38 Weeks Today ~

As you know, you've arrived at the final leg of your pregnancy journey, and if you're still carrying your little love around. Your baby has really plumped up. He weighs about 6.8 pounds (our little one is around 8.5 pounds) and he's over 19 1/2 inches long (like a leek). He has a firm grasp, which you'll soon be able to test when you hold his hand for the first time! There really isn't a lot to report on baby this week, so lets do a quick recount of where we're at: all internal organ systems are pretty much ready for the outside world, lots of healthy baby fat, a rapidly developing brain (that'll keep growing with him for years to come), and he’s more or less reached official baby status-- all they need to do is "head out" and say hello to the rest of the world and especially their ready-to-pop momma.

Wondering what color your baby's eyes will be? You may not be able to tell right away. If he's born with brown eyes, they'll likely stay brown. If he's born with steel gray or dark blue eyes, they may stay gray or blue or turn green, hazel, or brown by the time he'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 he's born, but they won't get "lighter" or more blue. (Green, hazel, and brown eyes have more pigment than gray or blue eyes.)

Not much to report this week. We are getting excited to meet him and see what he looks like. We are just trying to get all of the last minute things done. We had everything put away for our family Thanksgiving yesterday (he seems to like Green Jello Salad as much as his Daddy, sorry Grandma Brown), which was very nice to have everyone together, but now we will be getting things out for our little guy and transforming our house to baby central. We hope everyone had a great holiday and we will keep everyone posted on the big day.

Dr. Appointment Update~

We had our ultrasound on Monday, he is still breech and weighing in around 8lbs 7oz. We didn't get a picture of his face, his hands were blocking it. We did get to see him grab his foot with his hand. That was really neat. We did find out that the ultrasound weight could range from 7 1/2 lbs to 9 1/2 lbs also. Let's hope he's a little lighter.

We talked to our doctor and he said that there were a few things we could do. They could try and move him (from the outside), but there are a few downfalls to that. Plus he says that it only works about 50% of the time with normal size babies and non-diabetic pregnancies, with our situation it would be successful even less than 50%. Then he may still be too big to deliver. Also, you run into cord entanglement and other problems. So, we have pretty much decided that he will come by c-section sometime the week of December 3. Unless he decides to come on his own before that. We will keep you posted.

37 Weeks Today ~

Congratulations — your baby is full term! This means that if your baby arrives now, his lungs should be fully mature (his may not be as developed right now because of the diabetes) and ready to adjust to life outside the womb, even though your due date is still three weeks away. It’s the calm before the storm. Changes in your baby's weight have leveled off with only a few ounces of fat added this week. At this point your baby should weigh in at around 7 lbs (as we know our little guy is a little bigger than this) and 20 inches (with boys somewhat heavier and longer than girls). Happily, as far as internal organs go, they are now developed enough to function in the outside world although the oh-so-important immune system is still developing and will continue to do so after birth. With a large boost of antibodies provided by breast milk when nursing begins. Fighting infection and staying healthy should be well within their physical capacity when your little fighter is born. 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.

I can't believe we are almost there. Things have gone so well, but I am ready. Mommy and Daddy (and a lot of other people) are ready to meet him. We picked up his travel system and a few other necessities for him last weekend. Jared put together the stroller and swing and we put the car seat in my car the other night. I still need to pack my bag. That I am going to do this weekend. I will update after our ultrasound on Monday.

Dr. Appointment Update ~

We had our weekly appointment today. We passed the non-stress test again. I had to wake him up to get all of his counts and then he went back to sleep. The doctor checked today and I am about 1 1/2 cm dilated and about 70% effaced. We have another ultrasound on Monday to check his size again. The doctor doesn't want to induce because of the chance the baby's lungs aren't developed all the way, but it doesn't look like we will go past the 7th. If we make it all the way to the 7th, we could possibly be looking at a c-section because the baby's shoulders might be too big. But it's not a definite thing. Hopefully we won't have to worry about that since things have already started on their own. So everything looks good and we will update Friday. I will be locking the poll on Thanksgiving.

36 Weeks Today ~

(This one is my favorite from the ultrasound this week, you can see how plump his little lips are and we noticed there is a foot in the left of the picture too.)

The countdown continues… and in fetal developments: most of the bones (soft skull aside) in their little body are now completely hardened, providing a solid structure from which they can now make their grand debut into the world. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, we are structurally ready for a secure launch. In physical fitness news: their muscle tone has also improved over these past few weeks, and you’ll definitely be impressed by their steel-like Ulnar grasp (a newborn reflex that occurs if you lay your finger in their palm). Finally, in the fluids/excretion department: the amniotic fluid-to-baby ratio has fallen over these past weeks, although they’re still swallowing fluid, and some vernix caseosa. They will be more than ready to swallow and digest milk after birth. Just in case you didn’t get it quite yet: you’ve got yourself an adorable and hungry 6.5 lbs (in our case about 7 1/2 lbs) 20 inch (not sure on length) baby—are you ready?

We ordered carpet for his room this week, it's coming on Monday. Then we can put his crib together and move all of the furniture in.

I didn't post the "Doctor Update", so I'll post it here. The appointment went well, we passed the non-stress test again. The minimum time for the test is around 20 minutes, but I think we were done in 15, so we had to sit the for another few minutes before we could leave. I am measuring 2 1/2 cm larger than what I should, but I don't think that is a big deal. As most already know the ultrasound showed that the baby is around 7lbs 2oz. (let's hope our childbirth instructor is right when she says that the ultrasounds are usually 1 to 2 lbs heavier.) We had our last class on Monday. We are now certified to have a baby.

I had a very nice shower given by my sisters, step-mom, aunt and cousin. Thank you. It was wonderful and the baby got a lot of nice things.

Jared's co-workers had a shower for us this week also and gave us a lot of nice things too, they put a lot of work into it.

I think the last thing we had this week, we went out and celebrated my 33rd birthday after the ultrasound.

35 Weeks Today ~

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). 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.
Things are going pretty good. We have had a busy couple of weeks and another one ahead of us, childbirth class, doctors appointments and work. This week in class we went on a tour of the Birthcenter at Genesis, went through pushing (although we didn't really push) and c-sections. I really hope I don't have to have one of those. I also interviewed a pediatrician yesterday. She was very nice, but I have another one to interview next week. I can't believe we are already this far. It has flown by.