Yep…I totally set myself up for having an early baby. The good news is, there is no trouble in the womb to make this one come early like there was with Evie. Bad news is, I kept hoping to go early for more reasons than one and now it’s not happening. But, the other day I decided it was okay. Yesterday was my nephew’s birthday so I’m glad I didn’t have the baby then. Steve has a test this weekend so I’d like to wait until he gets that done. And then I figure, I went 2 weeks early with Spencer and that wasn’t so horrible, so 2 weeks early wouldn’t be bad. THEN I decided that if it came to it, Steve would have his wish for an 8/9/10 birth date and that would make him happy. SO, I guess I’m good for anything EXCEPT going late. I really don’t want to go late. And, with 8/9/10 set up as the date to be induced, I’m guessing that won’t happen. So I’m good.
Pat and Alec (my in-laws) were so great – they found us a dresser to put the baby clothes in AND fixed a few minor things that needed to be fixed. It’s great having a handy man who doesn’t mind taking care of things like that for us and in-laws who are always on the look-out for things we’re in need of. Thank you guys!!!
Tomorrow I’m hoping to finish sorting through the pile of office junk we have…get rid of what we really don’t need/want and put the rest away. Then we can start setting up the nursery/office in the room next to ours. We grabbed baby gear from my in-laws’ basement yesterday. I guess my first priority should be to wash the car seat material and base so we can actually bring the baby home when he gets here! After that I’ll worry more about the swing and bouncy chair. I’ve already washed crib bedding and clothing so that’s a plus. Wow…a lot of this I thought I would have done in my 2nd trimester. Boy was I dreaming! I’ve left it down to the wire!
At my last appointment my Dr said I was still measuring at 33 cm (I believe that equals out to about 33/34 weeks…but I could be wrong). I have noticed that little man has dropped and I’m assuming to greet us with his presence in the next while. Unfortunately his feet (or whatever he’s poking me with) find its way to my ribs more often now. Not very comfortable!
Here’s what they say 36 weeks is all about:
Your baby is still packing on the pounds — at the rate of about an ounce a day. He now weighs almost 6 pounds (like a crenshaw melon) and is more than 18 1/2 inches long. He’s shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered his body as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered and protected his skin during his 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 his 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 he’s in a head-down position. But if he isn’t, your practitioner may suggest scheduling an “external cephalic version,” which is a fancy way of saying he’ll try to coax your baby into a head-down position by manipulating him from the outside of your belly.