Week 35 and 36

Week 35
Our baby doesn't have much room to maneuver now that she's over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 1/4 pounds (a honeydew melon). Because it's so snug in the womb, she isn't likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times she kicks should remain about the same. She definitely still squirms around in there all the time! Her kidneys are fully developed now, and her liver can process some waste products. Most of her basic physical development is now complete — she'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight.

Dr. Appointment
I started going for weekly doctor's appointments this week. The doctor does the same check up as always... blood pressure, measures me, weighs me, measures the baby... He didn't really give us much information other than he still thinks she is going to be early. I dropped last week and he confirmed that I had. Then, he predicted that throughout his many years of practice the baby comes 2 weeks after she drops. That means the baby could come the end of next week. He doesn't seem at all worried that it would be too soon. I guess he knows what he is doing. He did some preparations for the labor and tested me for some different viruses. He told us to take it easy and rest.

Week 36
Our 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. At the end of this week, our 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, which we are pretty sure she is. 

Doctor's Appointment
I went back for the doctor's appointment by myself this week because they moved me up from Friday to Thursday. Mark has Fridays off but has to be at work in Ft. Worth on Thursdays. He did all the normal stuff. I actually lost weight, which is funny because I have been eating lots of junk food lately and just knew I had gained. He said all the tests he ran the previous week came back normal, which is great. He says that the baby is in position and we are just waiting still. I was slightly disappointed when I left the doctor's office. I don't know what I wanted them to say, congratulations lets induce you at 36 and half weeks? But, it is nice to know that the baby and I are healthy and we just have to wait and rest. 

Walking

I have been walking at least once everyday for about a week now. It feels so nice to just get out and exercise. Don't worry I'm not going very fast; in fact, Mark says I can't even call it walking, it is more like waddling. I really enjoy walking except for when the weather is really humid or hot, which makes me sweat (a lot!). 

Practice Makes Perfect!

I know practice makes perfect but I think I've practiced enough now. I have had so many braxton hicks contractions. They started a few months ago with just a few a day, then when the baby dropped it was more like 4 or so an hour, every hour. They aren't painful just really uncomfortable. It feels like this tightening across my stomach, almost like a Charlie Horse in my abdomen. Sometimes they will come every 7 minutes consistently for hours and then just stop. I know its not real labor because they don't progress even if they are consistent. It's to the point that I wake up about every 15 minutes all night long with them. They are annoying but I know that soon enough it will be the real thing.