Week 37

Now Baby weighs almost 6.5 pounds and his total length is about 21 inches long. But he hasn't stopped growing yet; he'll continue to develop about a half-ounce of fat a day. Still, overall growth does slow from here on out. That's fortunate, since there is very little available space left in the womb as it is.
Here are a few final developments taking place in week 37:
* Baby's immune system continues to strengthen. His immune system will continue to get stronger after birth, and will not be completely functional until early adulthood.
* Baby can now grasp with his fingers as dexterity improves.

Just 28 days to my due date! I have really mixed emotions lately. I'm SO excited to meet this baby and to start figuring out life as a family of four and what it's like to have a daughter and a son! And, I feel SO unprepared to be a mother of two. There are days when I feel a little panicky and wonder what I'm getting myself into?!?! And at the same time I know that I have a supportive husband who is a great daddy, supportive parents (they might be the best grandparents EVER) who are just an hour away, and an awesome God who will never leave me and hears me when I cry out to Him! So I know I'm not on my own. I just feel the weight of the responsibility of raising two kids and I feel so inadequate.

Practically speaking, I think we're pretty much ready for his arrival. I bought a package of newborn diapers and I'd forgotten how small they are!!! So cute! I had a phone conversation with the hospital to talk about my birth plan. I asked some questions about circumcision so I'm feeling a little more comfortable about what that process is going to be like for my poor baby boy. The gal I talked to asked a lot of questions about my labor and delivery with Lily and was very surprised to hear that she was born just 4 hours and 27 minutes after the doctor broke my water and started me on pitocin. She strongly encouraged me NOT to try to labor very long at home and to come to the hospital relatively quickly. :) I'd love to think that this labor could go even faster - I just hope I have time to get the epidural!!! :)

Our infant carrier and base are in storage at Andy's parents' house so we need to get over there and find that. And I'll probably start putting my hospital bag together over the next couple weeks. It's hard to believe we've got about a month to go!!!

We got home yesterday from our weekend excursion to Wisconsin, Illinois and Iowa. I'll tell you more about that and post some pictures from the trip soon. It was definitely an adventure!