36 Weeks

Yay!  We are at 36 weeks!  Only 4 weeks left to go!  27 days!  And people, 27 days is not a long time.  I am so so happy to be at this point!  Two weeks ago, 6 weeks felt like a long time to go.  Even a week ago when I was 5 weeks away felt like a long time to wait.  But 4 weeks… 4 weeks?!?  That’s nothing!  J 

We are getting down to crunch time!  It’s time to finish stocking up on baby supplies and get ready for the main event—meeting Michael William! J

We had a doctor appointment yesterday.  No pelvic exam (those will start next week), but the doctor did measure my tummy and listened to Michael’s heartbeat.  Once again, he said that Michael has a “Perfect heartbeat” and that’s what this mommy-to-be likes to hear!  When the doctor measures my belly, he also can push down on my belly to see where Michael is positioned.  I asked him if he could tell if Michael was head-up, sideways, or head-down and he said that Michael is head-down! J This is HUGE because I’ve been waiting and waiting for Michael to make his way facing south and now he’s in position ready to enter the world at the appropriate time!  The doctor said we’ll get to have an ultrasound next week to see how big Michael is and to find out how much he weighs.  I am super excited!  I haven’t had an ultrasound since week 19, and I am anxious to get a final look at our little man before we meet him face to face!  J

So, let the guessing games begin!  At work, people have already started making their assumptions as to how big Michael will be, and on what day he will choose to arrive.  The majority of my coworkers think that he’s coming during the week of August 12.  I’m not holding my breath that Michael will come early.  I know it’s important for him to stay inside of the womb as long as possible, but if God chooses to send us our miracle a bit early I’ll be okay with that! J

I am excited for date night and Target shopping with my wonderful husband!  I am still acquiring some last minute things, and when I say that I mean things for my hospital bag (no, I haven’t finished packing it yet). L I have also taken inventory of the baby items we’ve accumulated in order to find out what we still lack.  Bottles and burp cloths top my list.  I’ll grab some of these things while I am at the store just to make sure that I have some.

Today, our photo shoot comes from Michael’s nursery. 

Here I am sitting on the guest bed in the nursery:

And here I am holding up Michael’s “coming-home-from-the-hospital” outfit, which includes a Detroit Red Wings onesie, an Auburn beanie, and soccer-ball patterned socks:

Michael is going to be one cute little boy!

This Week:

-Michael is still busy accumulating fat which will help him regulate his body temperature once he exits the womb. Fat will actually make-up about 15% of his body.

-Little Baby P.’s gums are firm, and they have ridges where the teeth will come in several months from now.

-Michael has definite patterns of sleep and wakefulness.  He closes his eyes while sleeping, and has them open while he’s awake!

-Little Michael is alert to light and sound and will turn his head to face light or sound just as a newborn does.

-Michael weighs approximately 6 pounds and is about 18 and a half inches long, which is the size of a breadbox:

(Photo credit: wordpress.com)

I am so glad Michael is more flexible than a breadbox!

 

My Craves:

-Apple pie stuff like:

            -Applesauce (I’ve thought about spicing it up with some cinnamon to make it apple pie-like)

            -Apple Cinnamon Nutrigrain bar

            -Apple pie from McDonalds (Haven’t given into this one, but it sure is tempting!)

-Milk.  I could drink this all day long.

-Frosted Mini-Wheats cereal—who knew?  It just tastes so great these days.  Did I mention that I ate three bowls the other day? (One bowl for a snack, and two bowls for dinner).

-Flavored sparkling water.  I bought a multi-pack of this at COSTCO so I wouldn’t resort to drinking sodas at work when I’m bored or need a caffeine jolt.  My ankles and feet had been swelling a lot, and I was choosing to wear pants everyday so no one would see my ankles and feet.  However, it is so sweltering outside, that I decided to try another approach to curb my swollen ankles and feet.  I decided to cut down on my sodium intake.  Sodas can have a lot of sodium, so I switched to sparkling water which has no sodium or sugar.  It also lacks caffeine, but the carbonation of it wakes me up when I’m feeling sluggish at work.  The choice to lower my sodium intake has had marvelous results.  I’m wearing a dress today for the first time in 2 weeks!

 

Thanks for catching up with us this week!  Only a few more weeks to go before Little Michael makes his debut!  With lots of love, Reba.