39 Weeks Pregnant

Yesterday was my most recent appointment, where again was on the fetal monitor. The week previous he hadn't been moving as much as I or the doc would've liked. So this week I had a mexi melt from Taco Bell before we went, lol. To me, he seemed to be moving a good amount but the doctor didn't like that when he did move his heartbeat wasn't increasing enough. So she decided I should have an ultrasound to check a few things such as my fluid, his breathing, moving, etc. We needed to get 8 out of 8.

As you can imagine, we were a bit worried. At one point during the US, the tech was just watching and watching one area, complete silence. I'm getting nervous, Aaron's freaking. So he decided to speak up 'ok, how's he looking???' She said everything looks great and that she was just waiting for him to inhale the fluid, which could take up to half an hour if we just missed it. Finally he did and all got all 8 out of 8 - phew!!! She also check the size and he's measuring at 6lb 11oz surprisingly since two weeks ago he was around 7lb!

 

Nathan's profile at 39 weeks

Also Aaron wanted the tech to make sure he was still a boy since he heard of a recent story someone had a girl when she was told she was having a boy, so he's been paranoid ever since. The tech showed his he clearly is a boy, he has huge testicles!! LOL!

I haven't dialated yet, but Nathan is low and I seem to be 50% efface. I guess time will only tell. Next appointment is on my actual due, Tuesday, March 9 - hoping to hear I'm progressing and Nathan will soon be with us!!!

Fetal Development

Your baby's brain development is still in high gear, even as you may start to experience some definite signs of labor.

Coming down to the wire, your baby weighs in at around seven to eight pounds and measures 19 to 21 inches. Those measurements won't change much from now on, but her brain is still growing at an astonishing rate, a pace that will continue for the first three years of life. Her pink skin has now turned whitish (even babies who'll eventually have darker skin appear whitish now — they haven't yet developed pigment). Her head may have dropped into your pelvis by now, which makes your breathing easier but walking harder. But the end (and a whole new beginning!) is in sight, so watch for the signs that your body is ready to get the show on the road. These include Braxton Hicks contractions; the rupture of the membranes (water breaking) that contain your amniotic fluid; the loss of the mucous plug (the "cork" of mucus that seals the opening of the uterus); and the bloody show (your capillaries rupture from the dilation and effacement of your cervix, causing any discharge to appear pink or red-tinged).





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Today's Appointment

Today, I again went on the fetal monitor, his heartbeat was strong and I again had light contractions. Though I would've liked if Nathan moved around more then he did, the doctor said we both look healthy. He's still low but hasn't dropped yet. My cervix is thinning but I haven't dialated yet. But who knows, it could still be at anytime!


Also, Aaron and I found Nathan's Pediatricians, which is a huge relief! They're in Newtown, CT, which is a very nice area. The facility was very cosy and clean with separate rooms for the ill and well. We met both doctors, whom were very nice and accommodating. Overall, we're very happy! :)



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38 Weeks Pregnant

Fetal Development This Week

Preparing for Birth

Only two more weeks (or plus two more, max) before your baby makes his or her appearance. And what an adorable appearance that will be! Your little one isn't so little anymore — weighing in at close to seven pounds and hitting the height charts at the 21-inch mark (or less).
 
As you prepare (best you can) for baby's ETA, he or she is also getting ready, big time. Vernix and lanugo continue to shed from your baby's body into the amniotic fluid. Your baby swallows that amniotic fluid (yum yum?) and some of it winds up in his or her intestines where it — along with other shed cells, bile, and other waste products (triple yum) — will turn into your baby's first bowel movement (meconium) and perhaps your first diaper change.

Your baby's lungs continue to mature as more and more surfactant is secreted (remember — it helps prevent the lungs from sticking to each other when your baby begins to breathe…definitely a good thing).  At 38 weeks pregnant, all systems, almost go!

37 Weeks - Full Term!!!

Today I had my weekly OB appointment. It was my first time on the fetal monitor measuring his heartbeat and my contractions. I also had to push a button every time he moved to make sure he's active, which he is! His heartbeat was great and I had some irregular contractions, which is typical and doesn't mean I'll go into labor just yet. My OB, Linda said he is low and should drop this week. She also said it'll probably be another three weeks before I go into labor and that he's already measuring about 7 lbs!! He's going to be a big boy! :)

 

Fetal Development This Week

Full-Term Baby

With just three more weeks to go and at about six and a half pounds (though weight and height vary from fetus to fetus), your baby is doing just fine. You can expect weight gain to be about half an ounce per day. (Boys, though, are likely to be heavier at birth than girls. And here's a bit of boy baby trivia to back that one up: Moms carrying boys tend to eat more than moms carrying girls — a foreshadowing of teenage refrigerator raids to come.)  Since your little one is considered full-term at 37 weeks pregnant, if your baby was to leave the wet nest this week, he or she would likely thrive. That's because Mother Nature and you have done such a fine job.
 
