BillyandAshlee.com

Your Baby’s Development

Now Baby weighs almost 6.5 pounds and her total length is about 21 inches long. But she hasn’t stopped growing yet; she’ll continue to develop about a half-ounce of fat a day. Still, overall growth does slow from here on out. That’s fortunate, since there is very little available space left in the womb as it is.

Here are a few final developments taking place in week 37:

• Baby’s immune system continues to strengthen. Her immune system will continue to get stronger after birth, and will not be completely functional until early adulthood.

• Baby can now grasp with her fingers as dexterity improves.

Your Development

You may experience heavier vaginal discharge this week, with more cervical mucus in it. Sometime during this week, as the cervix dilates in preparation for the labor you may experience “bloody show.” This thick, yellow blood-streaked mucus plug had sealed off your uterus from infection and bacteria. As your cervix thins, it may drop out. Although some women never notice its departure, you may see thick discharge or stringy mucus tinged with blood. This light vaginal bleeding is considered to be an early sign of impending labor and can occur a few weeks, days, or hours before contractions begin. You may want to visit the doctor just to make certain that everything is alright.

At about this time, your doctor may also perform a pelvic exam to evaluate your progress. To check for impending labor, some doctors may look for leaking amniotic fluid and will examine your cervix to see whether it has softened or thinned out.

Let’s see if the majority gets this right…there’s a poll to the right to vote whether you think the baby is a boy or girl! Only 22 more days or so until we find out!

I had my first weekly dr. appt yesterday and all looks great! My blood pressure is still perfect (100/60), weight gain is good, I tested negative for Group B Strep (that’ s good!), and the baby’s heartrate sounds good. The dr. said the baby needs to start moving down because I’m out of room, I measured 40 weeks!! I start my first internal exam next Tuesday (9/6), so I can’t wait to see if I’m making any progress! I had my first “real, hard” contraction Sunday night/Monday morning at 3am…it woke me up and it HURT! Definitely going to need an epidural as soon as I get to the hospital! I’ve been really crampy on and off during the last week or two and my dr. said that’s a good sign, it’s the baby moving down!

And here’s the newest belly pic from Monday, at 36w4d…I’ve definitely grown out in the last week and possibly dropped just a bit!! And I’m very pleased to say, still not a single stretch mark (knock on wood)!

Your Baby’s Development

Your baby is working hard to accumulate all the fat she can, in preparation for delivery. Her body is growing rounder every day, since about 15 percent of her total weight is now made up of fat. Once she is born, this fat layer will help her maintain her body temperature and give him a reliable energy source.

Baby now weighs around six pounds and is 20.7 inches long.

• Major organ development is already complete, such as the kidneys and liver.

• Some fine-tuning, such as the final development of the lungs, is still taking place inside the womb.

• Baby’s head is round, but by the time she makes it through the birth canal it may be temporarily a bit misshapen as the soft bones of the skull are compressed by powerful contractions. Her head shape will return to normal within a few days.

Your Development

With a month of pregnancy to go, you’ll probably continue to gain weight, although the majority of your pregnancy weight gain has occurred.

If you’ve been experiencing heartburn, the baby’s movement down toward your cervix may ease that discomfort. Your appetite may return because the baby is no longer putting as much pressure on your stomach and intestines.

As Baby grows larger, and amniotic fluid volume decreases, it’s not as easy for her to move around. This may lead to an alteration in the sensation of fetal movements. For some women, it feels as if the baby is not moving as much as it had been, but everything is just fine. Things are just getting a bit crowded inside the uterus.

I had my 35 week dr. appt today and had the GBS test (group b strep - if positive, I have an IV during delivery, no big deal, I imagine I’ll find out at my next appt). My blood pressure was still great (106/62), weight gain is fine, baby’s heart rate was fine (actually, the baby has moved to my left side as I had suspected!). I start my weekly appts now and have an appt every Tuesday until the baby arrives! I have had some cramping and my dr. said that it’s the baby moving it’s head down lower “into position” and that it means good things! YEA!!

Here’s the latest picture from 35w4d:

We forgot to take a 34 week picture, so here’s one from the baby shower in Wichita last weekend! All of them are now posted in our gallery, take a look!

Your Baby’s Development

In week 35, the average baby weighs around five to six pounds and measures about 16 to 19 inches in length. Your baby will begin to gain weight more rapidly than ever before…adding about one half to three-quarters of a pound each week from this point forward. And healthy fat is being deposited all over your baby’s body, especially around the shoulders.

Because of her size, your baby may move around less as her surroundings become more cramped. Her head may be resting on your pubic bone in preparation for labor and delivery.

Other developments are also taking place this week:

• The central nervous system will continue to mature.

• The lungs will most likely be fully developed by Week 35.

• Baby is beginning to develop daily activity cycles. You may notice that Baby is often more active at night when you’re trying to rest!

• Even thought they won’t be considered “full-term” until the end of the 40th week, Baby’s respiratory and digestive systems are nearly mature.

• Baby’s immune system is starting to develop.

• The umbilical cord is now about 20 inches long and one to two centimeters in diameter; at birth, it will be about two feet long and a half-inch thick.

