It's my baby shower in AZ day!!!

Hi everyone in Arizona at my baby shower! Thanks for coming to celebrate my pregnancy with my mom. Wish I could be there with you...

I'm almost 34 weeks now. This is what my baby looks like:
How my baby's growing: My baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds (like your average cantaloupe) and is almost 18 inches long. His fat layers — which will help regulate his body temperature once he's born — are filling him out, making him rounder. His skin is also smoother than ever. His central nervous system is maturing and his lungs are continuing to mature as well. If you've been nervous about preterm labor, you'll be happy to know that babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine. They may need a short stay in the neonatal nursery and may have a few short-term health issues, but in the long run, they usually do as well as full-term babies.

How my life's changing: By this week, fatigue has set in again. My tiredness is perfectly understandable, given the physical strain I'm under and the restless nights of frequent pee breaks and tossing and turning, while trying to get comfortable. Now's the time where I need to slow down and save up my energy for labor day (and beyond)!

How I'm looking: (taken last night)

Starting to stick out there!

Pretty round and firm.

And I couldn't not put one in of my lovely husband...

Hope you ladies are having fun! I'll try calling again now...

32 Weeks!

How my baby's growing:

By now, my baby weighs 3.75 pounds and is about 16.7 inches long, taking up a lot of space in my uterus. I'm gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to my baby. In fact, he'll gain a third to half of his birth weight during the next 7 weeks as he fattens up for survival outside the womb. He now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). His skin is becoming soft and smooth as he plumps up in preparation for birth.

How my life's changing:

To accommodate my own and my baby's growing needs, my blood volume has increased 40 to 50 percent since I got pregnant. As my uterus is pushing up near my diaphragm and crowding my stomach, I often find I'm short of breath, and I can't eat a lot (at once).

I have some back pain, which I blame on my growing uterus and hormonal changes. My expanding uterus shifts my center of gravity and stretches out and weakens my abdominal muscles, changing my posture and putting a strain on my back. Hormonal changes in pregnancy loosen your joints and the ligaments that attach your pelvic bones to your spine. This is why it's so good to be married to a chiropractor, especially one that specializes in babies and pregnant mums (it seems-- they're always crowding his office!).


Below: Notice the baby bassinet in the corner. That's where our little bubba will sleep the first few months of his life! Underneath is my hospital suitcase, which I still haven't finished packing...