Week 33

This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds and measures 17.2 inches from the top of his head to his heels. His skin is becoming less red and wrinkled, and while most of his bones are hardening, his skull is quite pliable and not completely joined.

Baby Pierce is head down and in firing position. Or, at least he was when I went to the doctor's last week. I feel like he may have shifted a little sideways again since then. I am still on target with 116 over 70 blood pressure, a strong 140 bpm fetal heartbeat and an additional 26 pounds in weight. I am now on a two-week schedule for doctor's visits. Overall, I am feeling really good. I have a lot of energy even though I have started sleeping less at night, waking up at 5 a.m unable to go back to sleep. My eyes just pop open and that's it, I'm helplessly awake. I think this is nature's way of preparing me. Going to sleep is difficult too, now that Jr. has decided that 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. is a good time to practice his disco moves. It's difficult enough to sleep with somebody tossing and turning next to you - try INSIDE of you. My tummy looks like a basketball these days and, perhaps because I am so short torsoed, my lung capacity has diminished a startling amount. A short flight of stairs leaves me breathless.

We finished our last childbirth class and, I must say, I learned something new about my husband. Okay, it's not totally new information. Scott loves war movies, but he can't stand to watch blood spilled and always closes his eyes during the goriest scenes. The last class focused on C-sections and they showed us a video - a DIGITAL SIMULATION mind you - of a C-Section procedure. Scott had to leave the room. If it comes to surgery, it appears that my support person will be supporting himself against a wall in the waiting room. He swears that he will have no problem with a normal birth and even cut Justin's umbilical cord, so we'll see. Hopefully it won't come to surgery.

We had a house guest this weekend, which gave me the excuse to get a lot of stuff done around the house. We moved some furniture around to make space for the baby and are loving the new layout. Meanwhile (drum roll) the shingles began to go onto the new house this weekend and the progress is astonishing. We WILL be in our new house by Labor Day Weekend, although I am still hoping to get in before Justin leaves. Speaking of Justin, he will be arriving June 15.

I head to DC next weekend for my last foray from home before the little one arrives. I have a day of beauty scheduled on Saturday with my friend Jen and on Sunday she is throwing me a little shower. I am looking forward to a little ceremony and celebration of the pending birth - making it all seem real.

The weeks keep ticking by and I just can't wait to meet our son. I don't want to wish it here to quickly, though, because I know I should relish these last few weeks of "Life As We Know It."

Somebody advised me to stop and take a good look around before I head to the hospital because nothing will ever look the same again.

I hope you are all doing well.

Much Love,
Reid