So what's keeping your little one busy while waiting it out until D-day? Practice, practice, practice. Your baby is simulating breathing by inhaling and exhaling amniotic fluid, sucking on his or her thumb, blinking, and pivoting from side to side (one day you feel the tushy on the left side, another day it has swung around to the right side). All these are skills needed for his or her next gig  — starring as newborn.

Here's an interesting fact: Your baby's head (which, by the way, is still growing) will, at birth, be the same size circumference as his or her hips, abdomen, and shoulders. And guess what's making an impression (literally) these days on those shoulders and hips: fat — causing little dimples in those cute elbows and knees, shoulders and hip, and creases and folds in the neck and wrists.





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Nursery Photos :)

Still a work in progress, it's just about finish except I eventually plan to put up some wall decor and later we'll put in the crib. As for everything else we're mostly all set and ready for our little Nathan to join us... almost! Still need to put in the car seat, get a swing and find our Pediatrician. =)

36 Weeks Pregnant

A couple more recent baby bump shots :)

I had my weekly appointment today and everything is good as usually. Got the swab test and will find out the results at the next appointment. The Midwife also did a brief examination, have not dialated or effaced yet. Next appointment is Tuesday and will be hooked up to the fetal heart monitor. Should be a good one. =)

Fetal Development This Week

Fetal Skull and Bones

Your baby's skull isn't the only soft structure in his or her little body. Most of your baby's bones and cartilage are quite soft as well (they'll harden over the first few years of life) — allowing for an easier journey as your baby squeezes through the birth canal at delivery (and less prodding and poking for Mom along the way). At 36 weeks pregnant, the skull bones are also not fused together yet so that the head can easily (well, relatively easily) maneuver through the birth canal.   

So your little bruiser (who you've now learned won't be bruising you all that much with those soft bones) is now about six pounds in weight and measures slightly more than 20 inches in length. Growth will experience a slowdown now, both so your baby will be able to fit the narrow passageway to the outside and also so he or she can store up all the energy needed for delivery.

By now, many of your baby's systems are pretty mature, at least in baby terms —  and just about ready for life on the outside. Blood circulation, for instance, has been perfected and your baby's immune system has matured enough to protect him or her from infections outside the womb. Other systems, however, still need a few finishing touches. Once such notable example: digestion — which actually won't be fully mature until sometime after birth. Why's that? Inside his or her little gestational cocoon, your baby has relied on the umbilical cord for nutrition, meaning that the digestive system — though developed — hasn't been operational. So your baby will take the first year or two to bring that system up to speed.

8 Months Pregnant!!!

In the home stretch!! Wow, time has flown by so quick! I can't imagine my belly getting any bigger, he's going to break through! Only 5 weeks left if I make it to a full 40 weeks, with my luck I'll be later, but who really knows. 

Had my appointment yesterday and everything is looking good. Doctor found the heartbeat fast and sounded great. I will now be going every week until he's here, next week they'll check me for any infections, which hopefully I'll be looking good.


No contractions yet, just the Braxton Hicks tightness only once in a while. Once I do feel those painful contractions that last 45 seconds about every 4 to 5 minutes, we'll make that exciting trip to the hospital!

Fetal Development This Week

Week 35 of Pregnancy: Fetal Weight Gain

At about 20 inches and five and a half pounds (but with about five more weeks to grow), most of your baby's growth over the next month or so before you meet will be in weight (with a gain of anywhere from one pound to several), not height (baby's pretty much reached the in utero limit in that department).  Accordingly, fat continues to accumulate at a rapid pace these days (on baby, not just on your hips). Back in the middle of your pregnancy, your baby's weight was made up of only two percent fat; now at 35 weeks pregnant, that percentage has soared to closer to 15 percent (and will increase to 30 percent at term). Which means your baby's once skinny arms and legs are now quite plump…and irresistibly, squeezably soft.
 
Also continuing to grow at an amazing pace is your baby's brain power. Luckily, the part that surrounds that amazing brain — the skull — remains soft. And for good reason: A soft skull will allow your baby to squeeze more easily through the birth canal. (Mother Nature was really thinking this one through — imagine trying to push out a rock-hard head…ouch!)






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34 Weeks Pregnant

Wow, he's getting so big, I can't believe how quickly he's growing and how soon he'll be with us! =)

 

Fetal Development This Week

Gender Differences

Your baby could be as tall as 20 inches  right now and about five pounds. Need a visual? Hold a five-pound bag of flour in your arms and imagine it's your soon-to-be-born baby (cradle it, and you'll only get strange looks in the baking aisle). Then stack three such bags one on top of the other (and get ready for some more strange looks, maybe from the same clerks who saw you grinning and holding that one-pound box of sugar a few weeks ago). That's how tall your baby is at 34 weeks pregnant. (Now go bake some oatmeal raisin cookies with all that flour!)
 
