The wrinkly, tiny fetus we saw on earlier ultrasounds has given way to an almost plump baby. There is fat on our baby’s cheeks, and powerful sucking muscles also contribute to her full face. She now weighs a little under 6 pounds (2,721 grams).

The bones that make up our baby’s skull can move relative to one another and overlap each other while the baby’s head is inside Meg’s pelvis. This phenomenon is called molding, and it helps the baby pass through the birth canal. Even though she may arrive with a pointy or misshapen head, it will be back to a rounded shape after a few hours or days.

November 28th… just one month left. Pretty incredible! To be honest, I can’t believe we’ve made it this far without giving away her name to everyone. I made one slip a few months ago, but thankfully it was an isolated incident.

Anyway, Meg has gotten to the point where she’s playing psychological games with herself to keep her mind off of how much time is left. It’s funny, during the early months, the baby seemed light years away, during the past few months, it has seemed like her arrival was right on top of us, but now, I have the sense that this last month is going to go by a little more slowly.

Now that we’re just a month away from baby girl Lyman’s arrival, we finally have a crib set up for her! Our friends Josh & Beth have put us to shame, though. Their baby isn’t due until mid-January, and they’ve had their whole nursery set up for weeks! Oh well… we’re getting it all done. No bedding just yet, though… we’re still waiting for that to arrive from The Land of Nod. Once that arrives, we’re pretty much all set. Our friends Mike & Jen are bringing us a co-sleeper and a car seat when they come to visit in a couple weeks, and then we’ll really be all set.

In other news, can you believe how big Meg’s belly is getting? Watching it grow is almost like watching an action movie. And feeling her belly during one of baby girls workout sessions is like being in an action movie! Meg’s definitely at the point of feeling very pregnant all the time, though, so we’re looking forward to baby girl’s arrival very much.

Lastly, take notice of the small white blanket hanging over the crib’s edge. My aunt Jan sent that in the mail today, though it was actually crocheted by my grandma, who died several years ago. Grandma made blankets for all the new babies in the family, and when she ran out of grandkids, she started crocheting blankets for her great-grandchildren of the future. So even though baby girl Lyman won’t ever get to meet her great-grandma, or have her sing “Bye, Oh Baby,” she’ll still get to be swaddled up in her love just the same.

So, a lot of people are giving us grief about not telling the name. One group of people who beg me to tell them the name are my students! The beg me, telling me they won’t tell anyone, as if that makes a difference. Some start guessing, which is totally ridiculous. Some ask for the first letter, which I considered, but eventually said no (not even our family know even the first letter). The most creative question was, “What were the other names you considered?” In my opinion, an excellent questions, because it gives you an idea of the type of name the parents would pick. But no luck, our lips are sealed (for the most part, we have slipped) and we won’t tell you.

Well, we finally bought bedding for the crib. After an agonizing search that included Ikea, Babies R Us, Pottery Barn Kids, and various websites, we found something we loved online at Crate and Barrel.

We liked a few different sets at the previous retailers, but nothing that we could agree on. Finally, concensus on what we got. There actually is green in there, so technically, it matches the rocker.  As my mother-in-law stated, though, it’s not very practical (if our next child is a boy), but cute and what we wanted.

Our baby already weighs about 5 pounds, 5 ounces (2,400 grams), but this week begins her most rapid period of weight gain — about 8 to 12 ounces (226 to 340 grams) each week! Fat is being deposited all over the baby’s body, especially around the shoulders.

Because of this increasing size, our baby is now cramped and restricted inside the uterus — so fetal movements may decrease, but they may be stronger and more forceful. If she is in a headfirst position (she is), her head will rest on Meg’s pubic bone in preparation for labor.

Well, we thought that after this week’s meeting with Leslie, our midwife, we’d be on the once-a-week schedule. But, Leslie being as laid back as she is, we’re actually going to skip one more week, and begin the once-a-week routine in December.

While we were excited to start our weekly appointments because it means that birth day is drawing near, it’s actually good that we’re going to put them off. Meg tends to get really excited for upcoming events like Christmas, birthdays, vacations, etc. She needs precious little encouragement to be excited about our baby girl’s impending arrival. I think she’ll be a little less worked up this way.

While we are not going to assemble the crib yet, Brian is currently assembling my new dresser since my old dresser will go to the baby.  I’m totally excited because I have needed a bigger dresser ever since we bought this one and because we can put the baby’s stuff away!  Finally!

The baby clothes are currently spread over 2/3 of the upstairs.  Brian’s mom came upstairs to get the sheets off the guest bed, and after seeing baby clothes everywhere, went back downstairs and told me she needed the sheets by Wednesday.  Fortunately, she was very gracious about the whole affair, and the bed should be unearthed tonight after Brian finishes assembling my new dresser. It will be remarkably exciting to have a dresser that actually fits all of my clothes, unlike the one I’ve been living with for the past four years. It should suit baby girl Lyman’s tiny clothes much better.

Unfortunately, our rocker is not coming for about three weeks.  That makes me very sad, because I’m so excited about it.  Soon enough though!  Brian took me out the the store where his parents ordered it from so that I could see it and sit in it, and it’s wonderful.

We’ll probably buy some baby bedding this weekend as well, which is totally exciting.  Brian’s decided he’s too good for regular Target or Babies ‘R’ Us bedding, and we absolutely MUST go to Potterybarn Kids.  Who am I to argue?

Wow, I can’t believe there’s only 40 days left. I once went on a 40-day fast in college, and that seemed reeeaallly long at the time. Somehow I think these 40 days will go by much more quickly. I am feeling more prepared though. We finally have a crib, changing table, and dresser for the baby girl, I just have to assemble them!

Meg and I are spending the weekend taking care of three of our nephews (this is our youngest nephew, Joshua), which is fun. They’re all really great kids, but it does make me glad that our own kids will come one at a time!

Meg’s calcium intake is extremely important during pregnancy because the baby will draw calcium from the mother to make and harden bone. If a pregnant woman doesn’t get enough calcium during pregnancy, it can affect her own bones because the developing fetus will take minerals from the mother’s skeletal structure as needed.

The vernix coating on the baby’s skin is becoming thicker, whereas lanugo hair is almost completely gone.

By now most babies will be in position for delivery. Right now, baby girl Lyman is head-down, but still facing the wrong way (her back is towards Meg’s spine). Babies born at 34 weeks usually have fairly well-developed lungs, and their average size of 5 pounds (2,250 grams) and 12.6 inches (32 cm) from crown to rump allows them to survive outside the womb without extensive medical intervention.