Week 32: Munchkin is a 5 lb Bag of Potatoes and BABY SHOWER!!!!

Welcome to Week 32: Munchkin is a 5 lb Bag of Potatoes!

Baby's Length: 18-19 in.

Baby's Weight: 4 lb.

Baby's Size: 5-lb. bag of potatoes

This week has been going much better. I have started doing a prenatal yoga dvd which has helped my sciatica tremendously! I had my doctor's appointment this week which went well. Check out the belly:

J.D. and I went to our new childbirth class and loved the instructor...phew! We both felt like we already learned so much and it was just the 1st class of 4!

On Friday night, J.D. and I had plans to go out in the city with a guy J.D. works with and his fiance (...or so I thought). As we got to Eatonville in the U Street area, we walked back to the bar and Ginny was standing there. She had flown in from Denver to surprise me. We had such a great time. What a wonderful surprise!! Thanks Ginny for coming and thanks Allie and J.D. for conspiring with her to pull of the surprise! I was completely shocked!

Today was Munchkin's Baby Shower!! Allie did such a fabulous job planning it! She was so organized and had great ideas! Mom helped get it all together with cooking and crackerjack buying, etc. Thanks also to Susie for making the delicious blintzes! The theme was Rookie of the Year! When I arrived, there were baseball banners and Oriole player pictures all over the front door. I was greeted by Ginger who was wearing an Orioles t-shirt.

Al and mom had a Rookie of the year shirt for me to change into! Check out how cute it is!

The table was set with peanuts, popcorn, and crackerjacks as well as a baseball pat, a picture of me as a toddler in my Orioles shirt, sports themed plates, and a balloon that said "Rookie of the Year".

We played all sorts of fun games that Allie had come up with including a baby picture game and a dual performance by Allie and I dedicated to Dad...reciting Casey at the Bat just as we had back in the day! Everyone was instructed to wear a baseball hat as well...so check them all out!

And last but not least, thank you to everyone for coming and for all of your generous gifts. Munchkin will be so excited to use them all..(as will J.D. and I)! Thanks again Allie and Mom! I had the best time! All of the details were incredible! You guys are the best! xoxo

How your baby's growing:By now, your baby weighs 3.75 pounds (pick up a large jicama) and is about 16.7 inches long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus. You're gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to your baby. In fact, she'll gain a third to half of her birth weight during the next 7 weeks as she fattens up for survival outside the womb. She now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). Her skin is becoming soft and smooth as she plumps up in preparation for birth.
Photographs of babies in utero at this stage show their skin becoming less translucent and pinker, as layers of fat are deposited under the skin. Her skeleton is rapidly ossifying (turning from cartilage into solid bone), which means that kicks will become visible through your shirt as the trimester progresses. Well-placed kicks under your ribs can take your breath away!
This week, your body may start prepping for delivery day by flexing its muscles — literally. If you feel your uterus bunching or hardening periodically, those are practice contractions, otherwise known as Braxton Hicks. These rehearsals (typically experienced earlier and with more intensity in women who've been pregnant before) feel like a tightening sensation that begins at the top of your uterus then spreads downward, lasting from 15 to 30 seconds (though they can sometimes last two minutes or more). What's up with your baby? She's starting to get ready for her big debut, tipping the scales at almost four pounds and topping out at just about 19 inches. In these last few weeks, it's all about practice, practice, practice as she hones the skills she'll need to survive and thrive outside the womb, from swallowing and breathing to kicking and sucking. And speaking of sucking, your little one has been able to suck her thumb for a while now. Another change this week: As more and more fat accumulates under your baby's skin, she's becoming less transparent and more opaque.

• Your baby is up to 3.75 pounds (1702gm) now and is 16.7 inches (42.4cm) long.
• You might notice she's not moving around as much now. Don't worry! She is fine -- just running short on room. She still has plenty of growing to do though, believe it or not!
• All five senses are working. Your little one is fascinated and practicing testing these out as much as possible!
• Toenails are completely formed even though she may not be quite ready for a French manicure.
• Hair on your infant's head continues to grow in.
  
• Brain scans have shown that babies have periods of dream sleep (REM) starting around the eight month. What do you suppose your son is dreaming about?