How our baby is growing:

Our baby is growing at a steady rate, weighing in at 7lbs 6oz (+or - 14oz). S/he has a firm grasp, which we'll soon be able to test when we hold his/her hand for the first time! His/Her organs have matured and are ready for life outside the womb. So you’re ready Peanut it is okay to come out now…please!  

How my life is changing:

So the doctor this week said that I am now for sure 1 cm and starting to efface which means my cervix is starting to shorten and we’re getting closer to the big day, but this is just the initial phase we still have a ways to go. I am looking forward to our next visit and more walking to help things further along. I did Torrey Pines again twice this week passing people each time. Luckily I have my headphones on or I am sure some of the ladies on the trail would like to tell me a thing or two about hikiing when I am this pregnant...not like I would listen any way.

My feet are starting to swell a little, but not that noticeable. I am currently only wearing flip flops though as my feet are most comfortable with the breathing room and with just the little bit of swelling anything close toed just isn’t very comfy. I also had a dermatologist appointment this week to take a look at a funny looking mole that had changed during pregnancy. I guess this is some what normal, but just to be safe my doctor wanted it check out. The dermatologist decided not to do a biopsy thinking this could possibly put me into labor. What…really? I tried to bride him to just do it saying that I was REALLY concerned with the mole and felt that it was important to do the biopsy regardless if it put me into labor. Peanut is already physically ready to come out any way, so it really wouldn’t hurt anything. No luck though…he wouldn’t buy it! Darn it all…maybe I should get a second opinion?

How our baby is growing:

Congratulations to us— our baby is full term!! HOORAY!!! This means that if Peanut arrives now, his/ her lungs should be fully mature and ready to adjust to life outside the womb, even though our due date is still three weeks away. It’s okay to come out now Peanut…come out, come out, whenever you want now!!

So this weeks visit to the doctors we found out that Peanut is weighing in at 6 lbs and 11oz and I am weighing 152, so I’ve only put on a pound in the past 3 weeks. Peanut is a bit over 19 inches, head to heel (like a Swiss chard). Many babies have a full head of hair at birth, with locks from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long. And we have seen in the past month or so hair on Peanut’s head, so he or she’s little head is going to be completely full. I guess we are not to be surprised if Peanut’s hair doesn’t come in the same color as ours even though both Jay and I were blondes.

How my life is changing:

So with my weekly doctor visits my doctor is now also checking my cervix to see if I have started to dilate or if my cervix is shortening. Any changes in these two departments are signs that labor is getting closer. So for this week I was barely 1 cm and my cervix is still pretty long, so no real chance of anything happening real soon here. I asked her if there was anything I could do to help things along and all she could offer was to keep up the walking and well intercourse. I’ve never had better doctor’s orders! Anything for Peanut! So with this advice I made a pack with myself to start ramping up my walking efforts. Calling on all friends and family to come join me on some major walks from here on out. And well the second half of the doctors orders too, but I only needed help from one person for that! That Saturday Kara joined Kona and I for a hike along the Solana Beach lagoon about a 5 mile hike. This was great!

How our baby is growing:

Our Peanut is still packing on the pounds — at the rate of about an ounce a day. At this weeks weight in Peanut is about 6 pounds 6 oz (like a Crenshaw melon) and is more than 18 1/2 inches long. S/he's shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered his/her body as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered and protected her skin during his/her nine-month amniotic bath. Our 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.

How my life is changing:

Now that Peanut is taking up so much room, I am having trouble eating a normal-size meal. Smaller, more frequent meals are easier to handle at this point. And I am noticing that spicy foods are again not agreeing with me giving me major heartburn. Bland foods are best for the most part and fruit is huge right now…I still can’t get enough fruit. Once I drop I should have more room in my tummy and have an easier time breathing, but this hasn’t happen yet. I will also have pee more when this happens and may have an even harder time walking. This usually happens a few weeks before labor, but then again I’ve also heard that it sometimes never happens to woman?

How our baby is growing:

Starting this week we will be visiting the doctor’s office twice a week for approximately 2 hours at a time for our general check up with Dr. Buerchner and also to start our Non Stress Test and AFI Testing. The AFI test is a very quick ultrasound where they are measuring the amniotic fluid to make sure with the SUA that the levels stay where they should. Also, every Tuesday they will measure Peanut’s head and his/ her long limbs to give us an estimate of his/ her current weight. This has been a real test for me since I usually do these visits on my own without Jay and the thought of asking the ultrasound technicians to tell me the sex of Peanut is very tempting.    

So for this week our little Peanut doesn't have much room to maneuver now that he or she is over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5lbs 4oz (about the weight of a honeydew melon). Because it's so snug in my womb, he/ she isn't likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times he/ she kicks should remain about the same. This scared me at first since I started to notice that Peanut wasn’t moving around as much, but the movements just weren’t as strong as they were before. We also saw that Peanut is now head down which is great and he/ she was practicing using his/her little lungs…go my little cardio prince or princess. We’ll be in the baby jogger as soon as mom can run again! His/her kidneys are fully developed now, and his/her liver can process some waste products. Most of his/her basic physical development is now complete — so Peanut will spend the next few weeks putting on weight.

How my life is changing:
My uterus — which was entirely tucked away inside my pelvis when we conceived — now reaches up under my rib cage. If you could peek inside my womb, you'd see that there's more baby than amniotic fluid in there now. My ballooning uterus is crowding my other internal organs, too, which is why I  probably have to urinate more often and I am dealing with heartburn and other gastrointestinal distress (fun stuff let me tell you).

We also had our last Preparing You Mind and Body class this past Saturday. The first part of the class was good, but we ended up ditching the last 2 hours since it was a review of breast feeding and labor which we had just had. We went to the movies with  those last two hours instead...oh so much more entertaining. On Sunday my Mom through us another baby shower at her house with her friends, family and my running buddies. It was a lot of fun with again many wonderful presents for our little Peanut!