How Far Along? 36 1/2 Weeks!
Your baby is still packing on the pounds — at the rate of about an ounce a day. She now weighs almost 6 pounds and is more than 18 1/2 inches long (about the size of a head of romaine lettuce). 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. www.babycenter.com
Total Weight Gain: At the doctor today, I was right at 38 pounds. I'm happy to say that I have gotten in a lot less trouble this pregnancy with the weight gain!
Maternity Clothes: I'm in the stage where even my maternity clothes are fitting a little too snug and short, BUT I'm inching up so close to my due date that I'm not about to spend one more penny on clothing that I will be too small for in a few weeks. Fortunately, after having Grace, I stocked up on a pretty good collection of in between clothes because my maternity was just too big and I wasn't even close to my other clothes. I have some good boyfriend jeans and loose fitting shirts ready and waiting---now if only I can keep myself dressed until then.
Stretch Marks: Still can't find any. Did a pretty good -all over- check last night.
Sleep: This week I have developed -yet another- congestion/cough/head cold. I have been coughing on and off all night long. So, needless to say, Mike has been enjoying his nights on the couch. Honestly, that's much better for both of us at this point. Poor guy. Good thing we have a big couch.
Best moment of this week: This has actually been a really good week. Besides my coughing, I have been feeling pretty good and energetic. (considering) It's a pretty laid back week at school with students working on projects and only one scheduled meeting. On Monday, Mike worked from home since we were getting our crown moulding finished (finally!) and the bedrooms are finished! He even fixed the huge hole in our bedroom wall where Daisy about went through. Now...next on our to-do list is to gather the three different paint colors for those walls and do some serious touch ups! ...hopefully before baby boy comes!
Last night, I got to go to probably my last Rangers game of the season--unless some miracle happens, they pull out the wild card position, and I have a friend who would love to take me. ;) It was a great one to go to! Even though the game wasn't the most exciting thing with the Rangers barely sneaking by with a 3-2 win, it was filled with entertainment and a little bit like Christmas! I got my Yu bobble head doll, which will look amazing on my desk. I also got a foul ball! Well, Jennifer got a foul ball, but gave it to me since she has like 10 already...plus, I was sitting right next to her. ;)
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A foul ball for baby Clark! |
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My ballpark 'presents'! Yu bobble head, foul ball, and a security guy gave me a handful of free tacos--he said I looked like I could use them! Score! |
Miss Anything?: I've noticed this week that I miss just maneuvering around my classroom without knocking into everything. Well, I suppose this applies everywhere---not just my classroom. At the beginning of the week, I was moving around and trying to help my students with their projects, but after a few awkward bumps and bangs I threw that out the window. Students now know that I can be reached for service sitting nicely in my chair at the front of the room.
Movement: Even though he's about 6 pounds and 19 inches, nothing is slowing this boy down! I have a sling that I used for Grace when she was a newborn (that I loved), but I just don't know if Clark can handle it---he may just throw himself right out of it!
UPDATES!! Today, at the doctor, we got to have our final sonogram before we get to meet this boy in person! Well, as of today he is measuring about 6 pounds 8 ounces. When Grace was born, she was 6lbs 11oz--so we're right on track. The sonogram was pretty entertaining too. He is in perfect birthing position- head down, face down, but he is running out of room quick! We would be watching him on the screen and he was scrunched up in the tightest ball. I could feel every single move he was making on the screen. Also, we could see his lungs functioning very well. The sonographer told us that it's very hard to tell how healthy their lungs are from a sonogram, but the fact that you could see them consistently making inflating/deflating motions was a great sign! Here's some pics.
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Here's a pretty good profile pic.Crazy how much more space he takes up than at the beginning of pregnancy! |
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Definitely still a boy. Whoa buddy! |
Food Craving: psh! There's no more room for food in me! I eat a little bit here or there, but mostly just drinking a lot of green tea. However, I did take down a hot dog and cheese fries at the ballpark last night. When in Rome...
Anything making you queasy or sick? nope
Labor Signs: Nothing big yet. I'm keeping my eyes wide open from this point on though! Grace came out like a bullet at 37 weeks, and they usually say the second one is faster. With this said, I'm keeping my guard up. I have been getting small cases of cramps more and more often and I can definitely feel him moving lower and lower, but nothing major YET! Still aiming for about 2 more weeks!
As well as my sonogram, the doctor checked me out and said I'm dilated one centimeter (which is basically nothing), but the labor process has slowly started. She also said that I'm slowly starting to thin out (TMI--sorry!)- so everything's right on track in that department. I'm still feeling it will be early, and the doctor agreed. However, she also doesn't think I will be doing much in the next week or two. WE SHALL SEE! Gotta make it to my October 8th guess!
Symptoms: My feet are getting pretty puffy and my lower back has been having some shooting pains, but those aren't surprising considering the size I am! That and my constant coughing (which I failed to point out that obviously this maximizes my 'need to pee' symptom by about 100!)
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy! School is finally starting to settle down a little bit, we have adjusted well to our evening schedule, Mike isn't scheduled to go out of town again at this point, & there is baby coming soon! What's not to be happy about at this point?
Looking forward to: Having all my History essays graded and all my school stuff organized and prepared for the substitute. I'll be laying in bed and constantly think of something else I need to do to get ready for maternity leave. I've emailed our HR lady about 100 times it feels like to get my maternity paperwork and she is NEVER in a hurry to respond. None of the above things were worked out with Grace since she came so early--so I spent the first week of maternity leave running around doing paperwork instead of relaxing. Really trying to avoid that this go around.
Also looking forward to watching some good sports AGAIN this weekend! Ranger's final season games---praying for an Angels sweep---- and Cowboys on Sunday! Unfortunately, Tech is off this weekend, BUT I did find this little gem on T.V. Two of my favorite things: ENews & Tech/Kingsbury!
My Beth Moore study is going great too! It's intense, but very inspiring. Here's a verse that stood out to me with the upcoming occasion!
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