36 Weeks

Dear Baby G,

Remember when we talked about growing? Well, you did. A lot. Yesterday your estimated weight was 7 pounds, 4 ounces. At 35 weeks, 5 days, you were larger than a lot of babies are when they are born. I think overall you are in like the 93rd percentile. What does this mean? Well, average gain is 1/2 pound a week, but in two weeks, you gained just shy of two pounds. So, in a little over two weeks when you arrive, it's possible that you could weigh close to ten pounds. I just keep telling myself that it could be 4 more weeks, which would mean close to 4 more pounds. It definitely could be worse, but it looks like you will not be wearing newborn clothes for long!

After you are born, you will be started on amoxicillin and then we will make an appointment with a pediatric urologist. We continue hoping that at that appointment, everything will have taken care of itself.

We are just barely over two weeks away from meeting you. We got your swing yesterday that was partly a gift from the hostesses of your shower. We also got a few other things, too. The day is so close, it seems to be coming fast! I will be induced at 5:30 a.m. Hopefully the process will move quickly. Our doctor did tell us yesterday that if I am not progressing, he will be quick to do a c-section because of your size.

This last weekend, on the day of your shower, my mom brought our glider to us. It is special because it was my great-grandparents'. I'm sad you won't get to meet them, but I think it is neat that we will be using their rocking chair. We purchased new fabric for the pads, and your daddy has been working on re-covering them. He is half-way finished, so maybe this weekend they will be completed! We also had our shower and we were so blessed by many of our friends and family.

Here are a few pictures of your many, many clothes from the shower! I will have to change your clothes 3-4 times a day to make sure you get to use these and the clothes we already had!



Here are some closer pictures...









And two blankets that didn't make it into the other pictures...



Your swing isn't put together yet, but here is what it looks like:


There are a few things that didn't make it in the picture, but this is close enough to remember the wonderful things you got last weekend!

I have a few new ultrasound pictures, but they are not scanned. Also, as soon as Pam sends me pictures from the shower, I can add those. There are some funny ones of your daddy and his diaper-changing kit that he got!

School started today, so I have been busy, busy, busy. I have been at the school for many hours the last couple of weeks. Not only was I getting ready for school to start, but I also have to get everything ready for my leave in two weeks. This is making the time pass even quicker, but I don't mind, because that means we are that much closer to bringing you home, and we can't wait!

Love,
Mommy

How your baby's growing: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.

35 Weeks

Dear Baby G,

We are anxiously awaiting your arrival in just over three weeks. It's hard to believe that it is that close! Well under 30 days!

Today was the first time your daddy did not go with me to the doctor. He is trying to save his leave so that he can be home for a while after you are here. My mom and brother came along instead. My doctor was on vacation, so I was just having the NST done and then the other doctor in the practice checked it. Well.....for a few minutes I was about convinced you were coming today! You kept moving from the monitors, which wasn't a huge problem. The problem was you only had one acceleration, and they really needed to see more. The nurses at one point asked me if I was pre-admitted to the hospital. That was a little nerve-racking! I was about ready to call your daddy and tell him to head out...but they pulled out their "tool" that buzzes and stimulates the baby. This is the first time they've had to use it for us, but it did the trick. It woke you up and got the accelerations we needed! The second time they buzzed you, you kicked HARD right where the buzzer was pressed into my stomach. It seems you didn't appreciate it, so next week, if you could be awake during this process, it will save me from almost freaking out and yourself from being "buzzed"!

Your room is completely ready for you to come home! And your bassinet has moved to its home in our bedroom. I start school next week, so I have lots to keep me busy! Our shower is this weekend, and we are looking forward to seeing our friends and family!

After a long, long day of driving, I arrived home to find this:





You see, Mr. Ieatflipflops and I have been going round and round for two weeks over this plant. He believes it is his to play in, on, and around, and I do not. I am usually here most of the day to keep him out of it. Of course, today I left early in the morning and got home late in the evening. This turned out to be the ideal time for him to completely flatten the poor plant. When I get some energy back tomorrow, I will try to revive it!

And this girl is anxiously waiting for you to come home (in barely over 3 weeks - have I mentioned that yet?!?):



When I woke up this morning I found her on top of our 6-foot chest inside of a basket of clean laundry that I was entirely too exhausted to fold and put away last night. I'm so glad it could be put to good use...ha!

We can't wait to meet you and bring you back to this crazy life we call ours!

Love,
Mommy

How your baby's growing:
Your baby doesn't have much room to maneuver now that he'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, he isn't likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times he kicks should remain about the same. His kidneys are fully developed now, and his liver can process some waste products. Most of his basic physical development is now complete — he'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight.