36 weeks down.... 28 DAYS to go!

Your pregnancy: 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.

35 weeks down....35 DAYS to go!

35 weeks today! I am always curious to get my weekly e-mail about how Brayden is developing. I thought I would pass this weeks e-mail on to you. 5 and a half pounds and 20 inches??? That must be why I feel like I am carrying around a boulder! Only 35 days to go! Yipee!

Your Baby's Development This Week
Week 35 of Pregnancy:
With five more weeks to grow, your baby is accumulating fat at a rapid pace, but he or she has pretty much reached the in utero limit in height by now. Which means your developing baby's once skinny arms and legs are now quite plump…and irresistibly, squeezably soft.
At about 20 inches and five and a half pounds (but with about five more weeks to grow), most of your baby's growth over the next month or so before you meet will be in weight (with a gain of anywhere from one pound to several), not height (baby's pretty much reached the in utero limit in that department). Accordingly, fat continues to accumulate at a rapid pace these days (on baby, not just on your hips). Back in the middle of your pregnancy, your baby's weight was made up of only two percent fat; now that percentage has soared to closer to 15 percent (and will increase to 30 percent at term). Which means your baby's once skinny arms and legs are now quite plump…and irresistibly, squeezably soft.

Also continuing to grow at an amazing pace is your baby's brain power. Luckily, the part that surrounds that amazing brain — the skull — remains soft. And for good reason: A soft skull will allow your baby to squeeze more easily through the birth canal. (Mother Nature was really thinking this one through — imagine trying to push out a rock-hard head…ouch!)

Countdown

This ticker should tell you where we are at in this pregnancy and how many days we have left. It also tells a bit about how I am feeling. We'll see how right on it is. So far, the hip thing is right on! 

Belly Pics

34 weeks 9/15/08
32 weeks 9/2/08

27 weeks 7/28/08

23 weeks 6/28/08

20 weeks 6/8/08

16 weeks 5/13/08

Brayden's room

These are some pictures of Brayden's room. We sure hope he likes airplanes!

Up and running!

Well, it looks like adding pictures was not difficult at all! So here is our current family update:

Jeff and I have been busy preparing for Brayden's arrival. He is due in 6 weeks and we are both nervous and excited. His room is ready, our hospital bag is packed and as of today, the carseat is installed! We have completed 4 weeks of birthing classes and we just completed a newborn care class this weekend. Everything is coming together so well. 

Jeff is still working as a System's Engineer and is planning to take 2 weeks off after the birth. I am teaching first grade part time (Tuesdays, Thursdays and every other Friday) and hope to continue working until Brayden decides otherwise. After his birth, I will take 14 weeks off and return in February. I am really looking forward to spending that time with my son. :-)

Well, that is our update for now. Good night!

Practicing loading pictures.

Amanda, me and mom at my baby shower August 2008.

Jeff and I in Black Butte July 2008. 

A place for updates...

Hello family and friends. I am starting this blog so that I can easily update you all on our soon to be changing family. I will be learning how to upload pictures so hang in there with me while I figure it all out. Feel free to check back regularly as I am hoping to update the site often. Thanks for reading! ;-)