Weeks 38, 39 & 40!

At least that's where I think we are....all I know is that I AM READY!  My due date is in 9 days and yet it still seems like a lifetime away.  Levi has been put on "only drop-offs" at work meaning he won't have any over night trips so he will able to get to Angelo if he needs to.  We have bags packed and today will consist of going to Midland one last time to do some more work on Little Miss' room and the apartment (and to celebrate her daddy's birthday), as it will probably be the last time I walk in that door without a small one in my arms.  I'm also hoping to maybe get some meals in the freezer for us.  I'm not even sure what else needs to be done...I guess we'll find out when it already needed to be done :)  I'm not so ready on the school front though.  I feel like I've been working 12 hours a day on school work (probably because I HAVE been) and there is still quite a bit to do.  How is one supposed to get several weeks ahead when she can't even stay caught up with every day!  Sheesh!  Oh well, what gets done will get done and what doesn't, I know my very capable sub and coworkers can handle.  I'm still a little freaked out to let loose of my control for so long though. 

Last weekend Levi was able to come home for Saturday to attend another baby shower with me.  A friend of his mom threw us a wonderful shower filled with yummy food, beautiful decorations and lots of people .  (including some very special out of town guests- one of whom I'm pretty sure was so confident that Lydia was coming Saturday that she jinxed me!  Just kidding, I love you D.A.)  The Little One is very blessed to be coming into a family with such amazing friends and family.  
 
Even though I've been going to the doctor every week for a month now they are very uneventful.  As is stood last Tuesday at my appointment L's head was "maybe a little bit further down" but not officially dropped.  I'm not effaced or dilated at all.  The braxton-hicks contractions continue without any predictability or consistency.  So we continue to wait and we'll see what next Tuesday brings.

Week 38
Your baby has really plumped up. She weighs about 6.8 pounds and she's over 19 1/2 inches long (like a leek). She has a firm grasp, which you'll soon be able to test when you hold her hand for the first time! Her organs have matured and are ready for life outside the womb.
Wondering what color your baby's eyes will be? You may not be able to tell right away. If she's born with brown eyes, they'll likely stay brown. If she's born with steel gray or dark blue eyes, they may stay gray or blue or turn green, hazel, or brown by the time she's 9 months old. That's because a child's irises (the colored part of the eye) may gain more pigment in the months after she's born, but they usually won't get "lighter" or more blue. (Green, hazel, and brown eyes have more pigment than gray or blue eyes.)
(we had this discussion last weekend and we are betting on brown eyes and brownish/blond hair.  Levi's eyes are a hazel color and mine are brown.  Levi was born with dark hair that turned bright blond and then back to brown and I was born with a lightish brown that turned a little blonder and then brown again)

Week 39
Your baby's waiting to greet the world! She continues to build a layer of fat to help control her body temperature after birth, but it's likely she already measures about 20 inches and weighs a bit over 7 pounds, a mini watermelon. (Boys tend to be slightly heavier than girls.) The outer layers of her skin are sloughing off as new skin forms underneath.
(bring on the chubby cheeks!)

Week 40
It's hard to say for sure how big your baby will be, but the average newborn weighs about 7 1/2 pounds (a small pumpkin) and is about 20 inches long. His skull bones are not yet fused, which allows them to overlap a bit if it's a snug fit through the birth canal during labor. This so-called "molding" is the reason your baby's noggin may look a little conehead-ish after birth. Rest assured — it's normal and temporary.
(how perfect- a little pumpkin for my November baby.  Levi was 7lbs 7 oz and I was 7lbs 6 oz.  We were both the same length- either 20in or 21in I don't remember.)

Week 36 & 37

Well let's see...what's been going on? Last weekend  I got to go to spend the weekend in Midland with Levi.  We got the crib set up and some of her room put together.

