I am starting to really look forward to meeting him, to holding him and kissing his little face and rubbing his peach fuzz hair against my cheek. It’s going to be so soon. While I’m not completely ready, I’m ready enough. My heart is full of love and hope and nervous flutters. My bag is (finally) packed. His clothes are all washed and put away. The baby swing a friend so kindly loaned us is waiting in the living room. Grandma has been sleeping with her cell phone next to her at night in case she needs to come watch Bailey. Our fridge is empty, so I need to take care of that. Or else Jonathon can…. whatever… that is not a priority right now. My big priorities are relaxing, snuggling with my daughter as much as possible while she is still my only visible child, and trying to be nice to my husband.

And the good news? I am now at 3 centimeters- a welcome change from the HALF centimeter last week! Yay for progress!

On Wednesday, we are going to a party for the Fourth but not sure what we are doing yet for watching fireworks. I am in a wedding this Saturday, so the second half of our week will be really busy with the bachelorette party and rehearsal and everything.

I had to get some pictures in her cute jammies from her Great-Grandma! Check out the feet on them!


Grammy watched Bailey while Jonathon and I went to lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings

Grammy and Grampa at La Plaza Mexican Restaurant last night

And here’s the happy baby about two minutes before the worst poop disaster in the history of the world!


Trying on the hat that matches her swimsuit in anticipation of a trip to the pool next week

More Baby Einstein mat fun! And Chloe had to be close enough to watch

This is Bailey when she was less than 24 hours old:

Notice how the sleeper is just huge on her. It is hanging several inches off her feet, and her legs kept getting caught in the body section of it. The photographer had to pull it tighter around her for her first pictures so she didn’t look lost inside it!

Now here is Bailey at 10 weeks, in the same sleeper. Not much wiggle room left! My girl is growing like crazy, and she seems so happy and healthy.

After I took this last picture I spent a while trying to get a picture of her smiling… and finally had some success…

Here is my belly at 40 weeks. I honestly can’t believe we’ve made it this far! I decided to take this picture in the nursery- for the first time- in honor of Bailey coming out this week. She’s got two days left to enjoy her womb home, and then it’s eviction time

How your life’s changing:
It may be harder than ever to get comfortable enough to sleep well at night. Take it easy through the day — this may be your last opportunity to do so for quite a while. Keep monitoring your baby’s movements, too. Though she’s crowded, she should still be active.

I thought it was funny that they mentioned getting comfortable enough to sleep… yeah, that’s been a problem lately. In fact, Jonathon just took some pictures of me wedged into our bed with (I think) three pillows under my head, another between knees, one behind and also supporting a heating pad, and one under my feet. Not to mention a blanket under my belly and two stuffed animals for my arms and shoulders. We have quite a crowd in our room now. Anyway here are the pics.

How your baby’s growing: Your baby is still putting on the pounds — about an ounce a day. She now weighs almost 6 pounds and is a little less than 19 inches long. She’s shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered her body as well as the vernix caseosa, the creamy substance that covered and protected her skin during its submersion in amniotic fluid. Your baby swallows both of these substances, along with other secretions, which will stay in her bowels until birth. This blackish mixture, called meconium, will become her first bowel movement. Jonathon thought she was already pooping in me. I had to explain it to him today.

At the end of this week, your baby will be considered full-term. (Babies between 37 and 42 weeks are considered full-term; a baby born before 37 weeks is pre-term and after 42 is post-term.) Most likely she’s in a head-down position by now, which is optimal for a smooth delivery, but if she isn’t in the next week, your provider 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 manually, by manipulating her from the outside of your belly. Dr. K is pretty sure she is already head down, but we’ll know for sure on Thursday at my… drumroll…. first internal exam!!! Well, first one since about twelve weeks when I had to get a pap smear

How your life’s changing:
While your baby continues to grow and crowd your internal organs, you may find that you’re not as hungry as you were a few weeks ago. Smaller, more frequent meals are often easier to handle at this point. On the other hand, you may have less heartburn and have an easier time breathing when your baby starts to drop down lower in your pelvis. This dropping — called lightening or engagement — is more likely to happen before labor if this is your first baby. When it does, though, you may feel increased pressure in your lower abdomen, making walking increasingly uncomfortable. Some women say it feels as though they’re carrying a bowling ball between their legs, or as if the baby is going to fall out. (Don’t worry, she won’t!)

You might also notice that your Braxton Hicks contractions are a little more frequent now. Be sure to review with your practitioner exactly when and where to call her when you think your labor has started. As a general rule, you should call when you start having regular contractions coming every five minutes for about an hour. Of course, you’ll want to call right away if you’re not yet 37 weeks and have signs of preterm labor. You should also call without delay if your water breaks (or if you even think you’re leaking amniotic fluid), if you notice a decrease in your baby’s activity, or if you have any vaginal bleeding, fever, severe headaches, abdominal pain, or changes in your vision. Yes, I’ve been having a lot more contractions lately. Painful ones, too. My doctor didn’t seem concerned at my last visit, but we’ll get to see on Thursday whether all this pain has caused any changes in my body yet.

“This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds and measures 17.2 inches from the top of his head to his heels. Thanks to his recent weight gain, he’s losing that wrinkled alien look. Most of your baby’s bones are hardening now, but his skull is still quite pliable. It’s actually in separate pieces with spaces in between. This flexible structure allows your baby’s head to compress so it can fit through your relatively narrow birth canal. The pressure on the head during birth is so intense that many babies are born with a conehead-like appearance. This is totally harmless, normal, and temporary. Your baby’s head will quickly take on a more rounded appearance, but his skull plates won’t completely fuse until he’s about 9 to 18 months old.”

Wow… getting closer- and more frequent panic attacks too! I realized that this week in my pregnancy is the week that Mae had her baby- and next week is the week that my friend Rachel had her baby!

Yesterday we succeeded in hanging the curtains and also hanging the comforter on the wall in the nursery. Hopefully today we will get the letters hung above her bed and I can take some pictures to show off Also I realized that I haven’t taken any belly pictures lately so I need to remember to do that soon.

Have I mentioned that my in-laws make me completely nuts? This could be a whole separate post if I went into it- but I will just make it brief and state that they called yesterday to see whether we wanted them to come in town BEFORE the delivery or if we were going to call them on their way to the hospital. Um, neither!!! We already discussed this and told them we didn’t want them to come for at least a week after we came home. My parents are in town but they aren’t coming to stay with us either. It’s nothing personal (well except for the fact that they drive me crazy) but we just want that time alone with our baby. If we need help we can always call my mom or grandma. They are both less than ten minutes away. Also, my FIL sent me another of his annoying emails with “suggestions” wanting to know why we chose to spell Bailey that way, because “it’s really more of a surname” and he gave us a list of about fifteen more “feminine” spellings to look at.

My question for him: Why the hell did you spell Jonathon the way you did? As opposed to the more common JonathAn way. Haven’t you realized that everyone spells it wrong because it’s not the normal way? And why is Geoffrey with a G? I don’t ask them questions about the spellings of their kids names!

He has “suggested” Bailee, Baillee, Baylee, Baileigh, Bayley, Bailie, Baylie, and all sorts of variations of those. yeah, we just want her to be able to say, “My name is Bailey” and for people to assume it’s spelled the NORMAL way.

Okay I need to quit complaining about them before I get myself all worked up again.

How your baby’s growing: By now, your baby probably weighs almost 4 pounds and is almost 17 inches long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus. She has tiny toenails now, and her fingernails have grown in, too. Some babies have a head of hair already; others have only peach fuzz.

How your life’s changing:
Your blood volume (the plasma plus red blood cells) is now about 40 to 50 percent greater than before you became pregnant to accommodate the needs of you and your baby. (This extra amount also helps make up for any blood you’ll lose when giving birth.) You’re also gaining a pound a week now, yikes! and roughly half of that goes right to your baby. With your uterus pushing up near your diaphragm and adding pressure on your abdomen, you may be dealing with heartburn more often or feeling a little short of breath. Yeah, heartburn has become pretty much a constant thing in the evenings. I am keeping Tums on my nightstand- out of the bottle and ready to go so I can grab them anytime!

To help with shortness of breath, try eating smaller quantities more often (rather than three daily feasts) and sleeping propped up. Those smaller meals should help with the heartburn, too. Smaller meals seem to be mandatory now. If I eat too much, I am horribly uncomfortable.

As your baby grows, the increasing concentration of weight in your growing belly causes a change in your posture and a shift in your center of gravity. Plus, your abdominal muscles are stretching, hormones are making your ligaments more lax, and your growing uterus may even press on some nerves. All of this can contribute to low back pain and possibly to some pain in your buttocks and thighs as well. Let your caregiver know if you have severe pain or feel numbness or tingling in your legs.

Decision Guide: Who should be in the labor room with you?

Childbirth is an intensely personal experience, as is your decision whether to have additional family members, friends, or labor coaches in the birthing room with you. Here are some things to keep in mind as you prepare your guest list:

• Labor and delivery nurses come and go according to their shifts, so if you’d like to be attended continuously by one person, a private labor coach or doula is a good option. I briefly thought about getting a doula. There is a mom, Vicki, in the playgroup that I’m in with Alison. She just finished her training or whatever to be a doula. But then I also think that might be more for people interested in natural childbirth, which I’m not- AT ALL! We are planning to get an epidural, but first I’m going to see how long I can go without. Just because I don’t want it to slow down the labor too much… but if it starts sucking really bad, I’m not holding out!

• Some husbands or partners may be confused about their role in the birth or reluctant to participate if others are present. If you bring outside relatives or coaches in, make sure your partner is on board with the plan.

• You may be under pressure from mothers or mothers-in-law who are eager to be in the delivery room for the birth of their grandchild — regardless of your wishes to keep the experience private. If you want to be alone with your partner, don’t be afraid to enlist hospital staff for support in carrying out your wishes and keeping relatives out of the delivery room. We are planning on not having anyone (other than hospital staff of course) in with us. No moms or dads or friends. Except: I am reserving the right to call my mom into the room in case of emergency. Emergency being extreme panic on my part. For some reason she can calm me down better than anyone else. Jonathon knows this, and knows that it is a possibility for her to come in at some point. But not stay. I imagine my parents coming to the hospital sometime during the labor/delivery so that they can see Bailey fairly soon after she’s born. Once she’s clean and we have a little time with her, then I want the grandparents to come in. Well, not Jonathon’s parents. Hopefully they will still be in Oklahoma at this point. I don’t want them to even come in town until we’ve been home from the hospital for a week or so. And even then, they’re not staying at our house. They already know this, and I am sticking to it.

Week Thirty (Wow, this means I am 3/4 of the way there!)

* Did you know your baby is nearly three pounds now?
* His head is getting larger to accommodate a period of rapid brain growth. Don’t forget to continue to “teach” your baby in the womb by exposing to music, literature, and simply talking to him. Ummmm, I haven’t listened to any special “baby” music. I’ve read to her once. I don’t really talk to her much. I must be a horrible mother!
* A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds him. As he grows and fills your uterus, the amount of amniotic fluid will decrease. Funny, you certainly won’t feel any lighter! Nope, heavier with each passing day.
* She spends more and more time practicing opening and closing eyelids. Her eyes can move from side to side, following a light source. She may even reach out to touch the light.
* Early lanugo is beginning to disappear that served to protect your baby’s skin from the water in the womb. Your little one’s own hair may begin to appear. Yay- I don’t want a furry baby! She’s probably not destined to have much head hair for a while either if she takes after either of her parents.
* Toenails are entering their final growth stage.
* Bone marrow is now in charge of red blood cell production. These red blood cells will continue to service your child’s body by transporting oxygen and removing the wastes (carbon monoxide and other gases).
* Your baby has the capability now to produce tears — yes, within the womb. It makes me sad to think of her crying. Be happy, little Bailey- Mommy and Daddy love you very much!
* By the end of this week, your baby is now 15.7 inches (39.9cm) long and weighs 2.91 pounds (1319gm).

* Your baby’s head is in proportion with body now. He appears more like a newborn each and every day!
* Fat continues to accumulate under the skin — only now preparing for entering the *real world*.
* Your baby’s brain can control primitive breathing and body temperatures.
* His eyes can move in their sockets. Soon he will be able to follow a blinking light.
* Your baby is increasingly sensitive to changes in light, sound, taste, and smell! Various studies show that your baby may indicate preferences (or disdain) for particular tastes or odors at this stage
* He is also moving from side to side, but probably still is head up. In the next few weeks, he will move to the head down birthing position. At times you may feel as if he is performing somersaults for a circus act!
* Her length is now approximately 15.2 inches and weight is almost 3 pounds

By the way, at my last doctor’s appointment, she said that she couldn’t tell yet externally what position the baby was in, but based on where she found the heartbeat she is guessing she is head down and face forward. So I liked this picture because it’s how I imagine Bailey in there. Only much, much cuter than this picture.

How your baby’s growing:

By this week, your baby weighs a little over 2 pounds and measures about 14.8 inches from the top of her head to her heels. She can open her eyes — which now sport lashes — and she’ll turn her head toward a continuous, bright light from the outside. Her fat layers are beginning to form, too, as she gets ready for life outside the womb.

Note: Every baby develops a little differently — even in the womb. Our information is designed to give you a general idea of your baby’s development.

How your life’s changing:

You’re in the home stretch! The third trimester starts this week and lasts until 40 weeks. If you’re like most women, you’ll gain about 11 pounds this trimester.

Do your legs feel creepy-crawly at night? Tingling in your lower legs and an irresistible urge to move them is known as restless legs syndrome (RLS), and it can make it hard to relax when you’re settling in. No one knows what causes RLS, but it’s common among pregnant women. Try cutting down on caffeine, which can make the symptoms worse, and massage your calves when they feel tense. Some studies also show that taking iron supplements helps ease your discomfort.

At this point, you may visit your doctor or midwife every two weeks; then, at 36 weeks, you’ll switch to weekly visits. Depending upon your risk factors, your practitioner may recommend repeating blood tests for HIV and syphilis, plus cultures for chlamydia and gonorrhea during your third trimester, to be certain of your status before delivery. (Identifying and treating these infections is crucial for your health and your baby’s.) And if the blood work done at your first prenatal visit showed that you’re Rh negative, you’ll receive an injection of Rh immunoglobulin to prevent your body from developing antibodies that could attack your baby’s blood. If your baby’s biological father is also Rh negative, the shot isn’t necessary, but most practitioners will do it routinely rather than test the father. (You’ll receive another shot of Rh immunoglobulin after you give birth if your baby is Rh positive.)

I am getting a rhogam shot at my appointment this week. Not looking forward to it- I’ve heard that the stuff burns once it’s under your skin. I also took my 1-hour GD test this past week, so I will get the results of that at my appointment this week.

How your baby’s growing: Your baby is really starting to fill up your uterus. This week he weighs almost 2 pounds and is about 14.4 inches long with his legs extended. He can now open and close his eyes, and he sleeps and wakes at regular intervals. He may suck his fingers, and although his lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with assistance — if he were to be born prematurely. Chalk up any rhythmic movement you may be feeling to a case of baby hiccups, which may be common from now on. Each episode usually lasts only a few moments, and isn’t bothersome to him, so enjoy the tickle. With more brain tissue developing, your baby’s brain is very active now. Wonder what he’s thinking?

Your body is gearing up for the final lap, so you may start noticing some new symptoms. Along with an aching back, for example, you may find that your leg muscles cramp up now and then. They’re carrying extra weight, after all, and your uterus is putting extra demands on your circulation. (As your uterus expands, it puts pressure on the blood vessels that return blood from your legs to your heart and on the nerves leading from your trunk to your legs.) Unfortunately, the cramps are likely to get worse as your pregnancy progresses. Leg cramps are more common at night but can also happen during the day. Flexing your foot (by pointing your toes forward and then flexing them back toward your shins) stretches the calf and should give you some relief. Walking for a few minutes or massaging your calf sometimes helps, too.

I haven’t felt the baby have hiccups yet. I know everyone talks about it, but if it’s happened, I don’t know about it. She seems to just kick and change positions a lot. Also, one of her body parts is a little to the left of my belly button- it must be an elbow or foot or something, because she pushes hard in that one spot from time to time. Sometimes I push back at her and she stops.

I get leg cramps sometimes at night- a feeling like a charlie horse is going to start, but then if I move fast enough it doesn’t happen. A few times, I haven’t caught it in time and have woken up to my leg being curled up in charlie horse pain. It goes away pretty fast, but it’s annoying. I know it’s not because of lack of fluid intake, because I get up to pee at least 5 times a night!

It’s so hard to imagine that I’m in the third trimester now- well according to some stuff anyway. Other things say it doesn’t start until week 28, but I’ll take what I can get. I can’t wait to meet Bailey, but I know she’s not done growing in there, yet. Every day I think this becomes more real to me, and I get more excited about having a baby and not just being pregnant. It’s fun that so many of my friends are having babies right now, too… I think I spent most of my awake time feeling the baby kick, playing with my belly, thinking about her, and shopping for her or her room or her stuff!

Last night, I dreamed that she was a few months old and we were getting her all dressed up for church. It was really disappointing when I woke up out of that dream.

How your baby’s growing: Your baby now weighs a little under 2 pounds and measures about 14 inches, from head to heel. The nerve pathways in her ears are developing, which means her response to sounds is growing more consistent. Her lungs are developing now, too, as she continues to take small breaths of amniotic fluid — good practice for when she’s born and takes that first breath of air. If you’re having a boy, his testicles are beginning to descend into his scrotum — a trip that will take about two to three days.

I know our baby can definitely hear now. She moves around a lot more when there are loud noises going on. For example, at the (boring) wedding ceremony on Saturday, the music got really loud and she kind of went crazy. She did it again at the reception when someone was singing and there was loud music. I don’t know if she’s enjoying it or trying to escape.

Last night when I was laying in bed reading, it felt like she was trying to dig her way out via my belly button.

Wow… I can’t believe it’s been 25 weeks already. I have had a human inside me for 23 weeks now, I guess. According to the weird counting method. I said to Jonathon the other day, “Can you believe it’s been 25 weeks already???” He was like, “Yeah, I can!” Hmm…. maybe I am more of a pain than I realize.

Speaking of pain, my back is about the same. There are good days and bad days. It is almost always worse in the evening- to the point that I can barely walk and just sit in a chair with a heating pad or lay in a warm bathtub.

Other than that, nothing really new. We were out yesterday and my ankles swelled a lot- I looked like a 50-year-old fat lady. I even called my doctor because it was so sudden but she said that was normal for how many weeks I am, and reminded me to be drinking lots of water- which I try to do! Jonathon reminds me a lot. I have never been a big water drinker so I really have to force myself to do it now.

Anyway, that’s about it for this week. The baby continues to kick a lot and be very busy. She seems to stay awake for really long periods at a time in the evening, but maybe that’s when I notice it because I’m sitting still.

What’s happening to me:

You expected your belly to grow, and perhaps your breasts too, but the following physical changes may take you by surprise. As with most pregnancy symptoms, you can credit hormones for most of these alterations in your looks.

