Week 34

Dear Bun,

We're 34 weeks along now!  You could be as long as 20 inches and you weigh about 5 lbs.  You are continuing to accumulate fat and your lungs are continuing to mature.  Also, your fingernails have probably reached the tip of you finger now, which reminds me that I need to get some baby nail clippers for you!  You have reached the point now that if you were to be born, your prognosis is excellent.  You may require a small stay in the NICU, but most babies born after 34 weeks don't have any long-term health problems.  I'm not ready for you to come out yet, but at least if you decide to make an early entrance, you should not have any major problems.

This week, I found a pediatrician for you!  I met with her on Friday, and she or one of the other doctors in the practice, will come and see us right after you are born, and every day that we are in the hospital.  Then we will have to go visit her several times for checkups and well-baby visits after that.

It seems like every weekend, we are doing something to prepare for your arrival.  Today, I made several meals to freeze so we will have some healthy food to eat after you are born.  Your dad is putting the swing together now that your Grandpa Paul and Grandma Retta got for you.  We want to have it up early so Miss Morgan has a chance to sniff it out and get used to it before you come home.  I can't believe we have less than 6 weeks to go until your due date!

Here I am at 34 weeks.  I am still feeling good, other than being tired/not being able to sleep much.  I know that is very normal though and is probably a good thing since I'm getting used to life without as much sleep as I normally would get.  Recently, I have lost my appetite,which is a first since I've been pregnant!  I can't eat much at all at one time (guess my stomach must be taken over by you), so I have gotten used to eating really small meals 6-8 times a day.  That seems to work better than eating a regular sized meal at once.  We learned in birth class that that is normal too, and that a few weeks before you are born, lots of women experience "lightening" which happens when you drop in preparation for delivery, and leaves mom breathing easier and hungrier since you are lower in her abdomen.

Love,
Mom