2 Mommies and a Baby
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Wednesday, December 13, 2006
31 weeks today!
We are at 31 weeks today!
We’ve been a little lax about checking out the weekly progress calendars online for some time now, but each week mark has more relevance at this point.
1. The rate of physical growth slows down just a bit, but even though he doesn't get much longer, he will gain a lot of weight the rest of the pregnancy.
2. Fat continues accumulating. This layer of fat turns his skin from red to the rosy pink he will have as a newborn.
3. Calcium, phosphorus and iron are being stored and his bones are growing and hardening.
Your baby is 16.2 inches (41.1cm) long and weighs 3.3 pounds (1502gm)
4. His brain enters another period of rapid growth, producing hundreds of billions of new nerve cells! Amazing!
5. He may move to the rhythm of music. Studies with heart rates show that he also prefers some types of music to others -- already!
6. Lungs are the only major organ left to complete development. Remember, that while you may be anxious to meet your little one that these last few weeks can be vital - with each day increasing your baby's ability to breathe on her own.
(courtesy of pregnancy.org)
We think Chubby’s closer to 3 lbs and 6 ounces at this point. And we hope that the steroid shots will help speed up the brain and lung development a little. But he is doing very well!
During the ultrasound appointment on Monday, our doctor spent a ton of time with Lois.
Our little guy now has the hiccups 3-4 times a day. He is more active than ever and the doctor told Lois on Monday that it was a sign of a healthy baby and that he had a “very nice shaped head.”
Not sure what that means.
We’re hoping that the bed rest is preventing the molding of his head into a cone shape. He has been head down for well over a month already.
Oh, and the babycenter.com activity of the week is to pack a bag for the hospital. We should include clothes and a toothbrush and some of the following:
• A photograph or object to focus on during labor
• Snacks to keep your energy up and gum or mints for bad breath
• Your favorite pillow, cozy socks, and slippers
• Books or magazines. Nothing too heavy — you won't be able to concentrate
• A nursing nightie and nursing bra
• A going-home outfit for your baby
• A camera or camcorder, fresh batteries, and film, if necessary
We don’t have a going home outfit for him yet, since we weren’t thinking about having a preemie (we still might not have a preemie) and I definitely have not considered nightgowns or nursing nighties or anything like that.
And a video camera? I know I’m not taping the “event”! Lois would kill me.
She’s going to be one of those “vocal” types.
I have a feeling our bag (and I should pack it very soon) will include these items:
- Jelly Bellys
- Gummy bears
- iPod with Melissa Etheridge playlist
- laptop computer or Gameboy with Snood
- little white socks
- Yahtzee or Phase 10
Any other suggestions? Lois' Christmas presents this year will most likely revolve around stuff to keep her entertained and stuff she needs for the hospital.
11 Comments:
So exciting! I will warn you, when I hit 32 weeks, the heartburn started. I thought I had experienced heartburn before...nope. This was the real deal. I hope Lois escapes this problem since Chubby is so low.
Hospital bag stuff:
Calling cards. You sometimes can't use a cell and hospital rates are nuts!
Gum, chapstick (you won't believe how dry your lips are after labor), lansinoh nursing gel (ahhh, helps relieve the initial burn of nursing), shoes to go home in that aren't too confining (my feet swelled like crazy after birth) and a journal to record stats/info.
I never used the nighty I brought. The nursing nighties in the hospital were great and I got a clean one twice a day. Definitely bring a pillow from home. Loved having mine.
Some things that were suggested by our prenatal class and midwife:
Tennis ball for back massage.
Hats for the baby.
Sanitary napkins because Lois will have a heavy period afterwards for weeks and the hospital only gets you started with one.
We were told to bring olive oil as well. The midwife will use it during delivery to help get the head out, trying to prevent a tear. At least that's what we learned in the class.
We were also told to not use the hospital nipple if we end up having to feed the baby formula (i.e. baby is unable to breastfeed and it's been 12 hours) because the nipples the use cause the milk to flow too easily and that makes it harder to switch the baby back onto the breast. We are bringing 1 Avent bottle just in case.
