"Your Pregnancy - 34 Weeks"

Today's usual doctor's appointment was as uneventful as all the others, which - again - is a good thing.

I'm not going to lie - the last few weeks of pregnancy are pretty darn tootin' uncomfortable (and will get even more uncomfortable, still).  I think often about how there are people who are in a chronic state of pain or discomfort with little hope of relief.  I'm glad to know that #1, my discomfort is productive and #2, is only temporary.

Jonathan has confirmed that I definitely have a "waddle."  And somehow with this pregnancy, I'm getting a lot more attention from strangers.  Cashiers, in particular, like to ask me when I'm due, what I'm having, and what her name is.   Even male cashiers ask me, which I somehow think is funny.

Surprisingly, I haven't had anybody tell me how huge I am.  Although, both my sister and Jonathan have commented that I look like I could have the baby today.    And I agree!  I even had to confirm with the doctor today that I've got just one baby inside.  He confirmed that indeed, there is just one baby ... and assured me that with today's technology, it is impossible not notice a second baby.

So without further adieu, here is the official "Your Pregnancy - 34 Weeks":

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.

"Your Pregnancy - 33 Weeks"

This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds (heft a pineapple) and has passed the 17-inch mark. She's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and her skeleton is hardening. The bones in her skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for her to fit through the birth canal. (The pressure on the head during birth is so intense that many babies are born with a conehead-like appearance.) These bones don't entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as her brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood.

"Your Pregnancy - 32 Weeks"

By now, your baby weighs 3.75 pounds (pick up a large jicama) and is about 16.7 inches long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus. You're gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to your baby. In fact, she'll gain a third to half of her birth weight during the next 7 weeks as she fattens up for survival outside the womb. She now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). Her skin is becoming soft and smooth as she plumps up in preparation for birth.

Christian and the Stroller

Lil' Biscotti's new stroller has arrived.  It's really cool - it comes with a removable (and reversable to face the world, or face us) seat, a basinett, and we can buy an adaptor that also holds the car seat.

We put it together, inserted the basinett, marveled at how cool it is and set it aside.  I was out of the room for a few minutes, and returned to find Christian had rolled the stoller into the living room, next to the sofa and had climbed into the basinett and was watching TV.

So I got a kick out of it, took a couple of pics and wheeled it into another room.  He found it later, managed to crawl in again and declared that HE was a baby.  I said, "You're not a baby, you're a big boy.  This is Biscotti's stroller."

To which he replied, "This is MY new stroller!"

Needless to say, the basinett is now hidden away in my closet, and the frame is folded up - and uninteresting - in another room.

And so begins the sibling rivalry.  And Lil' Biscotti hasn't even been born yet.

Your Pregnancy at 31 Weeks

I had another Dr. appointment today and everything is fine!   My blood presure was great again, I passed the diabetes screening, my iron levels are fine, etc.

I asked if there was anything different that would happen since I'm 38 years old, and he said that for women my age, each week (starting at week 37), I will be sent to the hospital for an ultrasound and a "non-stress test" (where they put a monitor around my belly and I just sit there for a while and they watch things).    And that is about it.

I double-checked on the c-sectin date, and it will indeed be January 6th.   However, between now and then, I will be closely monitored for any possible complications that would require an earlier c-section.  But, for a healthy, problem-free pregnancy, c-sections are performed one week before the due date.

Of course, lil Biscotti might have plans of her own - you never know what babies are going to do.  Today my dentist told me that all four of his children were born one month early when his wife's water broke and she needed to have immediate c-sections.     Not the kind of story a 7 month old pregnant woman wants to haear.

Really, only God knows when Lil Biscott will enter this world.  Jonathan has suggested that December 31 (or sooner) would be good for our taxes - ha ha!!

For me, though, depsite the day-to-day discomforts that are mounting, I want her to stay and "cook" for as long as possible - for it is the best place for her to be.

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This week, your baby measures over 16 inches long. She weighs about 3.3 pounds (try carrying four navel oranges) and is heading into a growth spurt. She can turn her head from side to side, and her arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath her skin. She's probably moving a lot, too, so you may have trouble sleeping because your baby's kicks and somersaults keep you up. Take comfort: All this moving is a sign that your baby is active and healthy.