36 Week Update

Photos from 36 weeks. (I know, a week behind. More later this week with the most recent update.)

As my good neighbor "D" said, baby is in launch position. Thus, things are looking a bit different. Plus, I am at the point where things are packed so tightly in there I don't want any pressure on my belly. Hence, more lose-fitting clothes. Still enjoying all those loaner clothes from my neighbor. 

I had a good 35 week ultrasound. Everything looked good. The ultrasound machine suggested the baby to be, at that point, weighed 6lbs 2 oz. I kind of felt that to be a little inaccurate as Lil Sister was 6lb 6oz when she was born and I am smaller this time around. That was her at 39 weeks. So, if this baby is nearly the same size at 35 weeks, I'm a bit concerned and questioning the accuracy.

Kidneys looked good and no cord around the neck. Nothing worrisome. A couple of interesting things seen on the ultrasound, though. The baby seems to have either really chubby cheeks or she was smashed in there making her cheeks looked chubby. The other kind of cool thing we could see on the ultrasound was a skiff of hair on her head. Lil Sister was REALLY excited about that. Not 5 inches of hair, which is what it has to be in order for us to call her Rapunzel, but just a skiff. Lil Sis had quite a lot of hair when she was born. Her brother had a beautiful little skiff on his head. I'd be fine either way. 

Last week we did take a little trip to labor and delivery. I was having contractions about every 4-6 minutes regularly and since we have not hit that 37 week mark, hubby and I were really worried. They monitored me for 2 hours and then I was told I could go home. The contractions were not changing or progressing so we were in the clear. But everything on the monitors looked great and the baby was tolerating the most intense contractions without an issue. So, reassuring. I just had these horrible worries of lung issues and the baby going to NICU - my heart breaks every time I hear of families having a NICU baby - it is such an emotional and physically challenging journey.

How I am feeling? Grumpy is the word of the moment. The other day, a total stranger asked very aggressively about names for the baby. I explained we wanted to see and meet the baby before going with a chosen name - we have some names but really do want to see and meet her first. This woman would not back down. I was at the hospital visiting my mom (she's much better now) and my sister was there with me. They watched me get grumpy and they've learned to totally back down about the name thing, especially of late. Finally, I told the lady. Yes, we have a couple names. We're going Biblical (which we really are) - Bathsheba and Delilah. I could see my mom trying to keep a straight face. She knows her Old Testiment and she knew I was totally joking with the lady but I think she concurred with me doing so due to the woman's aggressive nature. The lady smiled, nodded, and asked which I preferred. (Can this woman not take a hint?) Then I said, "Well, I am sort of partial to Bathsheba as she had to have been a great beauty to be coveted by a king, but Delilah, she cut Samson's hair for money so I guess she worked hard for her money. The lady smiled and then moved on. Okay, so I feel a little bad I did not just say, "Look, we're keeping it to ourselves" but she was the straw that broke the camel's back. And don't worry, the baby will not be called either of those names. Although, I still jokingly refer to her as baby Bathsheba since that incident. I told my boss of the incident and he, too, is quite Bible savvy. He actually got my joke. He had a few great female Biblical character suggestions for me as well, but emphasized that he did not want to incur my wrath so he stopped at a couple of his favorites.

We're feeling more and more prepared every day. Every room in our home is highly organized. The house is actually more organized than it has ever been. It just took preparing for the birth of three babies to get us there.