I just got back from a trip to NM where mom got to see me pregnant for the first time, I got some more maternity clothes (the last batch!), and had a baby shower. I had a fun time, but got pretty tired and sick so it’s nice to be home. I can see why they don’t usually like pregnant women to travel.

We also met with an OB-GYN at the hospital; it’s required to meet at least one before I go into labor in case I need one. I will only see her again if I need a C-section, so hopefully I won’t see her again! I missed seeing Leslie, my midwife. She spends so long with me and I get so much information that seeing the doctor was like being neglected! Fortunately, I’m on the two week cycle now so I see her again in two weeks. I think at 35 weeks I start going every week, which seems insane to me. The baby still seems a long way off. I think the due date is much closer than I think: only two calendar months and nine weeks away!

Here’s a pic of my belly in a new shirt:

Mom likes the belly…

Click on the picture below and you’ll link to a slideshow with all the baby gifts.  I particularly like the outfit with pink pants from Baby Gap, but there is a ton of cute stuff.

A tasty tidbit of information, by now our baby is urinating approximately several cups of urine a day into the amniotic fluid. Deliciously, she is also swallowing amniotic fluid, which is completely replaced several times a day. Excess fluid in the amniotic sac (known as polyhydramnios) may mean that the baby isn’t swallowing normally or that there is a gastrointestinal obstruction. Inadequate fluid in the amniotic sac (oligohydramnios) may mean that the baby isn’t urinating properly and could indicate a problem with the kidneys or urinary tract. But so far, so good!

Now weighing about 3 pounds (1,400 grams) and measuring about 10.8 inches (27 cm) from crown to rump, our baby continues to gain weight and layers of fat. This fat makes the baby look less wrinkly and will help provide warmth after birth. Not to mention giving her pinchable cheeks.

In preparation for respiration after birth, the baby will mimic breathing movements by repeatedly moving the diaphragm. She baby can even get the hiccups, which Meg may feel as rhythmic twitches in her uterus.

75 days left… things are getting pretty real now. We’re down to the “every other week” stage of meeting with our midwife, we’re taking weekly birthing classes, and we’re reading books like crazy. Oh yeah, and I think you could probably sit and watch Meg’s belly grow by the minute. It’s amazing how much she’s popping these days!

Really, though, everything is going great. We’re super happy with our midwife situation, and we’re in a really small birthing class that seems like it’s going to be very enjoyable. There’s only two other couples in the class, so we’re able to move through material pretty quickly.

On a side note, it is becoming increasingly difficult not to say the baby’s name in the company of friends and family. Meg and I refer to her by name all the time: “_______, what are you doing in there?” “How was ________ today? Did she move around a lot?” I’ve nearly slipped a number of times with my family, and I did slip once with an old friend of Meg’s who came to visit. This secret-keeping stuff is hard!

The baby continues to be active, and those first few flutters of movement have given way to hard jabs and punches. Meg has, of course, been able to feel the baby for quite some time now, and I have as well, but I actually saw Meg’s belly move and bulge for the first time this week. It was crazy!

The baby is generally pretty calm, but every night between 8:30 and 10:30 or so she tends to get a little wild. I never have to wait long to feel her do something totally unexpected. The stragest times are when you can feel her move a single body part all the way across the surface of Meg’s stomach.

Silver steel piercing
My ever constant friend
Now you are missing

Empty belly hole
Just above my flat navel
Goodbye to my friend

Oh, belly ring you stayed with me
Faithfully through five long years.
We met in Venezuela at the urging of a friend.
There, you became my closest companion
(though I had to adjust to having you there!)
and I would have lost you, but for some
Well-timed antibiotics.

But we stayed together.
Through my return to the US,
College graduation,
My first teaching job,
The move to Philadelphia,
And now to Richmond.

You made me feel like I had a secret,
A good, Christian girl with *gasp*
A piercing!

But now, you’re gone.
I couldn’t hold on to you anymore
As my skin stretched and my belly grew.
I hope someday we will be reunited.

Our baby now weighs about 2 pounds, 2 ounces (1,000 grams) and measures about 10 inches (25 cm) from crown to rump. (There’s that “crown to rump” thing again…) At Meg’s next prenatal appointment, her midwife might tell her whether the baby is headfirst or feet- or bottom-first (called breech position) in the womb. Babies who are in the breech position may need to be delivered by cesarean section. But baby girl still has 2 months to change position, though, so it’s no big deal if she’s in the breech position right now. Most babies will switch positions on their own.

The folds and grooves of the baby’s brain continue to develop and expand. Groovy. In addition, she continues to add layers of fat and has continued hair growth.

Well, Meg’s got a couple of baby showers coming up, so we went to Target today and completed a baby gift registry. It was super fun, and there was lots of Classic Pooh involved. There’s going to be one shower in Albuquerque, and one here in Chesterfield. Anyway, if you want to take a peek at what we’ve registered for, or if you’d like to pick something out for baby girl Lyman, you can check out the registry by clicking → here.