Week 34

Yet another week down....

Family and Friends
We got to spend the weekend with the Grandparents Renegar and Uncle Eric this weekend.  Friday was a great rivalry baseball game that HVA managed to win - excitement for all! (This was also an opportunity for Baby Renegar and Baby Wade to hang out - we are on the left)

Other big news this week - we got a glider-rocker! It is fabulously comfortable (thank you!) and we even got Kirk's old Golden Books so that we can start reading to Baby.  The nursery is really coming together thanks to the generosity of our family and friends.

Mom and Dad
I know this is true for me, and I'm assuming it is for Kirk also - the past week has really gone quickly.  What with Baseball nearly wrapping up and family visiting, it's been a whirl-wind.  We had our second childbirth class this weekend and Kirk got to learn techniques for keeping me relaxed during labor. Ever the coach, I was reprimanded for not 'practicing hard enough.'  It continues to make me a little nervous learning about labor and pushing - as the time draws nearer I'm really starting to have the 'am I really ready for this?' feeling.  I don't suppose I have a choice - we wanted a baby, and now he's coming!!  And our homework this week is to practice relaxation and massage techniques - so that should be fun.

Baby
The baby continues to grow and put on weight this week, the average size baby at 34 weeks is about the size of a large cantaloupe (yum!).  If he's grown the average of 1/3 to 1/2 pound a week, we should be looking at somewhere between 5 1/2 and 6 lbs (bigger than some full term babies!) He also continues to stretch out and practice the movements he'll need outside of the womb although he's really getting tight for space.  This means continued knees and feet that rub right up against my ribs and a very interesting 'wave' effect as he rolls across my stomach (I'm still trying to catch that on video).  Within the next 5 weeks, he should drop down into the pelvis to prepare for delivery, but until then I have to deal with nausea and shortness of breath as my large baby wiggles around in his tiny home.