Baby's the size of a wintermelon!Baby keeps growing, despite being so crowded in there. She probably weighs around 6.2 to 9.2 pounds and measures about 18.9 to 20.9 inches. She's probably able to flex his limbs now. Her brain is still rapidly developing -- she's getting smarter by the week! Her nails may extend past his fingertips.

Mommy at 39 Weeks:

December 30, 2011 marked 39 weeks.

38 Weeks!

Baby's the size of a pumpkin!
Baby is about 18.9 to 20.9 inches long and weighs about 6.2 to 9.2 pounds. Her head is now about the same circumference as her abdomen. She may have about an inch or so of hair already. She's slowly shedding that white goo on her skin (called vernix caseosa) but you might see some of it at birth.

Mommy at 38 Weeks:
December 23, 2011 marked 38 weeks.

Ashlynn's First Load of Laundry!

Ashlynn has lots and lots of clothes already! Of course, I wanted to wash them before she makes her grand debut. Since I have grand plans for her scrapbook, I thought it would be great to document her first load of laundry with lots of pictures. I thought it was so fun...remind me of this after my hundredth load of all her little clothes and blankets!!

Preparing for Baby!

We had a lot of help getting ready for baby Ashlynn. Sheri and I (Sheri did most of the work) painted the bathroom in the same green as the nursery. Grandpa Tim & Grandma Terri helped Michael put together the crib.

Pregnancy Photo Shoot

I went back and forth about whether to have a photographer. We ended up asking Sheri to take some photos of Michael and me. They turned out great! Here are a few:

37 Weeks!

Baby's now the size of a watermelon!



Yay! Baby has reached full term. She likely measures around 18.9 to 20.9 inches and weighs about 6.2 to 9.2 pounds. She's gaining about 1/2 ounce each day. She is getting her first sticky poop (called meconium) ready. She's also brushing up on skills for the outside world: blinking, sucking, inhaling, exhaling, and gripping (it's getting strong!).

At my 37 week appointment, the doctor said we could have the baby in a few days or a few weeks...quite the range for this obsessive planner! :) I was beginning to feel like I was not going to make it to Christmas without having the baby. I was so swollen in my feet and my blood pressure was slowly increasing, but not to the point where the doctor was concerned, so we were good for the time being...
Mommy at 37 Weeks:



December 16, 2011 marked 37 weeks.

My GIANT feet!!! Even though my feet look HORRIBLE (and are in dire need of a pedicure), I want to document just how crazy swollen my feet were by this point.

36 Weeks!

Baby's the size of a coconut!

Baby's skin is getting smooth and soft, her gums are rigid, her liver and kidneys are in working order, and her circulation and immune system are basically good to go. Her lungs are the only organs that still need to fully mature, but every day she gets a little closer to breathing on her own. She's still in the 17.2- to 18.7-inch and 4.2- to 5.8-pound range and continues to beef up.

I had an ultrasound at my 36 week appointment because the doctor couldn't tell if Ashlynn was head down or breech. Thank goodness she was head down. During the ultrasound, the technician was amazed by the length of her big toe! We got a great view of it. She also estimated she weighed 6 1/2 pounds already, so at a weight gain of half a pound per week, they were estimating she would weigh 8 1/2 pounds at birth! Much bigger than I was anticipating!

Mommy at 36 Weeks:

December 9, 2011 marked 36 weeks.

35 Weeks!

Baby's now the size of a butternut squash!
From now on, baby's growth is mostly in the plumping up department -- though she won't get much longer, she'll put on a pound or more of baby fat before birth. (She's about 15 percent right now and will be about 30 percent by full-term.) Her hearing is totally developed (tip: baby responds best to higher pitches).

Mommy at 35 Weeks:

December 2, 2011 marked 35 weeks.