Thirty-seven weeks

How far along? Thirty-seven weeks - 4/29/11

How big is baby? 

 Swiss chard.

Okay...?? 

Next appointment: May 3. 

Symptoms: I look like a hippo. Even my face is swollen. I had Nathan take a picture of me on Easter Sunday (mostly because I wasn't wearing pajamas and had actually brushed my hair), and I realized how horrible I look these days. Someone should have told me! Sorry, guys...won't be posting that photo.

 

Reflections on this week: My 36-week appointment on Tuesday went fairly well. Apart from having an extremely crappy ultrasound because the tech had a stick up her butt (traumatic childhood, perhaps?), we got a lot of good information. Baby is doing well, in almost the 80th percentile for overall growth, and is head-down, lined up and ready for delivery. Her head was measuring at 38 weeks and her belly at 37 weeks! As for Mommy, I am sitting at 2.5 cm dilated and 50% effaced. Yay for progress! 

What I'm looking forward to: This weekend is my niece's third birthday party, so we'll get to see lots of family and have some fun. I'm excited to get to spend time with everyone! Also, I'm looking forward to having a little down time at some point. Maybe some time to chill out with my feet up and watch a movie? :) That would be awesome. Sunday is already the first of May, which means we are approaching the Baby finish line! Yay! 

More about baby: Baby is now considered "full term," even though your due date is three weeks away. If you go into labor now, her lungs will likely be mature enough to fully adjust to life outside the womb. Baby weighs approximately 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to heel. Many babies have a full head of hair at birth, with locks from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long. But don't be surprised if your baby's hair isn't the same color as yours. Dark-haired couples are sometimes thrown for a loop when their children come out as blonds or redheads (oh, really?), and fair-haired couples have been surprised by Elvis look-alikes. 

I think, at this point, having a brunette would be shocking. :) 

***NOTE***
This is being published a week late because I was not feeling well last week and didn't get a chance to finish the post. I know you were all holding your breath, waiting to hear about my cervical progression.