(i used to do this every week when i was pregnant with Alexis-- a pregnancy pic and a questionnaire... i'm feeling a little guilty so here's one for him)
Your baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds (like your average cantaloupe) and is almost 18 inches long. His fat layers — which will help regulate his body temperature once he's born — are filling him out, making him rounder. His skin is also smoother than ever. His central nervous system is maturing and his 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.
* How far along?: 34 weeks.... 6 weeks left.... 41 days to go!
* Total weight gain: 24 pounds (1 pound less than with Alexis at this time)
* How big is baby?: not sure but feels huge!
* Maternity clothes?: oh yes! i'm not wearing much that isn't maternity.
* Stretch marks?: nope
* Sleep?: not the greatest. i turn from one side to the other about every 2 hours. he is definitely a night owl and is awake kicking a lot.
* Best moment this week?: i had a doctor's appointment yesterday. his heart rate was 142 and head was down! great news!!
* Movement?: oh yes! lots of it!
* Food cravings?: Mexican!
* Labor signs?: ummm... well about a month ago, on my birthday actually (i was 30 weeks on my 30th birthday), i was in the hospital with painful contractions that were coming every 5 minutes for about 3 hours. it was super scary but after the nurse gave me a shot of medication in my arm, the contractions went away. i laid in the hospital bed for an hour feeling great so i went home. as soon as i got home they came back-- not as intense but with any little activity i did. whether i bent down, stood up, turned over in bed, picked up Alexis, hit a bump in the road while driving..... anything really, i would have a contraction. so as long as i didn't move i was ok :) so i was off of work for a week and a half and tried to "take it easy" as i was instructed. i took it as easy as i could with a toddler to chase after. my mom and albert helped a ton-- i definitely couldn't have done it without them! i've been having contractions ever since, more some days than others but just trying to manage life through them, resting whenever i can. working 12 hours on my feet running around was not working out. the last few hours were becoming miserable and if i didn't stop to rest the contractions would just keep coming and would get more and more painful to the point i had trouble even walking super slow down the halls. after talking to my doctor, we decided to try to cut my hours down from 12 to 8 to see how i do. i've done one shift so far and it was definitely an improvement. the good news is that all these contractions are not causing me to dilate! just an "irritable uterus" is what the doctor's are calling it! whatever that means.... i just hope this little boy is doing ok in there!
* Belly button in or out?: about flush with my skin
* What I'm looking forward to: spending time this weekend with my parents!
* Milestone: making it this far! i wasn't sure what was happening when i was laying in the hospital. i just kept praying for a couple more weeks before he made his entrance and now it's 4 weeks later and he's still cooking! although i'm looking forward to seeing him, 4 more weeks would be even better!!
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