...the perishables you buy expire on the same day. Case in point:
I can only assume that bonus points are awarded if you already consumed said perishable over a week ago, and have now also consumed its replacement!
I realized that today marks another major pregnancy milestone: the one known in "the biz" as 35/35, meaning that you've reached the 35 week mark and have only 35 days to go! Holy crap, that's like, just over one month!!!
According to babycenter.com:
Your baby doesn't have much room to maneuver now that she's over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 1/4 pounds (pick up a honeydew melon). Because it's so snug in your womb, she isn't likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times she kicks should remain about the same. Her kidneys are fully developed now, and her liver can process some waste products. Most of her basic physical development is now complete — she'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight.
Last weekend my sister Sage came over and helped put all the leaves on the tree applique behind the crib. Kailen and I had gotten as far as the trunk and branches, but now spring has sprung! The Etsy seller even threw in a bunch of birdies and a couple of large owls, all for free! We put one birdie in the tree and still need to find homes for the rest. I was pleasantly surprised to find that our crib sheets match the tree perfectly, and all by accident. With the exception of a few minor details, it's done! What do you think of the finished product?
Also, last Saturday Sarah E. hosted a wonderful shower for us at her home in San Ramon. Sarah was my maid of honor, and I think of her as the older sister I got to choose. Her three sweet boys call me Auntie Zoe and we always joke about how confused they'll be the day that they find out we're not really related. We had a wonderful time. Once again, we were incredibly touched by the love our friends and family members already have for this little girl before she has even arrived. I'll be posting pictures very soon!
Here I am as of Thursday morning:
And according to babycenter.com:
Your baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds (like your average cantaloupe) and is almost 18 inches long. Her fat layers — which will help regulate her body temperature once she's born — are filling her out, making her rounder. Her skin is also smoother than ever. Her central nervous system is maturing and her 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.
I had an entire post devoted to jicamas all typed up and then realized...that was sooooo last week! I think that's a definite sign that the time is flying by way too quickly. Granted, I love jicamas so it wasn't a chore for me to sing their praises. Some cultures call them yam-beans...how odd! If I could make up a name for them that was a combination of two other edible things, it would be potato-apple. That just seems so much more fitting! But I digress...
Why all this talk about jicamas? Probably because I can't think of anything baby-related to talk about this week. Things are moving right along and as far as I can tell, all is well! I had "the talk" with work about my plans for maternity leave, and it went well. Unless my doctor suggests otherwise, I'll be reducing my hours to 3 days per week as of February 9, and then stop working completely as of February 23. Is it bad that I'm counting the days until then? Speaking of days, there are only 60 of them left until baby ZoKay arrives!
According to babycenter.com:
This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds (heft a pineapple) and has passed the 17-inch mark. She's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and her skeleton is hardening. The bones in her skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for her to fit through the birth canal. (The pressure on the head during birth is so intense that many babies are born with a conehead-like appearance.) These bones don't entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as her brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood.
Our 3D ultrasound on Friday was amazing! Even though baby ZoKay had her hands by her face most of the time and was smashed up next to the placenta, we were still able to get a good peek at her. She has chubby cheeks and full lips, and the tech said she even has plenty of hair on her cute, roundy little head! They estimated her current weight at 4lbs, 2 oz and told us her head diameter is a little over 8cm. She's head-down like I thought she was, which was a relief to have confirmed. Hopefully she'll be a good little girl and stay that way. And speaking of being a girl, we re-confirmed that as well! Here are some of the best shots (click on any image for a larger view):
I almost forgot...I found my first stretch marks about a week ago. As some may know, K and I found out that we were expecting during my family reunion in June. One of the great things about that was being able to grill all of the women in my family about their pregnancy experiences. I was thrilled to discover that NONE of them had ever gotten stretch marks during pregnancy, and as I've been reading genetics plays the biggest role in whether or not you'll get them, no matter how much cocoa butter lotion you slather on your growing belly. "Great," I thought, "I might not get them either!"
But...I have a rather large scar on my lower abdomen from an emergency appendectomy when I was 15, and scar tissue just doesn't stretch like regular skin does. So now I have a small but angry-looking red stretch mark radiating up from the inner end of my scar. I also found a few more in...ahem...other areas.
This is the most minor of possible complaints, but I thought it was worth mentioning. She's definitely well worth it!
At my shower, Robin and Garrett gave us a cute little stuffed doggie toy that looks just like their dog, Butterbean. As soon as I took it out of its box, Mr. Pickles, the Hamiltons' chihuahua, started barking and growling at it! He must have thought it was a real dog. The funniest part was when I set the toy dog on its side in a more submissive position, Mr. Pickles calmed down and came over to sniff it. We were all laughing to the point of tears. Quick thinking Sarah captured it all on video, which I now present to you for your viewing pleasure!
Also, today marks the beginning of week 32, which also happens to be the beginning of month 8. Holy cow, that means I'm 8 months pregnant! I had a checkup with my OB on Monday and she confirmed that everything is proceeding along just fine, and she believes the baby is in a head down position based on feeling my belly. She'll do a quick ultrasound at my 36 week appointment to confirm.
Speaking of ultrasounds, we've decided to get a 3-d ultrasound. I went back and forth on this a lot since it is an unnecessary procedure, but in the end I feel that I may regret not doing it and that it will be a really neat thing to share with baby ZoKay when she's a bit older. And I have to admit that I'm dying of curiosity to get another peek at her! Our appointment is at 5:30 this afternoon and if we get good shots I will definitely post them here.
Here's the outside view as of yesterday:
And according to BabyCenter.com:
By now, your baby weighs 3.75 pounds (pick up a large jicama) and is about 16.7 inches long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus. You're gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to your baby. In fact, she'll gain a third to half of her birth weight during the next 7 weeks as she fattens up for survival outside the womb. She now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). Her skin is becoming soft and smooth as she plumps up in preparation for birth.
I had the most wonderful time at my baby shower last Saturday, graciously hosted by Sarah and her parents, Adeline, and my mom at Sarah's parents' house. I was blown away by everyone's generosity, and my heart was truly warmed by the love everyone already has for this little girl. I put together a little slideshow to share the photos...I hope you enjoy it!
