36 Weeks

How our baby's growing:

Levi is still packing on the pounds — at the rate of about an ounce a day. He now weighs almost 6 pounds 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 her nine-month amniotic bath. Our baby swallows both of these substances, along with other secretions, resulting in a blackish mixture, called meconium, will form the contents of his first bowel movement.

At the end of this week, our baby will be considered full-term! Yea! (Full-term is 37 to 42 weeks; babies born before 37 weeks are pre-term and those born after 42 are post-term.) Most likely he's in a head-down position. But if he isn't, our practitioner may suggest scheduling an "external cephalic version," which is a fancy way of saying he'll try to coax your baby into a head-down position by manipulating him from the outside of your belly.

Starting tomorrow, Tuesday, April 27th, I'll have a doctor's appointment every week until the day of birth! Tomorrow's appointment is at 9:10 am, which I believe we'll be able to find out if the baby's in the right position and if I'm at all dilated. My Braxton Hicks contractions are averaging about 3 to 4 a day for last couple days. I'll just need to keep monitoring them to make sure that if or when they start getting stronger and closer together, like 4 to 5 within one hour lasting about a minute long each, then it's time to head to the hospital! As long as I can make it through this week I'll be anxious to go into labor at any moment after that considering I will technically be at full term then. And I am SO READY to get this little man out of me and into this world!!! And Greg is too, we're so anxious to meet our son for the first time!

I'll have an update posted after tomorrows appointment on the status!