Bottom's Up!!

At our 35 week appointment on Monday, they did an ultrasound for postion, and we found out that little Rachael is bottom's up! I was more than a little surprised that she had flipped, as all the lumps and bumps felt the same to me. I think I'm the only person that wasn't 100% excited by the news. I was fine with a c-section. I know what goes on in the OR and what to expect. Oh, well. As long as she's healthy, that's all that matters.

Allan is UPT complete!!! He gets his assignment tonight, and will be getting his wings on Friday! It has been a LONG 7 years to get here, and I'm so very proud of him!!


35 week update:

A rapidly growing brain makes your baby's head weigh more and that means more pressure on Mommy's bladder.
Your baby is standing tall (so to speak) this week at about 20 inches and continues her steady weight gain to 5.5 pounds. While she won't get much longer, she will continue to pack on the pounds — including large amounts of baby fat — right up 'til delivery day. Something else that's moving at a mind-boggling pace these day: fetal brain development! There's a lot going on inside that tiny head, which is, by the way, still soft to allow an easier exit through the birth canal. And now that she's head-down in preparation for delivery, chances are your bladder is feeling the squeeze, causing you to leak a little every time you sneeze (or cough or laugh). One way to improve your body's holding power: Do lots and lots of those pelvic-floor exercises called Kegels. They can help strengthen your pelvic muscles (important now and postpartum).

At about 20 inches and five and a half pounds (but with about five more weeks to grow), most of your baby's growth over the next month or so before you meet will be in weight (with a gain of anywhere from one pound to several), not height (baby's pretty much reached the in utero limit in that department). Accordingly, fat continues to accumulate at a rapid pace these days (on baby, not just on your hips). Back in the middle of your pregnancy, your baby's weight was made up of only two percent fat; now at 35 weeks pregnant, that percentage has soared to closer to 15 percent (and will increase to 30 percent at term). Which means your baby's once skinny arms and legs are now quite plump…and irresistibly, squeezably soft.

Also continuing to grow at an amazing pace is your baby's brain power. Luckily, the part that surrounds that amazing brain — the skull — remains soft. And for good reason: A soft skull will allow your baby to squeeze more easily through the birth canal. (Mother Nature was really thinking this one through — imagine trying to push out a rock-hard head…ouch!)

34 weeks

Update: As of now (7/23) Allan will be dropping on Wed. 7/29. This is due to broken helos and bad weather. Graduation is still on for Fri. 7/31.

Woohoo!!!! Allan drops on Friday!!! We can't wait! Only 6 more weeks to wait for our little princess to make her appearance (give or take).

Official info....

Your baby could be as tall as 20 inches right now and about five pounds. Need a visual? Hold a five-pound bag of flour in your arms and imagine it's your soon-to-be-born baby (cradle it, and you'll only get strange looks in the baking aisle). Then stack three such bags one on top of the other (and get ready for some more strange looks, maybe from the same clerks who saw you grinning and holding that one-pound box of sugar a few weeks ago). That's how tall your baby is at 34 weeks pregnant. (Now go bake some oatmeal raisin cookies with all that flour!)

You're not seeing things — at least not as well as usual. That's because your eyes are yet another part of your body that falls prey to those pesky pregnancy hormones. Not only can your vision seem less sharp these days, but a decrease in tear production can leave your eyes dry and irritated, especially if you wear contact lenses. Plus, an increase in fluid behind your eyes' lenses can temporarily change their shape, making some women more nearsighted or farsighted than usual. Happily, these vision changes during pregnancy are all temporary. Things should clear up as your eyes return to normal after delivery (so there's no need to change your prescription just yet).

Your baby's fingernails now reach the end of the fingertips and may even curl over the tip, making a manicure one of the first things you'll need to do for your little bundle.

33 weeks

Well....we're 1 1/2 weeks from finding out when we need to be in ABQ, and where we will be heading after that! Then, only 2 1/2 weeks until Allan gets his wings!! Crazy times ahead!

33 week update:

Rachael still feels like she's in the same position as before (at least to me it does). She'll shift somewhat, but always settles back in the same place.
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This week your baby may be anywhere between 17 to 19 inches in length and weigh more than four and a half pounds. At this stage in fetal development, your baby could grow a full inch more this week alone — especially if he or she has been on the shorter side. Weight gain can range from a third more growth to a full doubling before the big debut.

The level of amniotic fluid in your uterus has reached its maximum at 33 weeks pregnant, making it likely that you have more baby than fluid now. That's one reason why you're probably feeling lots of nudges and pushes — there's less liquid to cushion the blows. (Of course that means you're even closer to your baby now!)

If your uterine walls had eyes, here's what you'd see: your fetus acting more and more like a baby, with his or her eyes closing during sleep and opening while awake. And because those uterine walls are becoming thinner, more light penetrates the womb, helping your baby differentiate between day and night (now if only baby can remember that difference on the outside!).

And good news! Your baby has reached an important milestone about now: The development of his or her own immune system that (along with antibodies from you) will be able to provide protection from mild infections.

With midnight bathroom runs, leg cramps, heartburn, and your basketball-sized belly, it's no wonder sleep is elusive. Third-trimester insomnia strikes about three-quarters of pregnant women (who may also be coping with a mind that races all night long). But your body needs rest, so do your best to get comfy. Grab a pile of pillows, wedge them where you need to, and look on the bright side: Pregnancy insomnia is great training for those sleepless nights to come! Your baby is still gaining weight (about half a pound a week), and she could grow up to another full inch this week. With that much baby inside your uterus, your amniotic fluid level has maxed out, which explains why some of her pokes and kicks feel pretty sharp these days. (There's less fluid to cushion the blows.) Antibodies are being passed from you to your little one as she continues to develop her own fetal immune system, which will come in handy once she's outside the womb and fending off all sorts of germs.

