36 Weeks Update & Doctor's Visit

We are 36 weeks today and in our first week of our 9th month!!!!!!  4 more weeks to go!!!!!  We now see our doctor on a weekly basis. 

Cayden is still packing on the pounds – at the rate of about an ounce a day. He now weighs almost 6 pounds and is more than 18 1/2 inches long (about the size of a head of romaine lettuce or honey dew melon).

He is shedding most of the downy hair that covered his body, as well as the vernix caseosa – a waxy substance that protects the skin during its nine-month bath in amniotic fluid. Cayden swallows these substances, along with other secretions, and forms a tar-like black substance called meconium, which he passes in his first bowel movements.

At the end of this week, he will be considered "early term." (Full-term is 37 to 40 weeks. Babies born before 37 weeks are pre-term, 41 weeks is late term, and those born after 42 weeks are post-term.) Cayden is in a head-down position. 

My cervix has softened but no dilation. My doctor also administered the group B strep test (GBS).  

This week I have my big sis, Chamel here to help me prepare for Cayden.  We plan to work on his room, install car seat, wash some of his clothes, and put our bags in the car.  

Well, stay tuned for more updates.  

35 Weeks.......5 Weeks to Go

You may experience more aches and pains in your pelvic area. The baby’s weight, along with the pregnancy hormone relaxin, causes your pelvic joints to expand in preparation for delivery. In addition, contractions may become more frequent, another sign that your body is preparing for your baby’s arrival.

Sleeping may be extremely difficult. While part of this is due to the physical effects of pregnancy, another part may be due to anxiety. Try to relax as much as possible. Reach out to girlfriends or relatives who have been there, done that — they will help walk you through the unfamiliar and ease your worries.

5 more weeks to go! Keep it up!

Your baby now measures approximately 18.2 inches (46.2 cm) long from head to heel and weighs almost 5.5 pounds (2.5 kg), or roughly the weight of a honeydew melon.

Although babies are considered preemies until 37 weeks, 99 percent of babies born at week 35 survive without any major complications.

The baby's organs are already developed and are becoming more and more defined each week. Its central nervous system is maturing, its digestive system is almost complete and its lungs are almost fully developed.

Week 34...............6 More Weeks to Go!!!!!

Time is going by too fast.  9 days until Christmas and 40 days until Cayden's due date.

Cayden now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds (about the size of a large cantaloupe or 5 pound bag of flour) and is almost 18 inches long.  His fat layers — which will help regulate his body temperature once he is 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.

This Week's Activity:

Make a labor contingency plan.  You may go into labor early or have a complication that requires you to be in the hospital longer than you anticipated. Give at least one friend or neighbor the keys to your house in case you need something and can't get home.  Line up people to do the following on a moment's notice:

• Take care of children
• Feed the dog, water the plants, get the mail
• Fill in for you at work or any other obligations

Enjoy this video of an inside look of Week 34

Inside Week 34 Video

33 Weeks Down.....7 More to Go

Cayden is still gaining weight (about half a pound a week), and he could grow up to another full inch this week. With that much baby inside my uterus, my amniotic-fluid level has maxed out, which explains why some of his pokes and kicks feel pretty sharp these days. (There's less fluid to cushion the blows.) Antibodies are being passed from me to Cayden as he continues to develop his own fetal immune system, which will come in handy once he's outside the womb and fending off all sorts of germs.

Stay tuned.  We have a doctor's appointment in the morning.

32 Weeks Down.......8 Weeks to Go!!!!

By now, Cayden weighs 3 3/4 pounds (about the size of a large squash) and is about 16.7 inches long, taking up a lot of space in my uterus. He is gaining about 1/2 pound each week.  In fact, he'll gain a third to half of his birth weight during the next 7 weeks as he fattens up for survival outside the womb. He now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). His skin is becoming soft and smooth as he plumps up in preparation for birth.

This Week's Activity:

Start lining up helpers. Your friends and family will want to pitch in after your baby's born, but many new moms are too overwhelmed to direct household help. 

How to prepare now:

If anyone offers to help during the newborn weeks, write down their name and number.

Select one friend to set up a schedule so that all the friends who wish to help are given a date on which they can bring you a meal.

       

I really believe this is Cayden's current position: