36 Weeks

How your baby's growing:Your baby is still packing on the pounds — at the rate of about an ounce a day. She now weighs almost 6 pounds (like a crenshaw melon) and is more than 18 1/2 inches long. 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.

Your baby is almost ready and most likely, so are you! The only organ still to mature is the lungs. While certainly you are both growing anxious to meet, remember that each day (up to 42 weeks), that your little one stays within your womb will multiply his chances to breathe on his own.
If he hasn't already, this week your baby may drop into the birth canal. While breathing for mom becomes easier, walking may be the exact opposite! If he's not your first baby, this "lightening" may not occur until right before labor.
Fat is dimpling your baby's elbows and knees, and forming creases in the neck and wrists.
His skin is growing smooth and, shall we say it, "baby" soft.
His gums are very rigid. It won't be many months before you'll see his teeth.
She has a fully developed pair of kidneys and her liver has begun processing some waste products.
Your child's average size is now 18.66 inches (47.4cm) and 5.78 pounds (2622 g). Between now and birth she will gain about an ounce a day!

Sweet Pea's photo shoot (Ultrasound #2)

Today I had an ultrasound to check the baby's breathing, heart rate, and movements etc. Since I started insulin, the doctor wants to make sure the baby is doing well with everything also. I took my grandma, mom, and Hannah with me. It was a really cool experience, my mom and grandma had never seen an ultrasound done before. It was a pretty neat experience for them. Today is my grandma's 81st birthday. It was a nice day out for us girls, we went to the ultrasound, then to a consignment shop, then to Red Lobster for lunch. It was a really nice day out, I always treasure the time I get out with my mom and grandma. Hannah was so funny today, she kept making faces, she is understanding her emotions a lot more these days and has a facial expression for everyone of them. Her mad face will make anyone laugh, it is hilarious.

The baby is doing well, the heart rate was a little low initially but I was laying on my back and the baby was sleeping when the ultrasound began, the heart rate was 122, once I turned to my side and we woke the baby up, the rate went up to 146. It was so cute to see the baby, it has chubby cheeks just like Hannah. The baby has some hair, which explains this horrible heartburn I have been having these days. The baby is strunched in there pretty good, when the baby moved you could see its little nose and cheeks smushing up against the protective wall barrier. We saw the umbilical cord which just looked like bubbles. The baby was sleeping with its arm over its eyes, but then when we woke him/her up, it was moving its hands all over and it had its foot up by its cheeks. The baby is still in head down position. We are so excited to see this little one, I wish Bill could have been here, but he has to get our house finished so we can live there before the baby comes. Our goal is to move into the house this weekend if all goes well.

35 Weeks

Week Thirty-Five
The average baby weighs almost five and a half pounds now.
Most babies born now will survive and without many long-term problems.
Fat accumulations plumps up the arms and legs this week. These layers of fat will help him regulate his body temperature. They also provide those cute little dimples on elbows and knees!
Her hearing is fully developed, so be sure to talk to your daughter. Do you find yourself speaking in a high-pitched tone? That's okay since some studies show babies respond better to higher pitches.
It's getting crowded! Your baby is now taking up most of the uterus and you may even feel like your chest has run out of room! Soon enough though, baby will move down and you'll be able to breathe easily again (just not walk so easily! Ha!).
Your baby is 18.2 inches (46.2cm) long and weighs 5.3 pounds (2383gm).
The testes have completed their descent in males.

35 Week checkup

I had my doctors appointment today, to my suprise they did not check me for dilation. They plan to check me at my next appointment. From here out, I will have two appointments a week, every Monday I will have an ultrasound (Baby photo shoot), and every Thursday I will have my regular appointment with a non-stress test. They increased my inculin by 2 units, so I am now up to 7 units at bedtime. This is still a small amount, my fasting levels have been better, but they would like to see them better yet. The doctor prayed with me at my last appointment, which I thought was way cool. He prayed that the baby would come in God's timing and according to God's will and that the delivery would go smoothly with no complications and that the baby would be healthy as well as me. I thought this was really cool. I gained 12 lbs so far, I gained 1 1/2 pounds since my last checkup. I am measuring at 36 weeks now, just one week ahead. The baby's heartbeat was strong at 133.

34 Weeks

How your baby's growing:Your baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds (like your average cantaloupe) and is almost 18 inches long. Her fat layers — which will help regulate her body temperature once she's born — are filling her out, making her rounder. Her skin is also smoother than ever. Her central nervous system is maturing and her 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 Thirty-Four
Your baby acts completely like a newborn, with her eyes opened when awake and closed when sleeping. You may also find her settling into more of a routine for sleeping & awake times.
She has learned to blink. She can also see more clearly when there is a bright light on your stomach and probably has the outline of all your organs memorized!
Antibodies from your blood are being tranferred to him. These immunities continue to build until birth. Then breastmilk will add even more protection against disease.
Your baby may have already turned to a head-down position in preparation for birth. If he is your first baby, he may be settling into the pelvis with his head pressing against your cervix.
Fingernails have reached the end of the fingertips now. She may scratch her face even before she is born!
Your little one's length is 17.7 inches (45cm) and weight is 4.7 pounds (2146 g).

Mucus Plug

I lost my mucus plug this morning at 3:30 AM. I have had some small contractions today but nothing measurable. My lower back has been hurting most of the day and I have had some minor cramping. A search on google indicated that when the mucus plug comes out, it is a sign of the cervix softening. Dilation is likely around the corner, but could take weeks to progress to labor. However there was a warning that if your mucus plug comes out prior to 35 weeks, you should see a doctor to be safe. I have been trying to contact my doctors office all day, the line is busy. I will schedule an appointment to be safe.

33 Weeks

How your baby's growing: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. (The pressure on the head during birth is so intense that many babies are born with a conehead-like appearance.) These bones don't entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as his brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood.

Amniotic fluid is at its highest level during your pregnancy.
Your baby's head size has increased 3/8ths of an inch due to rapid brain growth.
Neurons and synapses are developing in huge numbers -- forming connections in your baby's brain will give him the skills he needs to thrive as a newborn. This week, he may be able to coordinate sucking and swallowing with breathing.
While most of his bones are hardening, his skull is quite pliable and not completely joined. The bones will be able to move slightly to make birthing easier.
You baby takes intermittent deep breaths -- of water! That's okay, though since she gets oxygen from the placenta. This breathing exercises muscles and encourages her lung cells to produce more surfactant (a protein essential for healthy lung development).
If your baby is a boy, his testicles will be descending from his abdomen into his scrotum. Sometimes one or both testicles won't move into position until after birth.
Your infant is now 17.2 inches (43.7cm) long and weighs 4.23 pounds (1918gm).