Your Development

By the 35th week, your doctor will probably want to start seeing you every week until you deliver. Starting now, your doctor may begin regularly checking your cervix, looking for effacement and dilation rates, and to check baby’s position. “Effacement” refers to how much your cervix has stretched and thinned, and “dilatation” means how much the cervix is starting to open so that Baby can move through the birth canal. (A cervix is “fully dilated” at 10 centimeters.) Between 35 and 37 weeks, your doctor also may test you for Group B streptococcus, an infection which can be passed on to newborns during birth.

We had our baby shower at my work last week, it was a lot of fun! It was actually a triple shower as a guy I work with and his wife are due 9/8 with their first, then us on 9/22, and then my friend and coworker and her husband are due with their first on 10/27. Our spouses also came to the shower and Billy managed to make it through ok:). We had lunch, cake, played a few games, and opened gifts. Everyone was incredibly generous and this is a pic of everything we received (plus a $200 gift certificate to Babies-R-Us which will be put to good use in paying for part of the glider!:)

We’re really behind on getting these posted, been super busy at work!

Here’s 32w6d:

and 33w6d:

Your Baby’s Development

As of this week, your baby has grown so large she takes up most of the available space inside the uterus, and can no longer float around your womb. Baby is now about 4.7 pounds and about 16.8 inches long.

Meanwhile, other exciting things are still going on inside the womb this week:

• Your baby’s adrenal glands are growing and producing corticoid hormones that, together with prolactin from the pituitary, will stimulate lactation.

• The vernix coating on the baby’s skin is getting thicker to better protect Baby’s skin.

• Baby’s skull bones are still quite pliable and not completely fused together at the top of her head, which will make it easy for Baby to slip down the relatively narrow birth canal.

• Baby’s skin is gradually becoming less red and wrinkled as the fat beneath it fills out and stretches the skin.

Your Development

Around this time, your doctor will want to check Baby’s position in the womb. Because she’s grown much larger, she’s now tucked up and has probably moved into the proper location for birth. With luck, that’s the standard “head down, rump up” position. However, as late as week 34, around four percent of all babies are still facing the other way, with their bottoms or legs toward the cervix. This is called a “breech presentation.” At this late stage, a baby can’t usually turn around on her own, so your doctor will probably try to coax her into position by manipulating your lower abdomen. This should be performed in a hospital so you and baby can be monitored during the process.

This week may herald some additional puffiness in your feet, hands, face, and ankles, especially during the evening or a warm spell. This puffiness is most likely caused by water retention. It may seem odd, but drinking more water can help ease water retention. (If you’re not getting enough water, your body perceives your dehydration as a threat to your survival and begins to hold onto every drop within you.)

Braxton-Hicks (”false labor”) contractions may also intensify this week. Relax — it doesn’t mean true labor is beginning. Increased pressure from the baby’s head may make it seem as if she could suddenly emerge at any moment. Almost always, this just means that the baby is pushing lower than usual into your pelvis. This increased pressure also may cause a harmless numb or tingling feeling in the pelvis area. If you find it uncomfortable, you can try lying on your left side to help ease pelvic pressure. Lying on your left side is the best position because it removes the pressure on arteries caused by your expanding uterus. Your doctor will continue to measure your uterus. It’s important your uterus enlarges at an appropriate, consistent rate.

Your Baby’s Development

In these last few weeks before delivery, billions of your baby’s brain cells are helping her to learn about her environment. These cells help her to listen, feel, and even see. In fact, this is another important week for visual development. By now, your baby may now be able to experience her surroundings visually, since the pupils of her eye can now detect some light. Her pupils are constricting and dilating to allow her baby to see dim shapes.

Your baby now weighs about 4.4 pounds! (Babies gain a good deal of their weight in the final few weeks before birth.) She is about 16.4 inches long from head to toe.

Other developments this week include:

• Baby’s head size will increase about 3/8 of an inch in circumference this week.

• Baby is now sleeping much of the time.

• Baby’s lungs are continuing to mature.

• Fat will continue to be added on to Baby’s body for protection and warmth.

• The testicles of most boys have by now moved into the scrotum.

Your Development

By this time, the fetus should have turned around and begun to point head-down in the direction of the cervix (This occurrence will provide more space in the upper abdomen, making it easier for you to breathe.

If you’re a first-time mother, your child’s head may move into the pelvis this week and press firmly against your cervix. (This happens to about half of all first-time mothers.) If you’ve already had at least one child, this won’t happen until about a week before labor; for some experienced moms, baby won’t move into position until the advanced stages of labor.

If you’re gaining a pound a week now and your weight gain is between 22 and 28 pounds, you’re right on track. Just about half of that weight goes right to the fetus. In fact, the baby gains more than half its birth weight during the next seven weeks. And remember — don’t stop eating or start skipping meals as your weight increases. You both need the calories and nutrition of a healthy diet.

While some swelling during the last trimester is completely normal, a sudden increase in swelling together with headaches, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting should prompt you to contact your doctor immediately. These symptoms could be the signs of pre-eclampsia. Early diagnosis can help combat this complication.