Week 36

"Any day now".... That's what I hear when I tell people that I'm in my final month of pregnancy....."Any day now"  - not really! Typical first time moms have on average 41.5 week pregnancies - so really I'm looking at a minimum of 4 and perhaps 6 more weeks!

Dad and Mom
Dad wrapped up baseball season this week.  All in all, the season was a great success in my eyes.  It will be very nice to have Kirk around in these final weeks as I find it more difficult to do everyday activities (like folding laundry and unloading the dishwasher).  I am still busy trying to organize all of my projects at work and designate who is to be in charge while I am gone.  If I don't get this done, I may very well find my boss and sales director at the hospital with a checklist! We wrapped up our childbirth class this week - the final being a video session with live births and breastfeeding.  I'm not sure exactly how the videos affected Kirk, but seeing video of a birth made me realize just how close we really are (even if it doesn't happen 'any day'). The next few weeks will be spent to practice all the techniques we learned in class, pack our bag, and get ready for this baby.  We also have the nursery almost complete and I'll post pictures very soon!

Baby
Yet again, the baby's job over the coming weeks is to grow and get stronger.  He should be nearly 7lbs by now but his weight gain will slow between now and delivery to closer to 1/4 to 1/3 lb (down from 1/2 lb) per week.  Our checkup this week went much the same - as I normally report to my family "Still pregnant, not having the baby yet, going back next week." I do think that he's changed position somewhat as I can breath again (thank goodness!) and when he moves around (like he is right this minute) I'm seeing far more knee-shaped objects instead of the typical butt and back that I normally get. I find myself looking for those 'early signs' of labor (this stems from the 'any day now' comments) but I know that he will come when he is good and ready and not a moment before.  Speaking of 'when he will come' there is some very interesting research that suggests several things occur to trigger labor. 1) The brain releases cortisol when it is fully developed which triggers estrogen and progesterone production in the mother and 2) fully developed lungs trigger hormone production and the secretion of prostglandins. Until these two things occur the best place for baby is snug inside Mom. (Even if the kicks are really starting to smart!).