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!