[LAST] Belly Picture- 37w6d

I was totally planning on posting a belly picture on Tuesday... But my water broke:) So these will have to do! They are of me at the hospital... My last pictures of my belly! Lily dropped that morning - I think that's what caused the water to break. It looks so much different than the other pictures... but I loved how it felt to be able to breathe:):)

Ultrasound Pictures- 37 Weeks

1) Lily is STILL as flexible as ever eventhough there really isn't much room in there! She's holding her little foot in her fingers:)
2) She was hiding her face again... so this is half of her face, straight on! Her eye, fat cheeck, nose and lips!
3) An attempted Profile shot!

37 Weeks Pregnant!

WE MADE IT!! I'm now "to term"!! Lily won't be born premature:):):)
That is the answer to soo many prayers! And to make it even better... I had my final Perinatologist appointment today and was cleared by this new doctor!! She scanned Lily and said that she didn't see any need to be worried about the pregnancy and all of the other issues the other specialist had mentioned before! So she gave me the option of knocking my None Stress Testing from twice a week to once a week and even stopping them all together if I was comfortable! But I think we'll just back down to once a week and be thankful for that! They measured her today and there was no doubt that she is growing great! She's measuring 7 pounds 6 ounces!!! And babies usually gain about half a pound a week at this stage! So we are looking at a chunker:)

I was so happy to be cleared this morning! I can't tell you how wonderful it feels to know that my little girl is doing ok! I can't wait to meet her!

There really isn't much to report besides that! I got few u/s pictures from the scan today so I'll post those for you:)

WEEK THIRTY-EIGHT
Your child's intestines are accumulating lots of meconium. Meconium takes on the role of being your baby's first bowel movement -- removing the waste that has accumulated.
She may have a full head of hair now -- an inch or more long! Don't be surprised if it's an unexpected color. Some blond couples have dark haired babies; some dark haired couples have red-haired babies; some couples have babies with only peach fuzz! It may just persuade you to take a closer look at your family tree!
Circumference of head and abdomen are about the same size for your baby. No wonder it's so hard to get a t-shirt over a newborn's head!

Belly picture-36w3d

Doesn't she look beautiful!

36 Weeks Pregnant!

This is Thomas writing the blog this week, so I will try to do as good a job as Heather has done in the prior blogs.

This week was pretty busy for us. We started childbirth classes this week on Tuesday and we really enjoyed them.. The RN who teaches the class is very knowledgeable and straightforward. We have the classes every Tuesday and Thursday from 6 to 8 pm for the next 3 weeks after this one. So we will be at Womack a lot in the next few weeks, especially with the 2-3 appointments Heather already has each week for fetal monitoring and her 36+ weeks checkups.

We also did some more work in the nursery this week. I put together the new bassinet--I lost a screw while I was doing it and it took like 15 minutes to find, but was pretty simple other than that. We also sorted some more baby clothes and started packing Heather's and Lily's bag for the hospital, since she really could come at any time now! We also installed a couple of the baby items in the car, but are having a little trouble with the car seat, so we will have to let the fire dept help out. It doesn't look complicated at all, but somehow it finds a way to be difficult to install.

I finally started back to work this week, which made Heather happy because she was sick of seeing me all day long...even though I couldn't get enough of seeing her beautiful face! She is sleeping a lot now so she can conserve energy for the birth, of course. Not because she is lazy. OK, maybe she is a little lazy. But I would lay down a lot too if my ankles were that big. Just kidding.

Thanks to all who prayed for me while I was deployed and who are praying for the pregnancy. I will let Heather write next week because I know you all missed her exclamation marks!!!! Here are some more for good measure!!!!!!!

Enjoy the fun facts for:

WEEK THIRTY-SEVEN
This week, the average size is about 6.3 pounds and 19.1 inches long.
She is official full term now but can still benefit from extra days in the womb.
Your baby continues to practice breathing movements. Isn't it amazing how she can breathe "under water?"
Grasp is firm now. It won't be long until you'll feel that strong little fist confidently grasping your finger (or tightly clenching your hair)!
A few weeks ago, your baby would move her eyes toward light. Now she turns towards light outside the uterus.
As the uterine wall stretches and thins allowing more light to permeate, she develops definite daily activity cycles. You will want to be sure to establish good patterns yourself at this time, thus encouraging them in your child. Ever heard of a baby getting her days/nights mixed up? Now's the time to try to avoid that!

Belly Picture- 35w2d

Here we are!! I took this a few days ago but am just now posting it! Sorry about that!! I'll put up some front shots next week!!

35 Weeks Pregnant!

I'm slacking pretty bad on the blogging front, huh!? Thomas got a new laptop this weekend anddd he started back to work this morning so I'm thinking that the boredom with him not being around and the comfort of Internet in bed will help me keep you up-to-date for the next few weeks!

Can you believe that there are, at maximum, only 6 more weeks of this pregnancy!?!? Of course, I'm praying that it doesn't last that much longer! But it is still so amazing to think that I'm going to be a Mommy SOOOON! I was looking back on some older posts and looking at the pictures of her development and am so amazed at how far she has come!! At my ultrasounds I can see Lily playing with her fingers and watch and feel her moving at the same time! And those cheeks! There's no doubting that she's my baby girl:) I can't wait to hold her!!

Well, the doctor's appointments and everything are going good. I have a monitoring appointment later this morning. I guess my original perinatologist is getting out of the military so my next specialist appointment (August 13th) will be with someone new! And that will hopefully be my last appointment with them before I have Lily! My 36 week check up is coming up on the 7th! This is the first time Thomas will get to meet our midwife so I'm excited about that!! And now the check ups move to once a week instead of every 4 weeks!! Thank God I didn't keep working past June! It would have been impossible to keep all of these appointments and a job!

Child Birth classes start tomorrow night!! I'm pretty excited! But I know that we won't make it to the end of them since it's a 7 week course... so that makes me a little nervous! But starting classes just means I'm that much closer to having my baby girl here!! And boy, am I ready for that!!

I feel like I'm rambling and I'm super hungry... so I'm going to go eat some breakfast and get ready for this appointment! But I leave you with some Fun Facts for
WEEK THIRTY-SIX
Your baby is almost ready and most likely, so are you! The only organ still to mature is the lungs. While certainly you are both growing anxious to meet, remember that each day (up to 42 weeks), that your little one stays within your womb will multiply her chances to breathe on his own.
If he hasn't already, this week your baby may drop into the birth canal. While breathing for mom becomes easier, walking may be the exact opposite! If she's not your first baby, this "lightening" may not occur until right before labor.
Fat is dimpling your baby's elbows and knees, and forming creases in the neck and wrists.
Her skin is growing smooth and, shall we say it, "baby" soft.
Her gums are very rigid. It won't be many months before you'll see her teeth.
She has a fully developed pair of kidneys and her liver has begun processing some waste products.
Your child's average size is now 18.66 inches (47.4cm) and 5.78 pounds (2622 g). Between now and birth she will gain about an ounce a day!