Week 37

Week 37...hard to believe! Ethan is officially a full term baby and all of his major development is essentially now complete. We had a doctor's appointment this morning and everything went well. Ethan's heartbeat is strong (which is a relief considering he decided to nap for the majority of the day yesterday and freak me out since he wasn't moving as much as usual) and he's measuring right on target. My blood pressure is normal and I gained another .6 pounds since last week (so the total gain is now 20.6 according to the doctor. I love their scale because it is quite a few more according to the home scale!) The doctor opted not to check my progress this week since I haven't had too many painful contractions (and even if I've begun dialating they aren't going to induce me this early.) They'll check at my appointment next Friday, and fingers crossed, there will be something to report then. My group b strep test came back negative so that is one less thing to worry about. All in all everything looks like it is going really well and we're right on schedule.

My mom is coming to visit for the weekend and I'm looking forward to celebrating the fourth with our neighbors and our annual cul-de-sac party. I have a few miscellaneous baby items to pick up but otherwise I don't have too many plans.

Here's the official word on week 37: "Your baby is now considered full term even though your due date is 3 weeks away. If you go into labor now his lungs will likely be mature enough to fully adjust to life outside the womb. (Some babies need a bit more time though.) Your baby weighs 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to heel (like a stalk of Swiss chard.) Many babies have a full head of hair at birth, with locks from a 1/2 to 1 1/2 inches long. But don't be surprised if your baby's hair isn't the same color as yours."