34 weeks - only 41 days to go!!

This week baby is the size of a medium pumpkin...

Here's what's happening with Judah this week...

• Your baby now is approximately 18 inches long and weighs about 5.25 pounds.


• Baby is now 46cm crown to heel and the weight is 2400 grams.


• Your child has now an excellent chance of survival outside the womb.


• Fat accumulations plumps up the arms and legs this week.


• Eyes opened when awake and closed when sleeping.


• The fingernails are now completely formed.

Even babies born earlier than this could survive outside the womb with hospital support although the risk of complications would be high. Your baby may have already turned to a head down position in preparation for birth. The skull bones are still pretty flexible and not completely joined to help to ease exit out of the narrow birth canal. Fat accumulations plumps up the arms and legs this week. The baby's skin is also becoming less wrinkled. Braxton Hicks contractions may be getting more numerous and stronger. Thanks to antibodies crossing the placenta the baby is developing immunities to mild infections.

Your baby kind of looks like he's coated in a layer of cream cheese these days. The thick, white substance that protects his skin from pruning in the amniotic fluid is called vernix. When he's born you'll probably see some vernix lingering in her "hard-to-reach" places like under his arms, behind his knees, and behind his ears. Other news from the womb this week:

The soft fur, lanugo, that covered your baby's body for much of his stay in the womb is now almost completely gone. Your baby begins to develop his own immune system, instead of relying solely on antibodies received through the placenta. This will come in handy when some grubby relative manhandles the baby without washing his hands first.

His fat layers — which will help regulate his body temperature once he's born — are filling him out, making him rounder. His skin is also smoother than ever. His central nervous system is maturing and his lungs are continuing to mature as well. If you've been nervous about preterm labor, you'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.


Here's me at 34 weeks...

Well, aside from my feet hurting almost constantly, I feel AWESOME!! I really do. I am so enoying being pregnant and still have so much fun feeling and watching my belly move as Judah adjusts and stretches and kicks. He must be seriously hurting for room in there! :-)

I'm pretty sure the feet are hurting because they have never had to carry this much weight before. They just aren't used to it! I am trying to get up off of them when I can, so don't worry.

Well, we are almost done with the nursery. Probably just another couple days and it will be completely ready! I can't believe it! Nathan and I just sat in there last night for a long time soaking it all in. We absolutely LOVE how it is turning out! I am going to make you wait a few days longer for pictures though. I want it completely done before I send those out. Sorry! :-)

The most exciting addition to the room has been the two new pieces of furniture...well not new but re-finished to look better than new! Nathan has done such a phenomenal job that I keep walking in there to just stare at them and run my hand over them! They are a gorgeous, rich Cherry color with a smooth, glossy finish, and they perfectly match the crib that we bought used through Craigslist.

Okay...I'll give you a little teaser and show you some pictures of the final stages before they were done. All we have left to do is put handles on a few more of the drawers. (We ran out of time last night, so we'll finish that in a day or two.)

Nathan took off the old '70's style foot plates on both pieces and cut and designed a new one that definitely made the pieces look updated.

Once all the drawers have handles and are in, I will show you before and after pictures so you can really see the transformation! It really is truly amazing!