Our time remaining
shortens so quickly, and our list to accomplish before you arrive is still
daunting. I am trying to be sure to
enjoy the moments I have left in this stage of your life, since it is so
quickly drawing to an end.
This was the last week
for us not to see our midwife. Beginning
this coming week, we will see her every week until you arrive, to make sure you
and I continue growing healthily.
These precious hand-crocheted
stuffed animals arrived this week from your Great Aunt Marianela. I adore them, and think they are a great size
for you to grasp and suck on!
Your Grandmama has been a
sewing fiend this week! She completed
your crib bumpers (which had to be partially re-done since we didn’t measure it
right the first time!), crib skirt, crib quilt, the big bed quilt, big bed
skirt, decorative pillows for the big bed, and an upholstered cover for the
rocking chair pad. Everything is coming
together even more adorable than I imagined.
You came with me to
photograph the birth of another baby this week.
As I watched her mama working hard to bring her into the world, I sat
quietly, gently reminded that this moment is not too far way for you and I. The thought crossed my mind, “That’s right,
there is only one way this is going to end.”
I am pregnant. There is a little
one inside me. There is only one way for
me to no longer be pregnant, for this little one to finally be fed up with
cramped quarters and move outside me.
This mama and papa and baby worked together amazingly well, and I was so
proud to be part of their first glimpse at each other, their first kiss, their
first squeezing together of fingers and toes and cheeks.
One day this week, your
Daddy looked at me and said, “Every time lately I see a baby, I get so
excited. It is getting so close to when
we will meet Beta. I look at the baby
and think it won’t be long until we have one of those!” One night as we cuddled in bed, with your
body inside my belly tucked between us, he said, “Pretty soon Beta will be here
cuddled between us!”
I am both eager for you
to arrive so we can meet you, and eager for you to stay put so you can keep
growing and we can get more things checked off our to-do list! One more week, and you will be able to be
delivered at home!
You are now about 18.5
inches long, and weigh about 5 1/3 pounds.
Your body is growing rounder in diameter with accumulating fat stores,
than it is growing in length.
Inside your body, your
lungs are almost fully developed. Your
kidneys are completely matured, and are capable of processing waste, along with
your liver.
The skin on your face is
smooth instead of wrinkled, giving you the rounded cheeks characteristic of a
newborn. All over your body, your skin
is now completely opaque, having completely lost the translucency of a
premature infant. The creamy white vernix
on your skin continues to thicken, giving your skin the protective barrier it
needs from the amniotic waters.
With your reflexes fully
coordinated, you can turn your head, grasp firmly, and respond to sound, light,
and touch.
Once this week I took off
my belt and accidently swung the buckle against the steel toilet paper
dispenser in my work’s bathroom stall, making a sudden, loud “crack”
sound. You immediately jumped inside
me! I was stunned really, knowing that
you could be startled by the sound just as I was.
Your head is still
located nicely down inside your house.
The last time I remember feeling you feet down was at Christmas. Ever since then, you have stayed wonderfully
head-down, happily waiting for the day when your door to the world begins to
open. When you turn your head back and
forth, I can feel it sliding and pinching on top of my bladder or my cervix. It can get uncomfortable, but I am just happy
to know you are in a good position for birth.
Several times this week,
you kicked hard against my right side, almost like a swimmer pushing off the
edge of the pool. Only your pool is
pretty small. So instead of your body
pushing off and sliding across the water, you pushed off and slammed your torso
into my left side! You did it several
times, almost like an experiment to see if you could repeat the same result
each time. My belly looked so crazy when
you did this; it made me laugh.
You still like to hang
out lower in your house. It is funny to
me that most of the time, at least the top three or four inches of your house
are empty and squishy, because you are curled up in the lower section. I think that must be part of why people seem
to think my belly is so big already!
When you have hiccups,
they feel stronger than before, as your shoulders and ever-widening torso bump
rhythmically against me. Your movements
overall are strong enough that they rarely tickle anymore. Sometimes though, when I’m trying to fall
asleep, if I lay on my right side, your start protesting, kicking against me
and the mattress, and it tickles still.
While I feel you
throughout the day, there are definite hours of stillness where you sleep. At least three times each day, you have an
hour or more of constant, strong movement.
If I am at work, or working on my computer at home, this can get quite
distracting as your movements are so strong and frequent as to draw my
continual attention.
Thirty Five 35 Weeks Pregnant
Thirty Five 35 Weeks Pregnant
As the day your Daddy and
I become parents draws nearer, we pray harder.
That as we journey to be who God created us to be, that we journey to be
the parents He created us to be as well.
When we growing up,
apparently we were relatively well-behaved in public. My mom would frequently be asked by friends
or strangers, “How do you DO it?!” with a mixture of awe and incredulity. When I was older, she used to tell me, “They
don’t really want to know.” They are
looking for an easy way out. There is no
easy way out in life, and there is no easy way out as parents. It is a lot of hard work, sacrifice,
consistency, and most of all, prayer. I
remember her telling me, “How did I do it?
I prayed. All the time. For wisdom in how to do it. And when the Lord spoke to me, I did what He
said.”
That is the kind of mom I
hope to become.
“Come, my children,
listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD.” (Psalm 34:11)
“Only be careful, and
watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have
seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your
children and to their children after them.”
(Deuteronomy 4:9)
I have seen
miracles. I have seen God’s
faithfulness. I have seen tragedy turned
into joy. I have seen fragile, faithful
people stand strong through deluge and torment.
“Impress [God’s law and
words] on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk
along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” (Deuteronomy 6:7)
“Teach [God’s law and
words] to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you
walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” (Deuteronomy 11:19)
“…To serve as a sign
among you. In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones
mean?’ “ (Joshua 4:6)
“The living, the
living—they praise you, as I am doing today; parents tell their children about
your faithfulness.” (Isaiah 38:19)
