Week 36: Munchkin is a Beach Ball...plus Cherry Blossom Pics!

Welcome to Week 36: Munchkin is a Beach Ball!!

Baby's Length: 18.75-20.75 in.

Baby's Weight: 6 lbs.

This week has been pretty normal. Munchkie continues to think it's fun to do jumping jacks on my bladder, so I am constantly visiting the bathroom. He also thinks its very fun to kick me in the ribs, and although it is really cool to feel his foot poking out on my left side, I'm ready to feel his foot in real life. For the last several weeks (since I've mentioned it in my posts), my sciatica has been gone (keep your fingers crossed that it stays gone. I'm pretty sure that once he turned head down, he moved off of my sciatic nerve. I am still having quite a bit of aching at the top of my belly where all of my organs are squished. There's just not enough room in there for them.

Check out the belly this week:

This weekend, J.D. and I have big plans to pack my hospital bag and install the car seat in the car. On a more fun note, we went to the Kennedy Center last night to see a show that my parents gave us as a present for Chanukah. We went out to dinner at Ceiba...great food, but we were a little rushed trying to get to the theater on time. Our seats were incredible and although the plot wasn't great, the acting was fabulous. Thanks for the special present Mom and Dad.

Today, we braved the crowds and went to see the Cherry Blossoms. Lots of walking, people watching, picnicking and relaxing on a blanket. We had a great time spending a great weekend together in this gorgeous weather!

Happy birthday to Allie (April 2)!! She's in Vegas this weekend! Hope you have a GREAT time!!!! Love you!
What's happening with the baby:

Your baby is still packing on the pounds — at the rate of about an ounce a day. She now weighs almost 6 pounds (like a crenshaw melon) and is more than 18 1/2 inches long. She's shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered her body as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered and protected her skin during her nine-month amniotic bath. Your baby swallows both of these substances, along with other secretions, resulting in a blackish mixture, called meconium, will form the contents of her first bowel movement.

At the end of this week, your baby will be considered full-term. (Full-term is 37 to 42 weeks; babies born before 37 weeks are pre-term and those born after 42 are post-term.) Most likely she's in a head-down position. But if she isn't, your practitioner may suggest scheduling an "external cephalic version," which is a fancy way of saying she'll try to coax your baby into a head-down position by manipulating her from the outside of your belly.

• Your baby is almost ready and most likely, so are you! The only organ still to mature is the lungs. While certainly you are both growing anxious to meet, remember that each day (up to 42 weeks), that your little one stays within your womb will multiply his chances to breathe on his own.
• If he hasn't already, this week your baby may drop into the birth canal. While breathing for mom becomes easier, walking may be the exact opposite! If he's not your first baby, this "lightening" may not occur until right before labor.
• Fat is dimpling your baby's elbows and knees, and forming creases in the neck and wrists.
• His skin is growing smooth and, shall we say it, "baby" soft.
• His gums are very rigid. It won't be many months before you'll see his teeth.
• She has a fully developed pair of kidneys and her liver has begun processing some waste products.
• Your child's average size is now 18.66 inches (47.4cm) and 5.78 pounds (2622 g). Between now and birth she will gain about an ounce a day!

What's happening with me:
Now that your baby is taking up so much room, you may have trouble eating a normal-size meal. 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 into your pelvis. This process — called lightening — often happens a few weeks before labor if this is your first baby. (If you've given birth before, it probably won't happen before labor starts.) If your baby drops, you may also feel increased pressure in your lower abdomen, which may make walking increasingly uncomfortable, and you'll probably find that you have to pee even more frequently.