36 Weeks

I'm already getting behind in posting and I just started blogging! I have a feeling it is only going to get more difficult to post from this point on, but I will do my best! We are technically still 36 weeks at this point but I will be 37 weeks tomorrow. We went to the doctor last Wednesday and had a check up to see how things were going. This appointment was especially exciting because Jim's mom, BJ, was able to come and hear the heartbeat. It was very exciting to share that with her. His heart was beating strongly in the 140's and will now start to slow down just a little as he gets bigger and bigger. Overall, the appointment went well. Our doctor confirmed that he is head down and that he is very, very low (meaning countless trips to the bathroom for me!). I am 80% effaced but not dilated at all yet. Based on all of this, she told us that I won't be "one of these people that goes past their due date" which I guess is good news for us! We took this to mean that we are right on track and that he should be arriving close to the 11th. We have family members out of town off and on between now and August 8th so it would be good if he could stick to his original schedule! That's all for now - we'll post another update after our appointment on Wednesday!

Here is what is going on with Will this week:

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