Week 36

At the end of this week, miss Lillian will be full term. So, it could happen anytime now or she could be late.... Lillian continues to have less room and it shows! I'm not sure I can really clearly determine what parts of her body are pushing and moving but most of my stomach is hard where she is at. If she hasn't changed positions from the last ultrasound then she is still head down, her back runs along the entire left side of my stomach, and her legs and knees curl up on the top/right side of my stomach. I feel most of her movements on the right side and her feet get lodged in my ribs every once in a while. I thought that would stop happening since she has dropped down but I think it has just given her more room to stretch out when she wants. :)

This past week I've been having more contractions and cramping. They were very different than what they have been before; they tended to start in my back and would wrap around to the front. I was supposed to get a cervical check at my doctors appointment this week; however, my doctor was busy with deliveries so another doctor came down to finish up her appointments. Unfortunately since they don't have malpractice insurance here the doctor didn't do anything they were supposed to be doing at this appointment; a cervical check or my group B strep culture. So, I have to wait until next week to see where I'm at. I've been doing a lot of walking lately to try to bring her down and it seems to be working, she feels a lot lower, pressing on my cervix and hips most of the time. I really didn't think it was possible to waddle more than I already do but Greg says I am.

According to babycenter.com, here is what's going on with Lillian this week:

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.

Miss Lillian's room

Miss Lillian's room is done! It isn't much since we are trying to be minimal while we are here in Korea and we are using our office space for her room. It seems our theme has turned from birds to Elephants while we are here but once we get back to the states I will still be doing her room in birds.

Week 35

This week will mark the last week of my 8th month. I had some very different, strong contractions last week one day but they seemed to stop after a few hrs. At my next doctors appointment she will be checking my cervix to see if I'm effacing or dilating. I believe she has dropped down a little, maybe not fully but I'm having a lot more pressure on my bladder and hips.

According to babycenter.com, miss Lillian is almost fully developed:

How your baby's growing:

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 melon). 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.

Week 34

This has been quite a week! We had our delivery room tour last weekend and reality is setting in about how close the arrival of Miss Lillian is! She could be here in 3 to 5 more weeks! This past week I've also spent more time at the hospital than I have before between various doctor appointments and trips to Labor and Delivery. My blood pressure has been high on and off for a while now and I'm continuing to be screened for pre-eclampsia; however, the test always comes back negative. I'm having a massive amount of swelling but my doctor isn't concerned about the swelling or blood pressure since I'm not testing positive for pre-e and my blood pressure isn't staying consistently high. The goal is to keep Lillian in there as long as we can, we would only induce if I test positive for pre-e or if my blood pressure does not continue to fluctuate like it has.

According to babycenter.com, this week:

How your baby's growing:

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.

Week 33

Miss Lillian definitely has less room, when she moves it produces more of a hard lump. This past week Greg and I have been playing, guess the body part when we feel the lump; a few days ago we could feel something small like a foot :) Last night, she moved so much it shook my body and woke me up! When she moves like that I just wonder what in the world she is doing in there. As these last few weeks pass I am getting more and more excited to meet Lillian! It is hard to believe it is getting so close. I have continued to have Braxton Hicks and I went in last week feeling a little off balance after standing for a short period of time. It felt a little like I was drunk, needing to stabilize myself with the wall while taking a shower or standing to cook dinner. I've been having signs of pre-eclampsia for a while now but the tests always come back negative. When I went in my blood pressure was 149/100 so they sent me to labor and delivery to be monitored. They didn't run the normal test but my blood pressure did go down after laying for a few min. Since I wasn't having contractions and my blood pressure lowered while laying down so they sent me home. I have another doctors appointment this Wed. where we will do our last ultrasound. This ultrasound will help determine how big she is, they will give us an estimate on her weight again and the size of her head.

According to babycenter.com, here is what is happening with Lillian this week:

How your baby's growing:

This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds (heft a pineapple) and has passed the 17-inch mark. He's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and his skeleton is hardening. The bones in his skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for him 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 his brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood.