38 Weeks Along (Friday, 2/6/09)

Last weekend was so eventful that we chose to do a lot of relaxing this weekend. Saturday we had a date night. We went to Thai Express for dinner then saw the movie Gran Torino. I thought it was very good. Sunday I mostly laid around and caught up on my shows on the DVR. My energy levels were really low all day.
Monday through Wednesday was my last rotation at the Brighton Health Center PFT Lab until after the baby is born. They probably don’t want me going into labor and leaving the lab without a worker so Cate will be going out there from now on. In my downtime, I made a Word document of directions on how to get to U of M, where to park, and how to get to the birthing center for my parents and Carol using directions and maps from the U of M website. I emailed the document to my dad and will give Carol a copy when I see her for Ally’s birthday party.
Friday was my weekly OB appointment. Seeing as how the appointment are so close together and I have been eating like a hog, I was not surprised that I finally had a visit where I didn’t lose any weight but I was surprised that I hadn’t gained any weight either. Paul got to accompany me to this appointment which was nice. I told the doctor that I have had my usual Braxton-Hicks contractions this week but have also had mild cramping. He said that’s a good sign and it means that my cervix is probably thinning out in preparation for labor. We asked about what point we talk about induction if I am overdue. Apparently that point is 41 weeks. I hope that I go into labor on my own as I have heard a lot of nightmare stories about being induced. After my OB appointment, I went over to the birthing center for my scheduled car seat inspection. Apparently Paul did an awesome job installing the car seat this week as it was in perfectly. The girl gave me some pointers on how to pack Lily into the seat, how to adjust the straps, and when to move her up to a new seat. I found the whole thing very helpful. I feel now like we are really ready to have the baby arrive. Her nursery is ready, her car seat is ready, I just don’t know if I am ready yet.

News from the womb…
88% of babies are born within two weeks of the expected dates of delivery, either early or late. My baby is now within that time frame. The baby’s toenails have now reached the end of the toes. The circumference of the baby’s head roughly matches the circumference of its shoulders and hips. The movements of the baby are quite restricted now due to space limitations in the womb. At this point in development, the average baby weights about 6.33 pounds and measures almost 13.5 inches from head to rump.