5 More Weeks to Go!

Wow! Can you believe how quickly the time is passing? We're in the home stretch until baby comes. Chris' mom is coming this weekend with the baby's bed and will help get things in place for his/her arrival. We're getting excited, but still have lots to do- including decide on names. : ) The weather is getting nicer, which has allowed us to be outside more. I worked in my flower beds today, which caused much grumbling from the little one. I've been having a few contractions here and there so my body can practice and prepare for baby's arrival. They don't hurt, but are a bit uncomfy at times. But uncomfortability is my life right now. Depending on what pants I'm wearing, I need help tying my on shoes! Ha ha ha! Here's what's happening to baby this week (and last since I never posted for week 34):

Week Thirty-Five

*Your baby acts completely like a newborn, with her eyes opened when awake and closed when sleeping. You may also find her settling into more of a routine for sleeping & awake times.
*She has learned to blink. She can also see more clearly when there is a bright light on your stomach and probably has the outline of all your organs memorized!
*Antibodies from your blood are being transferred to him. These immunities continue to build until birth. Then breast milk will add even more protection against disease.
*Your baby may have already turned to a head-down position in preparation for birth. If he is your first baby, he may be settling into the pelvis with his head pressing against your cervix.
*Fingernails have reached the end of the fingertips now. She may scratch her face even before she is born!
*The average baby weighs almost five and a half pounds now.
*Most babies born now will survive and without many long-term problems.
*Fat accumulations plumps up the arms and legs this week. These layers of fat will help him regulate his body temperature. They also provide those cute little dimples on elbows and knees!
*Her hearing is fully developed, so be sure to talk to your daughter. Do you find yourself speaking in a high-pitched tone? That's okay since some studies show babies respond better to higher pitches.
*It's getting crowded! Your baby is now taking up most of the uterus and you may even feel like your chest has run out of room! Soon enough though, baby will move down and you'll be able to breathe easily again (just not walk so easily! Ha!).
*Your baby is 18.2 inches (46.2cm) long and weighs 5.3 pounds (2383gm).
*The testes have completed their descent in males.

Having a good time and other random happenings

Kaiyah continues to delight us with her excitement and quirkiness. She is growing before our eyes and we don't want to miss a thing!


She loves bathtime (but not getting her hair washed). A growling, laughing lion chased me down the hall! She thought it was hilarious! :)

This picture was taken as Kaiyah jumped on our bed holding her doll and her doll's doll. :) She has officially mastered the two footed jump and practices often. I don't know if you can see it, but much drool is running from her mouth. We thought she might be teething, but after all the health related craziness of late, we weren't totally sure. But, yesterday she woke up from her nap with the point of one of her two-year molars sticking thru the gum. Hopefully, the other three will follow quickly and we can get teething over with before the baby arrives.

Our friends down the street have lots of toys in their yard and let Kaiyah play on them. She loves riding in the cozy coupe (remember those). She's got the backward movement down and is practicing going forward now. Regardless, Charlie's yard is a fun place to be! (Except when she has to share...)

Though Kaiyah overwhelmingly loves dolls, she loves our new baby even more. It gets numerous hugs and kisses every day. And she even wipes the slobber off my belly when she's finished! Sometimes she reads books to the baby too. She's going to be a great big sister!

Week 33 and counting!

Here's what's been happening in my belly this week:

Week Thirty-Three

*Amniotic fluid is at its highest level during your pregnancy.
*Your baby's head size has increased 3/8ths of an inch due to rapid brain growth.
*Neurons and synapses are developing in huge numbers -- forming connections in your baby's brain will give him the skills he needs to thrive as a newborn. This week, he may be able to coordinate sucking and swallowing with breathing.
*While most of his bones are hardening, his skull is quite pliable and not completely joined. The bones will be able to move slightly to make birthing easier.
*You baby takes intermittent deep breaths -- of water! That's okay, though since she gets oxygen from the placenta. This breathing exercises muscles and encourages her lung cells to produce more surfactant (a protein essential for healthy lung development).
*If your baby is a boy, his testicles will be descending from his abdomen into his scrotum. Sometimes one or both testicles won't move into position until after birth.
*Your infant is now 17.2 inches (43.7cm) long and weighs 4.23 pounds (1918gm).

A big girl bed!

