Weeks 36 and 37

Week 36 Update

Your baby is still packing on the pounds — at the rate of about an ounce a day. He now weighs almost 6 pounds (like a crenshaw melon) and is more than 18 1/2 inches long. He's shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered his body as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered and protected his skin during is 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 his 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 he's in a head-down position. But if he 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 him from the outside of your belly.

Week 37 Update

Congratulations — your baby is full term! This means that if your baby arrives now, his lungs should be fully mature and ready to adjust to life outside the womb, even though your due date is still three weeks away.Your baby weighs 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to heel (like a stalk of Swiss chard). 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.

1 cm down......9 to go!

I went to the doctor today and was VERY surprised to be told I'm 1 cm dilated already. My doctor is thrilled that things have already begun and assured me that this doesn't mean I'm going to have this baby any sooner than expected. Never the less....it sure got my pulse racing. Good thing they had already checked my blood pressure!

Stay tuned, I have a feeling its only going to get more exciting from here on! Jay is on the way!

Nesting....Planting....Same thing?

Yesterday was such a beautiful day I took advantage of it by getting all of my flowers planted for the year. HOPEFULLY we won't have any more super cold weather to kill all of my new pretty flowers! I figured my yard work days are numbered, so with a lot of effort, and a lot of breaks, I got it all done! The next few weeks are going to get busy, so if it didn't get done now, we weren't going to have flowers this year. Next weekend Adam, Shauna, and Miss Ava are coming into town, the following weekend my Aunt Ann will be here from Connecticut, then we've only got a weekend or two left until Jay arrives! I think the yard looks great. So....inside the house and outside in the yard we're just about ready for Jay. Now.....emotionally.....that may be a different story, especially after watching that "birth" video at childbirth class this past week. YIKES!

One of my planters. This one is on the front porch. My friend Monica is a genius when it comes to planting things. I wasn't sure what to do with this pot so she went to Lowes with me and picked out the plants and told me how to arrange them. I must say, this looks MUCH better than the sad little plant I had in there last Spring!

Also on the front porch. I had some leftover petunias from the flower bed on the side of the house and didn't know what to do with them. So...I just threw 'em in a pot and put it on the front porch too.

Flower bed on the side of the house. You can see these flowers through our kitchen windows.

Left side of the driveway.

This is in the backyard. Last year John and I put these rocks around the tree to create another flower bed. No matter what I planted, nothing did too great back here. It gets really uneven sun and didn't get hit by the sprinklers....which meant they didn't get watered much! So, this year we just pulled out all the old plants/weeds and put mulch around the tree. I actually think it looks much better. As you can see, Oakley must like it too!

So after a LONG day in the yard yesterday, I'm pretty darn tired and sore today and taking it easy inside!

Maplebrook Shower

On February 19th my teammates (the other 3rd grade teachers) threw me a shower at school with the rest of the staff. Mom even took off a little early and made the drive over to Humble to be there too! They really went out of their way to make really cute decorations and invitations. I have been so incredibly blessed to work at such a great school for a past 6 years and make such strong friends along the way. We got so many amazing gifts that will help us when Jay gets here. Here are some pictures from the shower.

I have the sweetest students!

A couple weeks ago was our classroom "Friendship Party." So sad that these days you can't celebrate any "holidays" at school. So to celebrate their "Friendship" to each other, they passed out valentines....go figure.

Anyways, as a surprise, my room mom had contacted the parents in my class and took the opportunity to turn it into a Baby Shower for me from my students. I got so many cute things for baby Jay. The kids all seem really excited about Jay coming, but a little sad that I'll be gone the rest of the year. Here are some pictures one of the parents took during the party. Keep in mind these were taken at the end of the day on a Friday....and I had no idea I was going to be photographed!

Catching Up!

Got a little behind posting weekly updates, here is what you've been missing!!

Week 33 Update:
This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds (heft a pineapple) and has passed the 17-inch mark. He's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and his skeleton is hardening. The bones in his skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for him to fit through the birth canal. These bones don't entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as his brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood.

Week 34 Update:
Your baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds (like your average cantaloupe) and is almost 18 inches long. His fat layers — which he'll need to regulate his body temperature once he's born — are filling him out, making him rounder. His skin is also smoother than ever. His central nervous system is maturing and his lungs are continuing to mature as well. If you've been nervous about preterm labor, you'll be happy to know that 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.

Week 35 Update:
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.

Another week down.....8 to go!

Week 32 Update:

By now, your baby weighs 3.75 pounds (pick up a large jicama) and is about 16.7 inches long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus. You're gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to your baby. In fact, he'll gain a third to half of his birth weight during the next 7 weeks as he fattens up for survival outside the womb. He now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). His skin is becoming soft and smooth as he plumps up in preparation for birth.

I go to the doctor Thursday, I'll post any new info I get then!