35: Weeks Down & Days to Go

As promised, I'm back with the 35-week bump pic! Obviously not much new to update, but at least you'll have the pic to see how much change has happened in the last few days!!

Remember early on, when I put on cute clothes and did my hair and makeup for my bump pics? Yeah laziness has pretty much done away with that these days, hehe. I'm also not feeling particularly motivated to turn on my hair dryer when its 85 degrees in the house.

At 35 weeks pregnant yesterday, there were officially only 35 days remaining until Peanut's due date. Crazy how that works, huh? The book tells me she's 18" long, which is probably a good approximation. Everyone thinks that because Jeff is so tall, Peanut will be pretty long when she's born, but it's not like Jeff came into the world six-feet tall. He grew the same as the rest of us, just a little more. So we'll see how long she actually ends up being. I'd say somewhere in the 20-22" mark is probably pretty likely.

She also weighs in at approximately five-and-a-quarter pounds, even though to me she feels like she weighs ABOUT A HUNDRED POUNDS!!!! Carrying so much weight around is hard, and it's crazy that every time I think she must be done growing, I feel a little bigger the next day.

She definitely is running out of room in there, and I can tell because her movements are much more fluid-feeling. She doesn't have the room to punch and kick, and instead they are pressing and stretching motions into my stomach, usually my ribs. Often when I sit for a while, like out to dinner or something, she'll stretch into my ribs the entire time to let me know she's uncomfortable being squished. As if I have it any easier here on the outside! Both she and I will be glad when she's got plenty of space to move and stretch and isn't confined to mama's tummy anymore.

I wish I could tell you we have big Fourth of July plans this weekend, but we really don't. Tomorrow we'll meet up with Jeff's class and hang out downtown at the local festival eating tasty food and watching fireworks, and then we'll probably spend the rest of the weekend just hanging out. It is supposed to be warm, so hopefully we'll get plenty of outdoor time. We broke down and bought a kidding pool today, and I'm looking forward to spending some time in it this weekend. Jeff's got the day off Monday also, so we've got an extra long weekend. Yay!!

Another round of Childbirth Classes tonight, although I can't quite remember what we're covering. Last week was all the breathing shenanigans, but I find it hard to believe anyone actually remembers to use those when the time comes. I'm looking forward to touring the Family Birthing Center next week, and getting a better idea of what the environment will be like where Peanut is born.

I suppose that's about it for this week! Next week I'll have a new weekly pic, plus some updates from the doc. Hopefully a better idea about when Peanut will show up, and more info about the process from here on out.

Until next time!

33 Weeks: Putting A Face To A Name

I have a feeling all my posts from now on are going to take on the same tone of nervous excitement. Peanut is going to be here soon, whether Jeff and I are ready or not. Granted, we feel ready, and I think if she showed up tomorrow we'd be alright. But that doesn't mean she should.

Do you hear me little one? You stay in there and keep growing for as long as you need to, okay?

At 33 weeks, little Peanut is growing like a weed. Or at least it sure feels like she is. She moves almost constantly, which means I regularly have the pleasure of feeling little feet in my ribs and little fists in my side. Sometimes it feels like shes somersaulting, and it takes my breath away for a second. No matter how long she's been growing in my belly, I don't think I'll ever get totally used to some of the strange sensations that happen when you're sharing your body with another person, even if that other person is very, very little. I'm glad she's moving around though, I'd prefer that to a lazy baby. At least I know she's active!

I had an additional ultrasound yesterday to check on Peanut's size and growth. Normally the last ultrasound of a low-risk pregnancy is the "anatomy" scan at around 20 weeks, but because my doctor was concerned about preeclampsia, she wanted to look again and make sure Peanut is a normal size and all is well. Here are a couple shots from the scan yesterday:

Peanut's face from the front. She's so cute, right?

Side profile shot.

I realize ultrasounds are, for the most part, ugly and unclear photos. Frankly sometimes I'm shocked at how much the ultrasound techs can decipher from what looks like static to me. It was a little eerie to see her this far into the pregnancy. Even at 21 weeks, she didn't appear too much like a baby. She had all the main features, but they're so much more developed now that she looks like a little person. Not so much in these pictures, they don't really do her justice. I'm convinced she'll be a doll though.

And if she's not, just lie to me and tell me she is, mm'kay?

Most importantly, after all the measurements were taken and averaged, the ultrasound tech told me Peanut is measuring at about 33 weeks and 5 days, so about 5 days "big." I'll have to see what the doctor says about this when I go again next week, but it definitely rules out the small baby doc was worried about. I'm thinking this might ease her fears about preeclampsia and she may reevaluate her idea that baby girl will need to come early.

I can't say I'm surprised she's a little big (and I'm pretty sure this isn't terribly uncommon), because I still feel like a whale. Sometimes I look down and I'm amazed at just how big my belly has gotten. Wasn't it just yesterday I was wondering if strangers could tell that I'm pregnant? No doubt these days, haha.

(Random side note: to this point, I have still managed to avoid any uninvited belly rubs. At this point, I'm considering myself the champ of whatever facial expression it is that says "Do NOT touch my belly.")

Here's the 33-week bump pic:

 Thankfully the ultrasound tech also confirmed that Peanut is still a girl! Thank goodness.

I would've been in so much trouble if she were now a boy, somehow. I've got enough pink to outfit ten little girls for a lifetime, haha.

My iPhone app says shes the side of a cauliflower, but I myself have never seen an 18" cauliflower, so I doubt that's a good size reference. I think for the most part she probably just looks like a small baby. A VERY CUTE small baby. =)

We also start our "childbirth classes" tonight, and I'm interested to see how that goes. With so much information out there so readily available, I'm not sure there's too much they can teach us that we don't already know, but it'll be good to tour the birthing center, hear about some recommended techniques for labor and delivery, and maybe meet some other people in the same boat as us. Perhaps I'll write another update about that tomorrow, but only if it's terribly exciting.

I visit the doctor again on Tuesday for my 34-week checkup, and I'm sure we'll discuss Peanut's size and doc's thoughts about the preeclampsia. This will be the first doctor appointment I go to without Jeff, which makes me a little sad. By some miracle, he's been able to attend every single appointment we've had, and I think he's really liked being able to participate in the whole process. But since he just started training, he wasn't able to go with me to the ultrasound yesterday, and will probably miss all of our doctor appointments from now on. I suppose as long as he's there for the last one that's all that really matters.

I think that's about it as far as updates from this past week. I'll check back in soon with more updates!