My Baby's Development: Week 31

The rate of physical growth slows down just a bit, but even though she doesn't get much longer, she will gain a lot of weight the rest of the pregnancy. Fat continues accumulating. This layer of fat turns her skin from red to the rosy pink she will have as a newborn. Calcium, phosphorus and iron are being stored and his bones are growing and hardening.

Your baby is 16.2 inches (41.1cm) long and weighs 3.3 pounds.

Her brain enters another period of rapid growth, producing hundreds of billions of new nerve cells! Amazing! She may move to the rhythm of music. Studies with heart rates show that she also prefers some types of music to others -- already! Lungs are the only major organ left to complete development. Remember, that while you may be anxious to meet your little one that these last few weeks can be vital - with each day increasing your baby's ability to breathe on her own.

childbirth class

Monday night Brett & I attended our first childbirth class. It's five weeks in a row, two hrs. each night, conducted by the hospital. I had no idea what to expect, but it turned out to be very interesting. There were about 9 other couples in the class (interestingly enough, it seemed they were all middle-class white couples-- not sure if that speaks for the hospital, or the fact that the class was costly). I don't know that I learned a ton of new information, but it was nice to hear things I have been reading about from someone who has a whole lot of experience. The teacher was kind of all over the place-- even though she did cover all the topics she told us she would talk about, sometimes we weren't sure where she'd go next.

She talked about the stages of labor, the signs you are going into labor, the difference between Braxton-Hicks contractions and real contractions... She had a model of the pelvic bones and a doll, with which she showed us how the baby positions herself to go through during the birth. That was especially interesting when the spinal cord broke off on accident! Brett couldn't stop laughing when we got to the part where we got to lay on the floor and practice relaxing breathing techniques, mostly because he said he felt like we were at a giant slumber party. (FYI, the class doesn't really favor one particular method, like Lamaze or Bradley or whatever. It's more or less just "knowledge is power." And anyway, Lamaze doesn't really do the "hee hee hooo" fast breathing like you see in movies anymore. Now, deep, slow breaths are recommended.)

I was surprised that we were both able to enjoy the class and gain some valuable information in order to better prepare ourselves for this baby that is coming in 2 months or less, ready or not! We are looking forward to the next class, where we get a tour of the hospital.








30 weeks-- I can stretch further than this??!

Duke Gardens (Week 30)

Brett and I had a date yesterday to the beautiful Duke Gardens in Durham, followed by pizza at the Mellow Mushroom. The rain held off until just as we sat down in the restaurant and so we were able to spend a couple hours walking around the gardens, checking out the huge variety of flowers and pretty scenery. Brett was a little camera-crazy, so be sure to check out our photo album (link on the right, in the album called "Summer 2008") for plenty more photos.
No new news on the baby front-- my regular checkup last Tuesday was just the usual-- she's still measuring just right and all is well.

Week 29

The third trimester has brought with it its friend exhaustion. It's growing more & more difficult to sleep at night and I wake up almost every hour. It probably doesn't help that I'm having a lot of sugar and caffeine during the day. The baby senses that, too, and has become a whole lot more active these past few weeks! I'm able to see her move on the outside now, and she can sometimes keep me entertained for quite awhile. I think she has an exercise routine, involving jumping jacks and somersaults, that she performs each night when I lay down to go to sleep. My coworkers are my gauge at how much I am growing, since they see me every day, and this week, they've all been saying how it seems I really popped out. One even pointed out my swollen feet. I appreciated that. :-)

We have been slowly but surely preparing baby's room for her arrival. The painting is finished and everything will soon be back in place. I still have a lot of organizing of the closets to do too. I have a lot of ideas, but when I get the time to do things, I'm just too tired to put them into action. We are going to pick up the crib this weekend. I hope to also go ahead and get the mattress and at least a sheet, and maybe also the diaper changing pad with some of the gift cards and money we got at the shower. Then we can at least have some semblance of a nursery! All the preparations are making me very excited for her arrival.

