Week 36 and 37

She's almost here! 3 weeks left. I am seeing my doctor on a weekly basis now. Last visit I mentioned that the baby has moved and I was feeling her hiccups on the side now, which for me was an indication that she was no longer head down. After the doctor felt around, she wanted to make sure with a quick ultrasound and the baby did move back head down so I think she only stayed in the breech position for less than a day or two which is good. Also even though I am measuring small, she assured us that they don't really let patients go too much over their due date, may be just a few days, so I am willing to bet that she'll be here before the 20th of December.

Week 36 Development

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.

Week 37 Development

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.

Our friend Abtin and Erin came over during Thanksgiving break and he snapped this photo of us.

The baby room - all done!

It's finally finished. We put the finishing touches in over the Thanksgiving weekend. The room turned out better than Jeromey or I could have imagined. Here is a little picture of it.  Even the drawers are full with little tiny clothes, and blankets. I can finally say that we're ready.

Baby Shower

I had the best time at my baby shower. I must say I have the most wonderful friends and family. It's hard to put in words, but everything was perfect. The decorations, the food, the games, the gifts, everything! I got a very cute Parenting 101 book, where people wrote their advice for a particular age starting from birth to 30 years old and I read some of the out loud, they were so funny! Everyone really put some thought and humor into them. The Video questions were probably the funniest and the most unique idea. There were over 20 questions to answer and then my answers were being matched up with Jeromey's answers. Well little did I know that Jeromey had his answers videotaped and edited at a friends house. So after I answered, they would play his answers on a projector screen for everyone to hear. His delivery was probably the best part, and of course the answers were hilarious, and a few made me a bit emotional.
Here are a couple of memorable ones: How many diapers has Jeromey changed in his life? My answer was going to be very few, I said well may be 5, just to give him the benefit of the doubt. His answer was: while he watched quite a few of them being changed, but has never changed one himself and he plans on continuing that supervisory role! Hah, we'll see about that. And another question was: if we had a plan for who was going to be responsible for what and when especially at night time? I said we haven't really made a plan, but we really should, while Jeromey said that he's investigated the issue and has talked to many reliable sources which was also backed up by medical research that between the hours of 10pm and 8am, the baby calls for the mother 95% of the time, and for the father 5% of the time, so he's planning on sticking to that schedule. Nice one daddy! =) That of course got lots of laughs!

Towards the end of the shower when Jeromey came over to get me, he was presented with a "Daddy Doody Belt" that was equipped w/tongs, diapers, wipes, air freshener, gloves and a mask. He'll be needing that very soon to step outside his supervisory role of changing diapers.

Here are a few pictures from the party. Check out the coolest Diaper Cake, as well as the real cake w/the teddy bear on it wearing a diaper. All so cute! Thanks to all my friends and family as well as Jeromey's family who planned everything and also to those who were able to come celebrate, it wouldn't have been the same without you! We got some awesome gifts, and we cannot wait to use them when the baby comes. Jeromey and I are so blessed to have such amazing people in our lives. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!

Week 35 (8 months)

This week has been progressing well. Every single day is different. One day I am feeling like an energizer bunny for a little while, the next day I am completely drained. Going to work has been a total drag, but one of the hardest things has been getting out of bed lately, or even switching sides to sleep on, and that has to be done multiple times during the night... my stomach just feels so tight and the pressure doesn't ease up. The baby hiccups are a daily occurrence and the heartburn as well. My internal temperature is completely off, I am hot all the time and my palms are constantly sweating and it's November! I can only wonder how it would be like if I was this big in August, not so much fun! At least I haven't had much swelling in my feet, I am very thankful for that! A few days ago I got up and I couldn't move my right leg, apparently I sat for too long while too much pressure built up on my sciatic nerve and it took at least 15 minutes for me to try and do various stretching exercises to make it ease up. Finally after Jeromey had helped me w/the stretching and pulling, I was able to walk it off. I've gained somewhere between 20-23 lbs so far.

We went to visit our friends Leslie and Matt who just had a baby 3 weeks ago, so I finally got to meed Anderson who decided to come a few weeks early! He was so tiny - almost 7 lbs, much like a little doll, and so peaceful, I just kept staring at him, thinking in just a few weeks I'll be holding a baby that belongs to me. He is an adorable little peanut, it will be fun to watch them play together when they get a little bigger :)

We have the crib set up already, but still waiting for the dresser since the one we picked up was damaged. I am hoping it will come in this weekend so we have Thanksgiving week to finish setting everything up, it's all definitely coming together nicely. I can't wait till my baby shower on Saturday, I know there will be some surprises there too, since everyone has been very hush hush about the details on it.

Week 35 Development:

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.

Baby shower at work - it was a surprise!

Little did I know that my coworkers have been planning a shower for me.

I was caught completely off guard since another coworker Steve is retiring so we went to lunch for his retirment celebration and I was told that we were having dessert for him in a few hours after lunch in a conference room. So I walked into this room thinking that we're still celebrating Steve, only to have a completely clueless look on my face when I found out that people were actually there for Jeromey and I. He of course knew what was going on the whole time. My face turned bright red, I got pretty emotional and speechless. It was a very nice surprise to say the least. I got lots of baby goodies from everyone and a very pretty signed a frame.
Here are some pictures, the cake was delicious!

Week 34

I am definitely feeling like I am getting to the home stretch. The last few days have been tough. Seems that I cannot be in a sitting position for too long, once I get up I feel a ton of pressure and I am super slow and crouched when I start walking, after a while I am able to "walk it off" and start looking semi-normal, but still slow. I started to get concerned because sometimes it was quite painful, so once I called the doctor they wanted me to come in earlier than scheduled just to make sure everything is ok. Today we saw Dr. Marshall and she reassured us that things are going well. Apparently the baby has now dropped so her head is quite low and that's where the increased pressure is mostly coming from, so it's not early contractions or anything like that and I am not yet dilated which is good. The baby is just getting ready to come out and I have to take it easy and bare with it. I am definitely going to try and work for a few more weeks and then either try to arrange to work from home or go on disability for the last few weeks after Thanksgiving. She's moving all the time, and I feel the hiccups daily as well, I just can't believe how much I've grown and carrying around such a big belly, I should have measured it from the start just to compare! I've gained a total of 19-21 lbs, and I have less than 6 weeks to go (assuming she's coming on time or before the due date of December 15)

Week 33 Development:
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.