Final Ultrasound & 37 weeks

On Tuesday I had the opportunity to have an ultrasound done. It was part of a health fair for Kaiser. There was a class of high school kids there, and they wanted to show them what an ultrasound was like (my doctor also thought it would be a good - and free - way to make sure Maddie was still head down). We were in a conference room at Kaiser and there were about 40 people there. It was a little intimidating at first, but once I saw Maddie on the screen I didn't really care about anything else. Everything looks great - She's head down, healthy & definitely still a girl. She's really low which could mean nothing or could mean she'll be here any day now.

As of Tuesday I'm considered full term, so it's really up to Maddie when she feels like coming out to play. I've been doing lots of bouncing on the yoga ball to try to encourage her to make an appearance. Matt and I are also planning to do a lot of walking this weekend to see if we can get things started.

Wednesday was my last day of work - It still hasn't set in that I won't be going back until June & when I do go back I'll be a mommy. It'll be amazing to be home when Maddie's here, but for now I'm just trying to do my best to keep busy.

Here's what Babycenter has to say this week:
Congratulations — your baby is full term! This means that if your baby arrives now, his lungs should be fully mature and ready to adjust to life outside the womb, even though your due date is still three weeks away.

Your baby weighs 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to heel (like a stalk of Swiss chard). Many babies have a full head of hair at birth, with locks from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long. But don't be surprised if your baby's hair isn't the same color as yours. Dark-haired couples are sometimes thrown for a loop when their children come out as blonds or redheads, and fair-haired couples have been surprised by Elvis look-alikes. And then, of course, some babies sport only peach fuzz.

37w 3d

The Nursery's Finished

Woohoo!! Maddie's room is finally done. I finished putting everything away and finally put her bedding in the crib (not that she'll actually be sleeping there for awhile). I also washed and put away all her clothes - It's absurd how many clothes she has - I'm jealous ;)




37w 3d

36 weeks and Updates

I'm 36.5 weeks - Almost full term. I can't believe how quickly time has gone by. We got great news at my doctor's appointment this week - Maddie flipped and is no longer breech. I had an ultrasound done to confirm her position so I could have a version done this weekend, but when the doctor checked Maddie had already flipped. I'm so excited because now I can hopefully stick with my plan of natural childbirth.

I've been nesting like crazy the last week or so - To the point that poor Matt no longer knows where 90% of the stuff in the kitchen goes. I still have a bunch of organizing to do, but I only have two days of work left, so as long as Maddie doesn't come too early I should have some time to get it done.

Here's what Babycenter has to say about 36 weeks:

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.

And here's the latest belly pic taken on Thursday
36w 4d

Baby Showers

I finally have time to update about my amazing baby showers. Maddie and I have been extremely spoiled and had 3 showers.

The first shower was in Santa Rosa and was hosted by Matt's mom Linda and Aunt Shelley. It was lots of fun and had a great mix of work friends, family & friends. The shower was in the club house at Shelley's apartment complex - The room is gorgeous!! We played games (guess how big my belly is, a word game with Madison's name, a baby word scramble & guess the baby food (which by the way I'm terrible at)). There were also lots of great presents and a really yummy cake.The second shower was in Sacramento and was hosted by my Aunt Lori. There were around 20 people there and again it was a great mix of friends and family. It was amazing to get to see everyone especially since a lot of them live so far away. We played a game where we each got a baby bottle filled with apple juice and the first person to finish the juice won (Jen and I apparently both have a secret talent for drinking out of baby bottles). We also played a game where everyone had to draw a baby's face on a paper plate, while the plate was on our head & a game where everyone had to make a baby out of playdough. I got to be the judge for both games. Maddie got lots of great stuff - So much stuff that I could barely fit Matt in the car on the way home.





















My last shower was a surprise shower at work yesterday. My friend Rebecca brought cupcakes from my favorite place Sift and Maddie got lots and lots of diapers (well it seems like lots and lots, but I'm sure in reality they'll last about a week.

36w 4d

34 weeks

I've been horrible about updating - We've been trying to get back to normal after all of the holiday craziness...

As of Tuesday I'm 34 weeks. I'm starting to get pretty uncomfortable, but I'm glad to know that Maddie is getting big. Sleep has been pretty impossible lately, which means I'm ready for bed by about 5 everyday. I have my next doctor's appointment tomorrow, and I'm hoping that Maddie flipped head down in the last couple of weeks. If she's still breech tomorrow, we'll start talking about the possibility of a c-section.

Last weekend we finally put the letters up in the nursery & also washed and put away all of Maddie's clothes. Now we just need to get the crib mattress so we can put the bedding on.

I can't believe how soon she's going to be here. I'm excited to finally meet our little girl & see what she looks like.

Here's what BabyCenter says this week:
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.


Please ignore the fact that I don't have a head in the last picture.

34w 1d