36 Weeks

Wow! I'm so happy to have made it this far. The birth of little Kyle is just over the horizon and I'm getting so excited. I told Kyle to figure out where the exit is and start getting ready. I'd love for him to drop anytime now so by the end of the day I can breathe...But I have a feeling he'll hang out higher for a few more weeks yet...we'll see. I'm also counting down the days till I get to go to part-time at work...only 5 more after today! WooHoo! It will be so weird to not be working all the time, but so nice too. I don't have another Dr. appt till next Wedensday so I don't have any updates for you there but here's what's going on with the baby at 36 weeks...

Week Thirty Six: Baby may drop into the birth canal

You are 36 weeks pregnant. (fetal age 34 weeks)
The baby is about 19 inches (48 cm) long.
Weight is around 6 pounds (2.7 kg).
The baby's body is becoming chubby as fat layers build.
Between now and birth they may gain about an ounce (30g) a day
You may feel contractions of the womb, called Braxton Hicks contractions.While it says that your baby weighs six and a half pounds this week and measures 19 inches long, this is only an estimate. In general, babies are gaining half a pound per week now. Baby continues gaining weight as fat deposits and is forming creases in the neck and wrists.You may feel contractions of the womb, called Braxton Hicks contractions, which can be used to perform and practice breathing exercises. You may be visiting your caregiver weekly up until the birth. Regular internal exams may begin, to see if your cervix has softened, thinned, dilated or if your baby's head is dropping into the pelvis. Any of these could be signs of impending labor but there are no guarantees and you could be waiting for weeks yet. Your baby is almost ready, a pair of kidneys and the liver has begun processing some waste products, the only organ still to mature is the lungs. This week your baby may drop into the birth canal, this is called 'lightening' or 'dropping'. If this is not your first baby, this 'lightening' may not occur until right before labor. Your care provider may refer to it by saying that your baby is now 'engaged'. The majority of babies are now in the birth position, either head down (vertex) or butt down (breech), most will maintain this position until birth. Any movements that they make are more likely to be rolls from side to side.You may notice when this happens because it will suddenly become much easier for you to breathe. While breathing becomes easier, walking may be the exact opposite. If your baby has dropped you may find yourself visiting the bathroom much more often as baby is resting right on top of your bladder again. The average twin birth occurs between 36 and 37 weeks and the babies weigh an average of 5 pounds apiece. A baby's average size is now 18.5 inches (47 cm) and 6 pounds (2700 g).

Father's Day

Ben and I decided to celebrate Mother's Day and Father's Day this year even though we don't have an outside baby yet. I know some people don't celebrate but we wanted to this year. Ben got a watch this year (of course to time my contractions with!). It turns out it's the same one I got his as an engagement present (that he left at school one day) and I didn't even know. I just thought it looked liked something he would like. I made him dinner (he wanted cheese burgers) and didn't ask him to do any work all day (except get down on the kitchen floor and reach into the back of the cabinet for me). He took a nap (I did too!) and played his computer games...it was a relaxing afternoon (though hotter than heck!) Then we went with his family bowling (I sat this one out since I'm already carrying around a bowling ball) and someone got the idea to put a bowling ball under their shirt and look like me- so then we had to get a picture of it...hilarious! I thought it was so funny! It was a great day and I know Ben's going to be a great dad in just a few short weeks!

Cloth Diapers

I feel that I am almost an expert on cloth diapers, at least as much as I can be before the baby comes. I was super excited to find a sale on Bum Genius 3.0 one size fleece pocket diapers on cottonbabies.com last week so I bought 2. I am still going to try out some different things before I buy any more. Thanks to a friend I bought 10 small prefolds and like 20 medium prefolds and 3 covers for $20! My other favorite website is diaperswappers.com. I got 6 kissaluvs size 0 and 3 Thirsties covers for $53! So we'll see how it goes. I am probably going to use disposables at night at first. But we'll see.

35/35

35/35 is something fun we post on thebump.com. It means 35 weeks and 35 days to go! I'm getting more and more excited to meet this little guy and to also know what real labor is like. Yesterday I was having some cramping and lots of Braxton Hicks even though I drank a ton of water. I think I was just over tired, they went away once I went to sleep. I had my 34 week appt. yesterday (it's so weird having an appt for the previous week the day before I start the next week).