I'm sure there are other things but those are some of the items I remember from the list. Lois will be able to have clear fluids later on in labour but nothing else. So popsicles, ice chips, water... You will need food for yourself, especially if you are there for hours and hours!
Stacey..I'm glad you mentioned the nipple. We had that problem. It does flow easily. Now, the bottle we found mimicked breast feeding best was the First Years bottle with the newborn tip. It is actually composed of a soft outer nipple and a harder plastic nipple inside...2 pieces. It's large, so it forces them to open their mouths wide like they would need to for a good latch.
If you go with Avent, they leak like the devil if not assembled wet. If you put them together with all pieces wet, they work great. I didn't like the idea of wetting Olivia's bottle with water from a hospital sink though. Blech.
i'm taking your advice on the bottles and nipples. we registered for bottles but since the baby shower was cancelled, that's something I should really go out and get!
What about a dvd player so she can watch Finding Nemo while she's in pain and focus on that. I find that is really helpful with pain.
You should get some sort of recording device to record her yelling at you. I really want to hear that.
lisa, someone else mentioned the leaking too so we'll have to watch for that. We already own all Avent bottles and accessories. The instructor of our prenatal classes recommended Avent simply for mimicing the work it takes to get milk from the breast. She showed us how nothing would come from sucking on the nipple and the baby would have to put her whole mouth around it to suck, just like with breastfeeding. I would never have known that.
She said that you don't have to do a bottle there. You can make the baby drink from a cup (which they can do) or use your finger along with a long cathedar type tube and syringe to feed the formula that way so that it's human contact while feeding. Stuff I would never have thought of.
I love reading your baby blog- I am learning so much!!!! I can't wait for the little guy!
I agree with Lisa that you should bring some calling cards, chapstick, and your pillow. You also want your own slippers and some snacks and juice boxes. I was always starving and thirsty after giving birth.
You don't need to bring sanitary pads. The hospital will give you a big bag of them, not just one -anyway you need the really big ones you can't buy at the store. And don't worry about bringing oil. If a midwife or someone is going to oil your perinium they will have some.
You do want some good books and things to do after the birth. There's not much to do at the hospital and newborns sleep alot.
Don't stress too much about it. It sounds like the hospital is close enough to home for someone to get you anything you find you need later.
Almost there! Now the real fun begins. :)
How fun! I'm so glad Chubby is progressing and doing well. How about a handheld Yahtzee game for the bag?
I think it depends on the hospital. We were told to bring our own sanitary pads. And oil. I guess it's all relative and you should ask your doctor or bring stuff just in case. We received a checklist from both our prenatal instructor and midwife.
Delurking here to say good luck and I'm watching your progress even though I don't know you at all!
Also wanted to chime in with some info about our delivery of our son in March-
If you can take a prenatal class or even just talk to a nurse at the hospital they should be able to tell you what the hospital will provide.
For example, my hospital had olive oil in a wonderful warming crockpot type thingy that my midwife would have used (had I not ended up with an emergency c-section after 4 hours of pushing). They also provided sanitary napkins and these nice mesh undies but they recommended that you bring comfy undies and a few pads for the ride home.
Hospitals are VERY dry and I needed lots of moisturizer for my hands and feet!
When we were having difficulty with breastfeeding (milk wasn't coming in, Harry was getting jaundiced and they basically said if I didn't supplement he would end up needing to be transferred to a hospital with a NICU) they provided me with a Medela supplemental nursing system which was a tube that was attached to the nipple while Harry nursed. This worked okay, but we did also end up using pipettes - also provided by the hospital - because the SNS was difficult to use!
Last thing about bottles - don't go crazy buying a ton of them! We went through 4-5 different types before we found one that Harry would take! I probably spent over $100 on different bottles before he settled on the Playtex Ventair. We tried Avent, Dr. Brown's, Playtex Nurse and then I bought a couple of the cheaper ones - evenflo, gerber before we figured out about the ventairs!
Good luck again and I love reading your blog!
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