36 weeks... almost 37... only about 24 days to go!

Nothing too exciting going on around here... still pregnant. hee hee... Had a good weekend. Washed all the baby stuff at soon-to-be Grandpa and Grandma Wheeler's. Who knew the wee one could have so much laundry before arriving!! On Sunday we went to my Great Grandma Amy's birthday (91st) party in Willard. It was a good time with great weather. Some of the family on that side is pretty rude but I shouldn't be surprised anymore... but some of the things that come out of that woman's mouth... err.... I can't believe I'm related to her. We had our 36 week appointment on Tuedsay. Everything looks good... baby is head down!! Wahoo... stay that way now! Still being pretty active but we're ready whenever our wee one is ready. Excited to meet our little bundle of joy! I think I'm still in disbelief... it's really weird. I know I'm pregnant and I feel the baby moving but it's really hard to think about having an actual baby in the house. It's hard to explain. My Baby: Everyone agrees that breast milk is the best possible food for your baby--even the people who make baby formula. Not only is breast milk easily digestible and rich in nutrients, it's also perfectly tailored to each individual child's needs. Having said that, it's equally important to remember that there are other options for moms who are unable to breastfeed, or who choose not to. Millions of healthy babies have been raised on bottles by millions of loving, caring moms. Baby's Length: 20.25-20.75 in. Baby's Weight: 6 lbs. Baby's Size: Beach ball How your baby's growing: 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.

35 weeks... only about 32 days to go!!

Life is good!! Baby room is pretty much ready to go thanks to Gary and his Dad (soon to be Grandpa)... Saturday morning they went out, got the crib, changing table and chest of drawers and came back and set it all up. It looks wonderful!! Saturday was also my second baby shower for the Wheeler family! It was fabulous and everyone seemed to have a great time! :) My Baby: She's nearly there! Most 35-week babies weigh 5 pounds or more and rarely experience major complications if born before they officially come to term. You may feel a tingling or numbness in your pelvic region as the extra weight presses on your nerves, as well as increased movement in your upper rib cage where her feet have come to rest in preparation for the head-down journey into the world. Three to four percent of full-term babies never adopt this position, but remain breech (with their heads facing up). If your baby is part of this stubborn minority, you may be at greater risk for a cesarean section. To prevent this, your caregiver may attempt to turn her from the outside using a process called "external version." She'll also do a sonogram to determine the baby's exact position before deciding whether to attempt a vaginal birth. Baby's Length: 20-20.5 in. Baby's Weight: 5.5 lbs. Baby's Size: Throw pillow How your baby's growing: Your 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 (pick up a honeydew melon). Because it's so snug in your womb, she isn't likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times she kicks should remain about the same. 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.

34 weeks... about 38 days to go!!

Holy cow is the time flying by fast now! I can't believe we're going to be parents in about 3 to 9 weeks... crazy, right? Had my first baby shower for the Halama side on Saturday and it went really well. The weather cooperated and had a good turnout. Thanks to my sisters and stepmom we had a great time!! Had our 34 week appointment yesterday and everything looks good. Gaining weight the way I should be... blood pressure is good 122/60 only a slight increase from two weeks ago. :) Baby is about average according the midwife... fundal height was 37.5 cm and heartbeat was 145 bpm!! We had another appointment in two weeks and then from there on out every week until the wee one decides to grace us with its presence :) We're excited. Have the Wheeler baby shower this coming weekend (July 18th) and then we should pretty much be set to go... just need to get the bedroom in order, set up and organized. Anyhow... here are the updates... enjoy! :) My Baby: Exactly how would you like your child to enter the world? An increasing number of parents-to-be are creating birth plans. These documents may include everything from medical preferences to environmental concerns (low lighting, soft music, and so on) during labor, delivery, and postpartum. Try to keep the plan to one page or less--busy caregivers may not have time to read it otherwise--and give copies to your doctor or midwife and to hospital or birthing center staff as well. Keep in mind, however, that medical necessity may derail some of your preferences. Baby's Length: 19.5-20 in. Baby's Weight: 5 lbs. Baby's Size: Medium pumpkin How your baby's growing: 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.

33 weeks.... only about 48 days to go!

Gary and I at Katie and Will's wedding @ Fanny Hill We had a good but busy weekend! Yesterday we had a fourth of July gathering at Gary's parents and then my friend, Katie, got married at Fanny Hill. It was a lot of fun and Gary said he had more fun than he expected to have at the wedding so I'm glad about that. We danced a little, since my belly is so flippen big, and we were home by around 9. I was so tired I zonked out pretty much as soon as my head hit the pillow. I had some weird dreams last night... in one of them the baby was moving around and pushing up on my tummy... you could see the face pushed up against my belly and I went to take a picture with my phone and it had x-ray capabilities so we could see the sex of the baby... and then the next dream I had the baby but I wasn't even in the room! LOL... I had to knock on the door for Gary to let me in... and there was the baby (wish it worked out that way)... it both cases the baby was a different sex so still have no idea what my guess is. I also remember asking the date... July 15th... wouldn't that be weird if I actually ended up going into labor that day?!?! Anyhow... here's the update... Relaxing on a bench... trying to be artisticish... :)

My Baby:

Starting at about week 26, your baby has slept and awoken at regular intervals. He closes his eyes when he sleeps, and he'll even dream during the last month before birth. No one knows what babies dream about in the womb, but they show reactions ranging from frowns and smiles to crying and kicking. Asleep or awake, you may feel the kicks in a new place around now--in your rib cage, just below your breasts--as he moves into the head-down position where he'll probably stay until birth.

I feel huge... LOL Got alot of compliments on the dress. :)

Baby's Length: 19-19.5 in.

Baby's Weight: 4.5 lbs.

Baby's Size: Medicine ball

I love this picture of Gary... a real smile!! Isn't he so adorable!?! He's the best boyfriend ever and he's going to make an awesome father!!!!

How your baby's growing:

This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds (heft a pineapple) and has passed the 17-inch mark. He's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and his skeleton is hardening. The bones in his skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for him to fit through the birth canal. (The pressure on the head during birth is so intense that many babies are born with a conehead-like apearance.) These bones don't entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as his brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood. The four of us... Will & Katie Lund-Nunez, Gary and I :)