The 9th month

I think this blog has turned into "Julie's Pregnancy Blog". Sorry guys, but I can't seem to muster up the energy to think of anything thought worthy.

I'm still having my weekly OB visits. Because of the problems we've been having, Holly's decided to have weekly ultrasounds rather than every other week as originally planned. Things are looking up.

Gabriel's growth has slowed down. Size-wise, he's still two weeks ahead, but that's better than the three weeks ahead that he was. She says if things progress the way they have recently, he'll be approximately 7 1/2 - 8 pounds at birth. Hopefully his head won't be too big.

He's also doing his practice breathing. He wasn't doing it for a while. I ended up having to do a non-stress test to check things out a couple weeks ago. After being strapped to the machine for approximately 30 minutes, he gave in and started breathing.

Oh! I almost forgot. I've dilated 3 centimeters!!! Even though I'm technically not due for another month, I imagine this is good since we are inducing in two weeks.

We've got his room mostly cleaned up. You'd think the room was packed from floor to ceiling because it's taken so long to get it cleaned up, but really it was a decent office. I just didn't want to take stuff out of there just to pile it up in another room to have to clean up later.

I bought the coolest mobile for the crib the other day. It's called the Dreams-in-Sight Mobile. I went to Toys-R-Us looking for one similar to the one we bought for Jude. His is great because the mobile arm is detachable so that when he's too big for it, you can remove it and leave the music box attached to the crib. When we moved him to his toddler bed, we moved the music box with him. He still uses it every night. I didn't want to take it away from him, so we decided to get a new one for Gabriel. This new one does what's Jude's does, except it also projects images of moons and stars on this little umbrella canopy attached to it. It also has a remote control so we can turn it on without having to go in the room.

Here's what American Baby says about this month:

This is a month of great anticipation as nature puts the finishing touches on your unborn child. It is also a "month" that can stretch on for as many as six weeks, because your due date is only an estimate--within two weeks on either side--of when your baby will arrive.

Although your baby's growth slows down as delivery approaches, she has been gaining half an ounce of fat every day. The lanugo is almost gone, and much of the vernix has fallen off, too. It remains primarily in body creases such as the back of the knees and the groin.

Near the end of the month, your baby may assume the position she will take for delivery. Usually this is head down, facing your back. When the head slips down into your basket-shaped pelvis--an event called lightening--you'll notice that you can breathe more easily than you could in the past few months. On the other hand, the baby's new position may make walking and sitting more difficult for you. Even in these close quarters, your baby will keep stretching and squirming, so the sensation of kicks and pushes from her doesn't slacken.

No one really knows what makes labor start. Stretching of the uterus seems to be one trigger. Another is that the level of progesterone, the hormone that supported the pregnancy from the start, declines in the mother's blood, allowing the womb to relinquish its nine-month guest.

At birth the average baby weighs 7 1/2 pounds and measures 15 inches from head to bottom or 20 inches from head to toe. Boys tend to be larger on average than girls. Your baby, though, could weigh from 6 to 9 pounds and measure from 17 to 22 inches.