 

We also got to go to part of the Midland Air Show.  Levi's company was having a cookout in their building which was across the airport from the main air show area.  It was nice because we got to see the planes but didn't have to mess with the crowds...and we got to eat free food!  Anyway, the coolest part was when there was an F-16 fly over that was really loud and right after they went over Lydia went crazy inside my belly.  There was no doubt she heard it and was wondering what was going on. 

Then this last week I went with my mom and mother-in-law to the JBF sale here in San Angelo.  JBF stands for Just Between Friends and it is a HUGE consignment sale.  We ended up getting LOTS of clothes, an extra car seat base, a pack 'n' play (for MIL) and a couple of toys (for MIL).  We had to wait 45 minutes in line to get in but I'd say it was worth it. 

The doctor's appointments are still going good.  Every time I go (which is weekly now) she says I am still right on track and that Little Miss' head is down but I'm not dilated at all yet.  I'll go again tomorrow so we shall see if anything has changed.  Here is me at 37 weeks.

Week 36
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.

Week 37
Your baby is now considered "full term," even though your due date is three weeks away. If you go into labor now, her lungs will likely be mature enough to fully adjust to life outside the womb. (Some babies need a bit more time, though. So if you're planning to have a repeat c-section, for example, your practitioner will schedule it for no earlier than 39 weeks unless there's a medical reason to intervene earlier.)
Your baby weighs 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to heel (like a stalk of Swiss chard). Many babies have a full head of hair at birth, with locks from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long. But don't be surprised if your baby's hair isn't the same color as yours. Dark-haired couples are sometimes thrown for a loop when their children come out as blonds or redheads, and fair-haired couples have been surprised by Elvis look-alikes. And then, of course, some babies sport only peach fuzz.

Weeks 33, 34, & 35

WOW!  I'd say I'm a tad bit behind.  School has been crazy busy this year.  I can't seem to get anything done at school (even though I'm constantly working on something) and end up bringing home way too much work.  You know it's bad when things start piling up at home and you're not even the one doing the cooking and cleaning!   I was hoping to be further ahead of things by now but that's not the case. 

Last weekend we got Levi and all of our stuff moved into the apartment in Midland.  Friday afternoon Levi and my sister's husband got all the boxes unloaded out of storage and into the Uhaul.  Then Saturday morning Levi and I left for Midland with Levi in the Uhaul and me in Levi's truck.  My sister and nephew left a little later in my car and Levi's brother and my sister's husband left in the plane.  We all ended up getting into Midland about the same time; just in time to get our keys, grab some lunch and be ready to watch the movers unload the truck.  (We are in a 2nd floor apartment so Levi decided to get movers).  After the movers were done the guys went and got us another storage unit (yes, we have that much STUFF) and my sister and I unloaded most of the kitchen boxes.  Then brother, sister, bro-in-law and nephew all loaded up in the plane and came back leaving Levi and me with all the rest of the unpacking to do.  So what did we do...well we went to dinner and rented a movie naturally.  By the time I headed home Sunday evening we had accomplished quite a bit.  Sadly none of that included doing anything in Lydia's room except using it for a stacking boxes place. 

This weekend was just as busy but quite a bit more enjoyable.  Little Miss and I were VERY spoiled with a beautiful baby shower.  It was a garden tea party theme and it was SO great to have so many friends and family share in this special time with us.  I will hopefully get some pictures up soon.  They are currently on several different people's cameras. 

Overall I've been feeling pretty well.  Before this past week I had been feeling the best I had since the beginning.  This past week though, I started feeling really tired and sometimes achy.  A couple of days my back was really killing me.  It all just kinda comes and goes.  And a new development today is possible Braxton-Hicks contractions.  I feel just a little twinge every now and then but nothing serious enough to worry about yet.  We will have to keep an eye on it and see what happens.  I go back to the doctor on Tuesday and then every week from here on out.

Here are Little Miss's goings-on for the last two weeks and the one coming up.
Week 33
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.


Week 34
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.


Week 35
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.