Today We Are 34 Weeks Pregnant

How Our Baby Girl Is Growing:

Our baby girl 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.  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.

Modified from: http://www.babycenter.com/6_your-pregnancy-34-weeks_1123.bc?responsys_count=1&scid=mbtw_preg34:912&pe=2UxuZCY

Today We Are 33 Weeks Pregnant

How Our Baby Girl Is Growing:

This week our baby girl 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.

Modified from: http://www.babycenter.com/6_your-pregnancy-33-weeks_1122.bc?read_more=1&scid=mbtw_preg33:908&pe=2UxuZCY 

Our 32-Week Bump

I have to admit, I'm really beginning to feel the weight.  And in the last couple of weeks, I've become terrified by the idea that our baby girl might grow to be seven to nine pounds by the time she is born.  I was only 6 pounds, 6 ounces when I was born, but Prescott was a healthy 8 pounds, 11 ounces!  And our baby girl's cousins seem to line right up with their genes: Miller cousin Ava weighed in at 6 pounds, 10 ounces when she was born May 8th, and Littlefield cousin William weighed in at 8 pounds, 9 ounces when he was born just last night.  Considering that our baby girl weighed in at approximately 3 pounds, 2 ounces almost three weeks ago and she is supposed to gain about half a pound a week for the remainder of the pregnancy...it's possible she could weigh in at about 8 1/2 pounds when she is born!  Oh my!

Today We Are 32 Weeks Pregnant

How Our Baby Girl Is Growing:

By now, our baby girl weighs 3.75 pounds (pick up a large jicama) and is about 16.7 inches long, taking up a lot of space in my uterus.  I'm gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to our baby girl.  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.

http://www.babycenter.com/6_your-pregnancy-32-weeks_1121.bc?read_more=1&scid=mbtw_preg32:904&pe=2UxuZCY

Nursery Progress...

Prescott has finished the closet and built-in!

Thinking About the Hospital Bag Already?!?

Last week, I introduced you to "This Week's Activity" from babycenter.  This Week's Activity is to start thinking about the hospital bag!

This Week's Activity:

You don't need to pack your bag yet, but start making a list of items to bring to the hospital. Besides a change of clothes and a toothbrush, some items to include:

• A photograph or object to focus on during labor (hmmm...maybe a photograph of Pres & Lady?)

• Snacks to keep your energy up and gum or mints for bad breath (I thought I wasn't allowed to eat while in labor!)

• Cozy socks and slippers (oooh the socks Court & Matt gave me for Christmas two years ago!)

• Your favorite pillow (you mean pillowS, right?!?)

• Some light reading material (how about all the baby and parenting magazines I never signed up to receive but seem to be arriving faster than I can read them!)

• A nursing nightie and nursing bra (um, I have nursing pajamas from Court...I'm gonna have to go buy a bra soon, I guess...)

• A going-home outfit for your baby (oh my goodness!  something to think about!)

• A camera or camcorder, fresh batteries, and film, if necessary (are we going to buy a camcorder now?!?)

I've read other lists that are much more extensive than this...a bit overwhelming, too, I'll admit...but I know we'll have it all in order a month from now when I've read we should actually have the bag packed!