• Thicker, more lustrous hair. Nope. The one thing that I could really benefit from. But I’m fairly sure my hair is as thin and straight as ever. It has quit falling out though– for like the first two months, I was losing hair like crazy.

• Fast-growing fingernails. Check. Probably from the pre-natal vitamins.

• Skin changes. Dry. Dry dry dry. Especially my belly. Lately it has gotten itchier, and I feel like an old man as I stand and absentmindedly scratch my belly in public.

• Stretch marks. None yet. Hopefully none ever, but time will tell!

• Skin discolorations. Don’t think so.

• Larger and darker nipples and areolas. Hmmm…. definitely a bit darker. But not as freakishly dark as in the pictures in my pregnancy books!

• Larger feet. Why do you think I bought a pair of Birkenstock clogs two months ago?!? I am hoping that it is just a little swelling and that they won’t be permanently bigger.

How your baby’s growing: Your baby now weighs about three-quarters of a pound and is approximately 10 1/2 inches long. His eyebrows and eyelids are fully developed. And you can certainly feel him move. He’s oblivious to your schedule, though, so don’t be surprised if he starts working out just when you’re settling down for the night.

Note: Every baby develops a little differently — even in the womb. Our information is designed to give you a general idea of your baby’s development.

How your life’s changing:
You’re probably feeling pretty comfortable these days. You’re not too big yet, and the usual aches and pains associated with early pregnancy are, for the most part, gone. Relax and enjoy it while you can — the third trimester will bring some mild discomfort from carrying a baby who is nearly full-term.

That’s not to say you don’t have some minor glitches to deal with now. Increased oil production may have given you a mild case of acne, for example. If that’s the case, be diligent about washing well with a gentle soap and water twice a day, but don’t take any oral acne medications — or even use any topical acne products — without checking with your practitioner first. Yeah, they forgot to mention the heartburn and the lower backache! Those are my two big complaints. Although thankfully the back pain is not too bad today and it’s not constant anyway.

You’re also prone to varicose veins now (especially if your mom has them). That’s because pregnancy puts added pressure on the veins in your legs. (Your blood volume is increased and your uterus puts pressure on the inferior vena cava, the large vein that returns blood from the lower half of your body to your heart.) As if that’s not enough, an increase in the hormone progesterone causes the walls of your blood vessels to relax, so as your baby and uterus grow, the veins can become more and more prominent. Varicose veins tend to worsen with each pregnancy, and while they’re most likely to show up in your legs, they can also appear on your vulva.

If your legs ache, put maternity support hose on first thing in the morning. Increasing your circulation with a brisk walk each day can also help, as can elevating your legs and sleeping on your left side with your feet propped up with a pillow.

And a front view, for the first time ever!

* You’re halfway there!
* The rapid growth stage is about over. While things have slowed down, this next stage is vital to survival.
* The baby’s heart grows stronger. Find a quiet place, lay flat on your back. Locate your own heartbeat by finding your pulse. Next lay your hand on your belly. You may be able to distinguish the two heartbeats!
* His legs are reaching their relative size. With the increase muscle develop occurring as well, you will start feeling much more than tiny flutter kicks soon!
* Immunities are being transferred from you to your baby now. These immune cells will protect her from viruses you’ve already had for up to six months after birth!
* The nerve cells for taste, smell, hearing, seeing, and touch are now developing in specialized areas of the brain. Production slows down as existing nerve cells grow larger and make more complex connections.
* Your baby may startle in reaction to loud sounds. Amazingly, she can actually hear noises outside of the womb. Familiar voices, music, and sounds that baby becomes accustomed to during her development stages often are calming after birth.
* If your baby is a girl, her uterus is starting to develop. She has approximately six million eggs in her ovaries. About one million will remain at birth.
* Baby is about 6.46 inches (16.4cm) and weighs around 10.58 ounces (300g).