Well we're getting closer and closer! This week is going to be the beginning of fun! I'm having THREE baby showers this week! Three! I'm so excited! I'm excited about finally starting to get things set up for Nugget but I'm also excited because there are people coming to my showers that I haven't seen in ages and so I'm looking forward to catching up with old friends as well!

I'm still doing well and feeling great. I'm hoping this carries over and continues for the next 6 weeks. My only complaint is the lack of sleep. I fall asleep easily, but I do find myself getting up at least once if not two or three times during the night to go to the bathroom or because of leg cramps. So despite going to bed at a reasonable time, I'm usually still feeling pretty tired when I wake up every morning. But it could most definitely be worse and so I'm thankful that's the worst of it for now.

I can remember when we first found out I was pregnant, I was about 6 weeks along and now I only have about 6 weeks left to go. It is truly amazing to me how FAST this time has flown by. I really thought back in February that this would take FOREVER to get here and now I'm thinking, slow down! I'm not ready yet! I still have so much I want to get done in the nursery and so now my weekends are filled with trying to get all of that accomplished.

Joe gets to come home this weekend and I can't wait! It's been 3 weeks since the last time he was home and it feels like forever. Although I'm sure that the 3 days he's here will fly by as well.

I also get to go back to the doctor on Thursday morning for my next checkup. The last two visits have had me losing weight and so I'm kind of hoping to either have stayed the same or at least gained a pound or two back because I feel bad losing weight, like I'm not giving Nugget enough of what she needs! I never imagined that I would actually have a problem with LOSING weight during pregnancy! I'm not complaining, but I just want to make sure Nugget is getting all the nutrition she needs! I've also been having a lot of problems lately with feeling lightheaded and dizzy and so I really want to bring that up to the doctor and see what could be the cause of that.

I can't believe that I'm only 2 weeks away from being considered "full term" and that she is going to be here (hopefully) next month! Yikes! I'm so excited and nervous all rolled into one!

33 Weeks!!

This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds (heft a pineapple) and has passed the 17-inch mark. She's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and her skeleton is hardening. The bones in her skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for her to fit through the birth canal. (The pressure on the head during birth is so intense that many babies are born with a conehead-like appearance.) These bones don't entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as her brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood.

We're getting ever closer and I'm getting more and more excited with each passing day knowing that it's going to be SO very soon when she's finally here and I can hold her in my arms.

My mom and I got a lot of work done this weekend as far as getting everything that I have so far in place in the nursery and planning out what else I have left to do. I am having a wall decal made to put over her crib with her name and I went ahead and got that ordered yesterday. I've also got a cross-stitch piece that my mom made for me when I was a little girl and we're going to take that and get it re-framed to match Nugget's nursery. I also am looking to hang up floating shelves and a collage frame in the room so I can display pictures of her all the time. I've also got an old medicine cabinet with a mirror that was once in my grandparents' house and I'm going to refinish that and use the mirror to go right over her changing table. I am really excited about the plans we have for the nursery and I can't wait for it to start really coming together!

I went to the doctor last week for my checkup and got to meet another one of the doctors in the practice. As I may have mentioned before, my doctor wants me to make sure and get an opportunity to meet the other 3 OBs in the practice in case one of them is on call when I go into labor. That way it won't be like I've got a total stranger delivering my baby. :) I wasn't exactly in love with the first doctor that I got to see. There wasn't anything wrong with him, he just didn't really have much of a bedside manner and I just imagine that when I'm trying to push this baby out, I'm gonna want someone a little less gruff. So this was my second doctor of the three and the only female in the practice. She was nice and from the 15 minutes or so I spent with her, I liked her, so that's a relief. Everything was still looking good at this visit. Somehow I've managed to lose 2 pounds since my last visit back at the beginning of July but this doctor didn't seem to be too concerned with that. That takes me up to only gaining a total of 3 pounds. I'm not complaining, but I do want to just check with my doctor and make sure that he's on board with it. My blood pressure was lower than normal, but still in the good, healthy range and so that was a plus. I was right at 32 weeks but I am apparently measuring 34 weeks - who knows what that really means in the grand scheme of things though. Also, Nugget is still breech. Not acceptable little girl! She needs to work on turning and get into position! The doctors keep telling me I have time for her to turn though. So I'm optimistic. If she doesn't turn that means a c-section for me and that is something I most definitely DO NOT WANT. So lots of prayers that she'll get to turning! I'm hoping when I go back to see the doctor on the 19th that she will have turned by then.

Well that's all the updating I have for today! :) I'll fill in more next week!

32 Weeks!!

By now, your baby weighs 3.75 pounds (pick up a large jicama) and is about 16.7 inches long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus. You're gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to your 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. She now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). Her skin is becoming soft and smooth as she plumps up in preparation for birth.

Well we're definitely getting closer!!! I can't believe we're down to only about 2 months to go. I was ripping off calendar pages at work yesterday and thought, goodness! She's going to be here next month! It seems like just yesterday that we found out I was pregnant. This time has flown by so quickly! I am so eager for September to hurry up and get here because I'm ready for her to be out and available for cuddling! I can't wait to meet her and get to know her and for her to develop into a little person! I know it's all going to happen so fast but I am so ready for it!

I was fortunate enough to have Joe home for the last week and so we were able to do a lot in preparation of Nugget's arrival. We had our 3D ultrasound and we were able to go check out daycare facilities. Joe got the changing table all set up in the nursery and I think we've got the basic set up arranged at least. Then this past weekend we got to go to our birthing class over at the hospital. It was interesting to say the least. I don't think there was much that we learned that we didn't already know, but there were a few techniques for breathing and relaxation that hopefully will help come Nugget Day. What really surprised me is how many of the girls in the class had no idea about some of the things that I thought were pretty basic. Maybe it's because I'm older, but I've just tried to read as much as I can about pregnancy and about delivering and tried to get as much information as I could so that come Nugget Day I'm not in the dark and get hit with something I wasn't expecting.

I've got three showers coming up this month and I can't wait! I think that actually getting little Nugget things is going to make this even more real for me and it just really signifies that she's almost here! This is really going to be the greatest day ever for Joe and I and I know that we both can't wait!