36 weeks!!!

Dear Reader,


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

At the end of this week, I 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 I'm in a head-down position. But if I'm not, mommies practitioner may suggest scheduling an "external cephalic version," which is a fancy way of saying he'll try to coax me into a head-down position by manipulating me from the outside of mommies belly.


Alec Grayson

35 weeks!!!

Dear Reader,


I don't have much room to maneuver now that I'm over 18 inches long and tip the scales at 5 1/4 pounds (pick up a honeydew melon). Because it's so snug in mommies womb, I'm not as likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times I kick should remain about the same. My kidneys are fully developed now, and my liver can process some waste products. Most of my basic physical development is now complete — I'll spend the next few weeks just putting on weight.


Alec Grayson

34 weeks!!!!

Dear Reader, 


I now weigh about 4 3/4 pounds (like your average cantaloupe) and am almost 18 inches long. My fat layers — which will help regulate my body temperature once I'm born — are filling me out, making me rounder. My skin is also smoother than ever. My central nervous system is maturing and my lungs are continuing to mature as well. Mommies been a little nervous about preterm labor, but she'll be happy to know that babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine. They may need a short stay in the neonatal nursery and may have a few short-term health issues, but in the long run, they usually do as well as full-term babies.


Mommy had an appointment yesterday and they cleared her for being able to have me naturally which means she doesn't have placenta previa!! My head was in the perfect place and when measured my body was measuring that of a 38w and I weighed 5.6lbs which is measuring to be 36w. Mommies uterus is also measuring big so it really could be any time that I could arrive but mommy wants to keep me in as long as possible. 


Alec Grayson

33 weeks!!!!

Dear Reader,


This week I weigh a little over 4 pounds (heft a pineapple) and have passed the 17-inch mark. I'm rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and my skeleton is hardening. The bones in my skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for me to fit through the birth canal. (The pressure on the head during birth is so intense that many babies are born with a conehead-like appearance.) These bones don't entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as my brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood. Mommies starting to get really anxious and starting to get everything together for my BIG arrival, she's been counting down the days till I 'should' be here!!!



Alec

32 weeks!!!

Dear Reader,


By now, I weigh 3.75 pounds (pick up a large jicama) and am about 16.7 inches long, taking up a lot of space in mommies uterus. She's gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to me. In fact, I'll gain a third to half of my birth weight during the next 7 weeks as I fatten up for survival outside the womb. I now have toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). My skin is becoming soft and smooth as I plump up in preparation for birth.


Alec Grayson

31 weeks!!!

Dear Reader,


This week,  I measure just over 16 inches long and weigh about 3.3 pounds (try carrying four navel oranges) and am heading into a growth spurt. I can turn my head from side to side, and my arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath my skin. I'm probably moving a lot, too, so mommy may have trouble sleeping because my  kicks and somersaults may keep her up. Take comfort: All this moving is a sign that I am active and healthy.


Also mommy has been having mild contractions and went to the hospital night before last and was hooked up to monitors for hours where they said that I looked like I was doing great and her contractions were touch and go but not so bad that it would harm me. Mommy has 9 more weeks left but at this point it really could be anytime that I make my sweet arrival!


Alec Grayson Brogdon

30 weeks yesterday!

Sorry that this didn't get posted yesterday, my mouse decided to randomly die yesterday and so I was left without  ALL day long!!!


Dear Reader


I'm about 15.7 inches long now, and I weigh almost 3 pounds (like a head of cabbage). A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds me, but that volume will decrease as I get bigger and takes up more room in mommies uterus. My eyesight continues to develop, though it's not very keen; even after I'm born, I'll keep my eyes closed for a good part of the day. When I do open them, I'll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision — which means I'll only make out objects a few inches from my face. (Normal adult vision is 20/20.)


Alec