36 Weeks

Your baby now weighs about 6 pounds and measures about 20.7 inches long. You’ve almost made it to the end now. Keep this in mind as you continue to grow increasingly uncomfortable. Your health practitioner will probably want to see you weekly now.

Fat is deposited in the baby’s cheeks this week and the muscles that help your baby suck are helping to fill out their little faces. Your baby’s bones are very strong, but the skull is going to stay soft, so that it can pass through the birth canal.

Baby’s immune system is continuing to develop and now they are receiving your antibodies. Liver and kidneys are now fully developed and functional, allowing baby to process some of their own waste. Meconium is accumulating rapidly now. This first bowel movement is normally voided soon after birth, but some babies will void while they are still waiting to be born.

Your baby is now a plump, round little person. All the extra weight and fat accumulation over the last few weeks has filled out their little bodies.

If you haven’t already had a GBS, or Group B Strep test, now is the time to ask your doctor or midwife about this test.

Hm, "increasingly uncomfortable". I'm actually not uncomfortable at all. I am finding I need to rock a bit to get up from the sofa, out of bed, or out of the car these days, but it's not because I'm uncomfortable. My hand swelling comes and goes depending on how hot I am. Comes down nicely after swimming in the pool or a cool shower.

I'm feeling quite confident that baby is head down now. I am getting some kicks in the ribs and that is comforting because I never felt movement up that high before it seems the baby turned.

We're getting close to the end of our preparations. I have a couple more things to wash, we'll have the support team meeting this weekend hopefully, and I need to get new tubes for the stroller tires. Now that our streets have been hardtopped and the empty lots have mostly been cleaned up, hopefully I won't have the same flat tire problem I did way back when (it was caused by tiny thorns).

Either I'm getting used to the heat or it's slightly cooler but I don't feel the heat nearly as much lately. I am sure it helps that I keep my shower water temperature cool, and avoid the blow dryer. My normal routine would be to blow dry and then straighten my hair and I would end up wiped out for hours. We have been swimming lots and I know that also helps keep my body temperature in check.