Week 36

It's crazy to think how close we actually are to finally meeting Ethan. There's only a month to go (according to his due date!) I am so unbelievably nervous about everything. At first I was really only worried about getting through the birth process, but the more time goes by the more nervous I am getting about actually being a good parent too. Patrick and I have so much to learn and I'm so glad to have such a supportive spouse. I keep envisioning that first night that we're at home together as a family of 3 and it totally scares me because I don't feel ready for this at all.

We picked up the crib and changing table this week and so the nursery is finally almost ready. Check out the pictures of the assembly process and the almost completed nursery:

And Spot decided that the changing table was her new princess bed. Too cute!!

We had a doctor's appointment this morning and we'll be going in every week from here until the end now. The doctor did the group b strep test (not as bad as I thought it would be) and we should have the results in a day or two. If I test positive I'll just need to receive antibiotics when I go into labor to prevent infection for Ethan, but hopefully the test will be negative and I won't even have to worry about it. I'll keep you posted. Following the GBS test, the doctor did a manual exam to check to see if I was dialating yet and to check the position of the baby. This involved a LOT of pressure and gave me a preview of just how much this whole process is going to hurt...not fun! I haven't started dialating at all yet, but the doctor was able to feel Ethan's head and it's pretty low. (That's evidently a good thing!) I gained another pound since my last appointment so I am up a grand total of 20 pounds even right now. Ethan's heartbeat and my blood pressure were normal, and when the doctor measured my belly he said that everything looked good with that too. He also indicated that I've been measuring a little small up until now (but still well within the normal ranges) but Ethan caught up this week and now I'm right in the middle with the measurements too.

Here's the official word on week 36: "Your baby is still packing on the pounds - at a rate of an ounce a day. He now weighs almost 6 pounds (like the weight of a crenshaw melon) and is more than 18 1/2 inches long. He's shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered his body as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered and protected his skin during his 9 month amniotic bath. Your baby swallows both of these substances, along with other secretions, resulting a blackish mixture, called meconium, which will form the contents of his first bowel movement.

At the end of this week your baby will be considered full term. (Full term is 37 to 42 weeks; babies born before 37 weeks are pre-term and those born after 42 weeks are post-term.) Most likely he's in a head down position."