Hopefullty this came out shorte than last weeks post!

32 weeks and Anniversary Trip

We went down to Sandestin for our anniversary. It's just about 2 hours away. We stayed at a beautiful resort, went to the beach, played in the surf (carefully), and had a romantic dinner. The next morning, we headed up to Eglin AFB where Allan played a round of golf. I just went along for the ride! It's a beautiful course, and our friend Jon grew up playing there. Then we came home for the rest of the long weekend. Allan was off from noon on Thursday, all the way through until 10am Tuesday! So it was a nice little break for us. And we ACTUALLY got to see each other for more than just an hour or so like we have been with the night flights.

We put our 'dream sheet' in and will find out where we are going, after Albequerque, on the 24th!!! I can't wait! We will also be finding out when we will be moving to ABQ too.

This is the hotel where we stayed (one of the buildings).

View from our balconette.
The Gulf...as seen from our beach chairs.
Us at sunset.

Baby update: As of my Dr. appt on the 6th, little miss Rachael is still breech, and now is also oblique. That means she has her head pointing towards my right shoulder and her bottom going towards my left hip. We'll know more about how we will procede after my next visit on the 27th.

This week your baby weighs almost four pounds and could be up to 19 inches long. And though that's a head-to-toe length, your baby is actually back to a curled-up position (you try standing up in those cramped quarters!). At 32 weeks pregnant, you're likely feeling tapping and squirming instead of your baby's signature rocking and rolling. That's because, while comfy, your baby is a bit tight for exercise space right now. Your baby has also probably settled into the head-down, bottoms-up position in your pelvis in prepartion for birth. That's because the fetus's head fits better at the bottom of your inverted, pear-shaped uterus. It also makes it easier during childbirth if your baby comes out head first. Fewer than five percent of babies prefer the bottom-down (or breech) position by full-term. Don't worry if your baby hasn't assumed the head-down position yet. There's still a good chance he or she will flip head-side-down before birth — even in the tight confines of your uterus.

While your baby is still getting nourishment through the umbilical cord, it won't be long before you'll be bringing on the breast milk or formula (and soon after, the mashed carrots and peas). In anticipation of that momentous transition to mouth feeding, your baby's digestive system is all set and ready to go.

And speaking of that big day, hope you're resting up for it — because your bambino certainly is. In preparation for that big first date with you, your baby is sleeping like a baby — with sleep cycles of 20 to 40 minutes long (which would also account for the decrease in movement you're likely feeling these days).

Your baby is practicing survival skills like sucking and breathing, while your uterus is practicing some Braxton Hicks contractions.

This week, your body may start prepping for delivery day by flexing its muscles — literally. If you feel your uterus bunching or hardening periodically, those are practice contractions, otherwise known as Braxton Hicks. These rehearsals (typically experienced earlier and with more intensity in women who've been pregnant before) feel like a tightening sensation that begins at the top of your uterus then spreads downward, lasting from 15 to 30 seconds (though they can sometimes last two minutes or more). What's up with your baby? She's starting to get ready for her big debut, tipping the scales at almost four pounds and topping out at just about 19 inches. In these last few weeks, it's all about practice, practice, practice as she hones the skills she'll need to survive and thrive outside the womb, from swallowing and breathing to kicking and sucking. And speaking of sucking, your little one has been able to suck her thumb for a while now. Another change this week: As more and more fat accumulates under your baby's skin, she's becoming less transparent and more opaque.

31 weeks

Chances are your diaphragm is feeling a little cramped these days. Okay, a lot cramped. That's because your uterus is pushing up against it, crowding your lungs and making it more difficult for them to expand fully. The result: Your body is spare on air, and will be until your baby drops near the end of pregnancy in preparation for birth. Your baby, however, is happy as a clam since he gets all the oxygen he needs through the placenta. Weighing in at three-plus pounds and measuring 18 inches long, he's quickly approaching his birth length though he's got to pack on another three to five pounds before D-day. Also developing at an impressive clip: your baby's brain connections (he's got to make trillions of them!). He's now processing information, tracking light, and perceiving signals from all five senses. He's also putting in longer stretches of sleep, which is why you're probably noticing more defined patterns of awake (and moving) periods and sleeping (pretty still) periods.

As far as growth goes, your baby's still on a roll, measuring an impressive 18 inches and weighing in at more than three pounds. At 31 weeks pregnant, you can still expect your baby to gain at least three to five pounds, possibly more, before you two meet.

Your baby's brain is working overtime these days, developing faster than ever. Connections between individual nerve cells are growing at a frenetic clip, and your baby can now perceive information from all five senses. Sure, your baby can't smell anything right now, but that's only because he or she is still submerged in amniotic fluid and needs to be breathing air to get a whiff of anything. Lucky for you — and your baby — yours will be one of the very first scents your baby breathes in, a scent that will quickly become his or her very favorite.

So what's your little dove doing all day while you're busy feathering your nest for his or her arrival? Making faces, hiccupping, swallowing, breathing, pedaling with little hands and feet along your uterine wall, and even sucking his or her thumb. In fact, some babies suck their thumbs so vigorously while in the womb that they're born with a callus on their thumb (what a little sucker!).