If your little doughboy is, well, a boy, then you'll be pleased to know that this week his testicles are making their way down from his abdomen to his scrotum. (Some baby boys — three to four percent — are born with undescended testicles, but they usually make the trip down sometime before the first birthday.)
 
Your baby's fingernails now reach the end of the fingertips and may even curl over the tip, making a manicure one of the first things you'll need to do for your little bundle.

Baby Shower!

This past Sunday was my baby shower and it went great! Laura, my Mom and my Mother-in-law, Roxanne did such a wonderful job. I had a great time, the games and opening the gifts was a lot of fun. It seemed others had a good time as well, which really makes me happy. Luckily my good friend didn't mind taking a lot of photos for me. Here are a few photos I'd like to share...

33 Weeks Pregnant

What a busy week! Had baby classes and my baby shower and so much more has kept both Aaron and I constantly on the move. Photos from the shower to come!

 

Fetal Development This Week

Fetal Immune System

This week your baby may be anywhere between 17 to 19 inches in length and weigh more than four and a half pounds. At this stage in fetal development, your baby  could grow a full inch more this week alone — especially if he or she has been on the shorter side.  Weight gain can range from a third more growth to a full doubling before the big debut.
 
The level of amniotic fluid in your uterus has reached its maximum at 33 weeks pregnant, making it likely that you have more baby than fluid now. That's one reason why you're probably feeling lots of nudges and pushes — there's less liquid to cushion the blows. (Of course that means you're even closer to your baby now!)
 
If your uterine walls had eyes, here's what you'd see: your fetus acting more and more like a baby, with his or her eyes closing during sleep and opening while awake. And because those uterine walls are becoming thinner, more light penetrates the womb, helping your baby differentiate between day and night (now if only baby can remember that difference on the outside!).
And good news! Your baby has reached an important milestone about now: The development of his or her own immune system that (along with antibodies from you) will be able to provide protection from mild infections.





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32 Weeks Pregnant

Wow, only two months to go - more or less!!! Can't believe he's almost here! I'm also really looking forward to the baby shower. I'd love the chance to get to see a lot of family and friends I don't see that often. Just hoping the weather holds out!!!

Fetal Development This Week

Fetal Postion

This week your baby weighs almost four pounds and could be up to 19 inches long. And though that's a head-to-toe length, your baby is actually back to a curled-up position (you try standing up in those cramped quarters!). At 32 weeks pregnant, you're likely feeling tapping and squirming instead of your baby's signature rocking and rolling. That's because, while comfy, your baby is a bit tight for exercise space right now. Your baby has also probably settled into the head-down, bottoms-up position in your pelvis in prepartion for birth. That's because the fetus's head fits better at the bottom of your inverted, pear-shaped uterus. It also makes it easier during childbirth if your baby comes out head first. Fewer than five percent of babies prefer the bottom-down (or breech) position by full-term. Don't worry if your baby hasn't assumed the head-down position yet. There's still a good chance he or she will flip head-side-down before birth — even in the tight confines of your uterus.
 
While your baby is still getting nourishment through the umbilical cord, it won't be long before you'll be bringing on the breast milk or formula (and soon after, the mashed carrots and peas).  In anticipation of that momentous transition to mouth feeding, your baby's digestive system is all set and ready to go.
 
And because your baby is accumulating more fat, his or her skin is finally turning opaque (like yours), which means those see-through days are over.  Though weeks away from D-day, your baby's looking more and more like a newborn. 
 
And speaking of that big day, hope you're resting up for it — because your bambino certainly is. In preparation for that big first date with you, your baby is sleeping like a baby — with sleep cycles of 20 to 40 minutes long (which would also account for the decrease in movement you're likely feeling these days).






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Birthing Class

Yesterday Aaron and I had our birthing class at the hospital. I thought the class was good. I really understand now what exactly happens to the body and the process of labor, which I hope will help with getting through the labor. We practiced breathing techniques and meditation, which I like to think might help me through the pain. I plan to try this techniques, though some people think it won't help in any way with all the pain I'll experience. Regardless, I plan to keep positive and do whatever I can to get through it all. Some suggestions that we saw in the videos are it helps to move positions a lot. I plan to try that and rest a lot before the big day, which may help with going into labor sooner and also, being fully rested will help with getting through the marathon of pushing (as the instructor compared it to). We also got a tour of the maternity ward of where I'll be delivering, recovering and staying. I think after this class I'm feeling much more ready for Nathan's arrival. Just need to finally get the nursery ready and I think we'll be ready, as ready as we'll ever be at least!



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