Friends just gave us a toddler bed for Kaiyah and we've put it up in her room so that we can move toward transitioning her out of the crib. That probably won't really happen until the summer, but this way she can get used to it and we can lay on it and such. She's not quite ready to move out of her crib yet. And I'm not ready for that either. I like the freedom of knowing she's safe and unable to get into trouble so I can stay in bed a little longer! :) Regardless of when she moves out, she is really enjoying her new bed and thinks it great that her babies have a new place to sleep too! (She put her babies there, not me.)

Peek-a-boo

One of Kaiyah's favorite games at the moment is peek-a-boo. She's loving playing it by hiding her own eyes or by hiding a toy. We play this alot in the car, especially the toy version. She hides the toy under her legs and then says "Where go?", pulling it out a second later only to start the process all over again. It's fun and cute and we enjoy playing along with her. Here are some pics of Daddy and Kaiyah playing after dinner last week:

Baby Development- Week 32

Here's some info about how baby is growing this week:

*Your baby is up to 3.75 pounds (1702gm) now and is 16.7 inches (42.4cm) long.
*You might notice she's not moving around as much now. Don't worry! She is fine -- just running short on room. She still has plenty of growing to do though, believe it or not!
*All five senses are working. Your little one is fascinated and practicing testing these out as much as possible!
*Toenails are completely formed even though she may not be quite ready for a French manicure.
*Hair on your infant's head continues to grow in. Will he have dad's black hair or your red hair? *Brain scans have shown that babies have periods of dream sleep (REM) starting around the eight month. What do you suppose your son is dreaming about?

I was so tired when these pics were taken last night. I somewhat overdid it yesterday, cleaning, moving furniture (Kaiyah now has a toddler bed in her room), and continuing to unpack and organize. Not to mention playing outside and enjoying my daughter's antics. : ) All that to say, I realize that I'm definitely not looking my best. :) True to life, these pictures are. Yep.

I was looking back at pictures of my pregnancy with Kaiyah and I'm only slightly bigger, though carrying a tiny bit lower and maybe a little wider. Baby prefers the right side of my belly just like big sister did. But I have yet to get the toes in the ribs like I did with Kaiyah. I still have a little soreness there if you touch it just right! I have, for the first time, experienced the need to eat smaller, more frequent meals, as gross things happen if I eat to much and then try to bend in the middle. You don't want to know the details! ha ha ha. :)

I've been fighting a bad cold which is trying to make its way to my chest, so I've been taking lots of vitamin C and stuff. Now it's time to rest! I haven't been doing much of that recently, but I did sleep until Kaiyah woke this morning instead of getting up with Chris, like I have been doing. I've slept thru the night the last 2 nights without breathing issues, so that's good. Things are improving on that front, I suppose.

Well, it's time for me to get ready for my appointment with our midwives. I'm not going every other week for the next month and then every week after that. And then the fun really begins!

My Latest Crafting Project

Chris (and thus I) got 2 new stainless steel waterbottles for Christmas, which I love but get really cold to the touch. You can buy covers for them, but I thought I would try to make a special one of my own. I crocheted a cover from wool and then felted it in the washing machine. I think it turned out great and I love the colors. Next I'm going to make a fleece one. I'll keep you updated. If I can I will try and sell them at a local store that has lots of specialty items. We'll see. Here are some pics. There's got to be a way to rotate them, but I haven't figured out how yet. Sorry.

Before felting.

After felting. It shrunk about 20%, which was what I had expected.

A close up of the felted cover. I LOVE the colors!

The truly cultured child we're raising...

So, we've discovered that Kaiyah really likes opera. I had to trim her toenails the other night, which is always a traumatic experience, so I turned on PBS to distract her. The world class violinist, Andre Reiu, was performing and invited an opera singer to perform one of the pieces they were playing. She had on an amazing gown, complete with peacock feathers sticking up all along the neckline. Kaiyah LOVED it!!!! This girl always surprises me. : ) She tried to copy all of the moves, danced along, clapped, and blew kisses (with the singer) at the end. Too funny. I hope that you can see the video!

Here are some of the pictures of the occasion too...

Finally, some belly shots

For all of you (Mom) who have been wanting to see, here's what I looked like a few days ago. Though my hair has been rather crazy, I don't have the helmet head it looks like i do in the pic. There was a bad shadow. : )