Here's the stats.
Weight- +28lb pre-preg
BP- 102/70
Fundal Height- 35in (she said I'm definitely running out of room)
Heartrate- 145-148bpm (he was super active so that's why it was higher- she said he's a happy little guy today)
Progress- won't get my first internal till 38 weeks- but she did say his head is getting wedged in my pelvis (sounds painful I know) but this is a GREAT thing.

Now I'm just counting down the days till I go to part-time at work. 10 days left! WOW! That will make things so much better because I get so exhausted in the afternoons. So next appt. is July 1st and then I will have weekly appts. after that. So next week is the only week I have left without an appt!
This weekend I think I will work on installing the carseat and setting up the pack n play. That should be fun!

updated belly pics

30 weeks to 34 weeks
So I'm sorry I haven't gotten you a new belly pic in a month! So here you go.

34 Weeks

You are 34 weeks pregnant. (fetal age 32 weeks)
Your baby now is approximately 18 inches long and weighs about 5.25 pounds.
Baby is now 46cm crown to heel and the weight is 2400 grams.
Your child has now an excellent chance of survival outside the womb.
Fat accumulations plumps up the arms and legs this week.
Eyes opened when awake and closed when sleeping.
The fingernails are now completely formed.
Even babies born earlier than this could survive outside the womb with hospital support although the risk of complications would be high. Your baby may have already turned to a head down position in preparation for birth. The skull bones are still pretty flexible and not completely joined to help to ease exit out of the narrow birth canal. Fat accumulations plumps up the arms and legs this week. The baby's skin is also becoming less wrinkled. Braxton Hicks contractions may be getting more numerous and stronger. Thanks to antibodies crossing the placenta the baby is developing immunities to mild infections.

9 Month Miracle - Fetal Development

9 Month Miracle - Fetal Development

This is a really cool thing...I wish it would let me post it on my page, but go to it anyways...

33 Weeks

Week Thirty Three: Lanugo is disappearing
You are 33 weeks pregnant. (fetal age 31 weeks)
The baby is now 4.4 pounds (2 kg) and around 17.5 inches (44cm) in length.
The diameter of the head is about 8.5cm.
The baby fuzz, lanugo, is disappearing.
Your baby drinks about a pint of amniotic fluid a day
You may gain a pound a week (500g) for the rest of your pregnancy.
Half of your weight gain will go directly to your baby.

The baby is using it's lungs to practice breathing by inhaling amniotic fluid. Your baby is drinking about a pint of amniotic fluid a day now and urinating the same amount. The early baby fuzz, lanugo, is disappearing now and being replaced by actual hair. The nails of your baby are now long enough to reach to the tip of the fingers or beyond and may need trimming as soon as they are born. They may scratch their face even before birth.

You may gain a pound a week for the rest of your pregnancy. Do not stop eating or start skipping meals as your weight increases. Both you and your baby need the calories and nutrition you receive from a healthy diet. Calcium intake is extremely important during pregnancy because the baby will draw calcium from the mother to make and harden bone. This can greatly weaken her own bones and teeth because the developing fetus will take minerals from the mother's skeletal structure as needed.

I know I promised a new picture...just haven't gotten around to taking it. I will I promise though!

32 week appt

Wow...two weeks has already flown by! I hope the weeks continue to do that!
Stats:
Weight- +24 lbs pre-preg. (+4 lbs in 2 weeks)
BP- 100/70 (crazy i know!)
Fundal Height- 34 in! (crazy growth spurt)
Heartrate: 138
Position: Still head down! Good baby Kyle.
I've been having heart palpitations the last few weeks...found out it's normal in pregnancy because my heart is pushed up. As long as I'm not passing out or getting dizzy and it's not constant it's okay. MIL suggested eating more salt.
Other than that things are perfect. Found out they won't induce unless I'm like 2 weeks over, so that's good. I really want to avoid pitocin. Next appt at 34 weeks on June 17.