I recently heard about an acquaintance who is also about 29 weeks pregnant who just found out her baby has an omphalocele, which is a birth defect in which the baby's intestines and some other vital organs develop outside of the baby's body. Other struggles with the heart and lungs also result. It's suddenly very scary to me that I have no idea how my baby is really developing in me. I haven't had the chance to see her for 10 weeks, and though the dr. has no indication that anything is wrong, would they have a way of knowing without seeing an ultrasound? Now, I chose not to do the amniocentisis or any other of the early tests for birth defects, but now I'm questioning that decision. I know that God has a perfect plan for my little one, but what if that plan involves some sort of birth defect or health issue? Each time I imagine my baby after she's born, I'm imagining a perfectly formed, beautiful little girl. But what if she's not? After all the planning and preparation for a "normal" baby, will we be prepared if something's not quite right? I am not going to spend a lot of time worrying or obsessing about this, since that would be pointless. I have to remain confident that my faith is strong enough to handle whatever may come.

29 weeks

Baby Shower #1

This past weekend was my first baby shower, at my parents' church in the Outer Banks. They are such generous people, especially since most of them barely know me or Brett! We had a great time, playing games that my mom had prepared (even Brett said he enjoyed them and he was the one who had to pin a diaper on a stuffed bear!). There was great food, and of course, some great gifts. I think I am finally starting to feel more prepared-- at least as far as "stuff" goes-- for this baby. Mostly we got tons of blankets and clothes, some diapers, lots of bibs & socks. I don't know why I spend so much time on my registries, seeing as how the only thing we got off those was a baby monitor-- actually, two baby monitors-- I will be taking one back to Target. Brett's mom sent money for our crib, which will arrive at the store in 7-14 days! Now I have a lot to sort through, wash & put away, but I'm finding that to be almost therapeutic for me.

The weekend with my family was also great- sharing time around the dinner table & playing games and relaxing on the beach. I haven't gotten much sleep the past few nights. Being in a different bed didn't help, but even in my own bed, I'm waking up every hour with achy legs and a backache. I hope I don't have 11 more weeks of this! Otherwise, besides the incessant heartburn nearly every night, I have no complaints. The dr. said baby is growing perfectly in every way.










A diaper cake-- cute & practical!

















Cool baby monitor














pink baby clothes!

















Diapering the bears
















Family portrait session at Mom & Dad's house

Week 27

I can hardly believe I've reached the 3rd trimester. Though time went by pretty quickly up till now, now it seems to be dragging by. With all the preparations and purchases that have been going on, I'm really just ready to hold my little girl. I'm still not feeling huge yet, and still have energy, most of the time. The only pain I can complain of would still be the back pain.

Not much new going on. I am getting ready for two busy weeks at work, made more bearable with knowing I get to go to my first shower this weekend, and at the beach, nonetheless!

I do have one gripe: stop with the pitying Sabrina because it's 101 degrees outside and I must be even hotter because I'm pregnant! I honestly don't think that on those few days of 3-digit temps that I was any hotter than a non-pregnant person. And I chose to go sit out at that baseball game last weekend, knowing it would be hot. And it was fun. So don't feel sorry for me.

6/11/08- 27 weeks

My Baby's Development: Week 26

Your baby may weigh about two pounds now (average is 1.7 pound, 760gm) and is 14 inches (35.6cm) in length. To support the fetus's growing body, the spine is getting stronger and more supple. Though no longer than the span of the average adult hand, it is now made up of 150 joints, 33 rings, and some 1,000 ligaments. Air sacs in the lungs form now.

Lungs begin to secrete a greasy substance called surfactant. Without surfactant the fetal lungs would stick together and couldn't expand after the baby is born. Although they've been sealed shut for the last few months, your baby's eyes are opening and beginning to blink this week. Depending on ethnicity, some babies will be born with blue or gray-blue eyes (which may change color in the first 6 months of life) and some will be born with brown or dark eyes. Retinas begin to form.

Brain wave activity for hearing and sight begins to be detectable. Fetal brain scans show response to touch. If you shine a light on your abdomen, your baby will turn his head, which according to researchers, means his optic nerve is working.