Week 36

How your baby's growing: Your baby is still putting on the pounds — about an ounce a day. He now weighs almost 6 pounds and is a little less than 19 inches long. He's shedding most of the downy hair that covered his body as well as the vernix caseosa, the creamy substance that covered and protected his skin during its submersion in amniotic fluid. At the end of this week, your baby will be considered full-term. (Babies between 37 and 42 weeks are considered full-term; a baby born before 37 weeks is pre-term and after 42 is post-term.) Most likely he's in a head-down position by now, which is optimal for a smooth delivery.

How your life's changing: While your baby continues to grow and crowd your internal organs, you may find that you're not as hungry as you were a few weeks ago. Smaller, more frequent meals are often easier to handle at this point. On the other hand, you may have less heartburn and have an easier time breathing when your baby starts to drop down lower in your pelvis. Some women say, once the baby drops, that it feels as though they're carrying a bowling ball between their legs, or as if the baby is going to fall out. You might also notice that your Braxton Hicks contractions are a little more frequent now.

As I reach the end of this pregnancy, I think everyone else is more uncomfortable looking at me than I am at myself. People keep saying "aren't you gone yet,' or "didn't expect to see you here." I am hoping to go on a final shop with Scott this weekend to pick up the final essentials we need before the little one arrives, and then I will feel more ready. I have to visit the doctor weekly now for checkups. Otherwise, all is well. I'm sending some photos from the shower.