Week 36: Crenshaw Melon

This is like the jicama, what the heck is a crenshaw melon (and how the heck did it get in my belly)? hehe!

As of this weekend Abby Lu is full term. It is such a relief and blessing to know how close we are. I know the things you worry about as parents change constantly, but it feels good to know that we have almost made it full term. So many women don't get that relief. I still pray for them and hope to share in their full term celebration one day.

We spent a good part of the weekend preparing in case full term is all Abby Lu was waiting to hear before making her big arrival. We washed all of her newborn and 0-3 month clothes, her towels and washcloths, blankets and burp cloths. Dear Lord, please don't make her a boy. We'd be in big trouble!

We also pulled out our suitcase and began packing for the hospital. We had started a list when watching birthing videos to try and eliminate forgetting something important. Now, the suitcase is open and we are adding items. When I first saw it in our bedroom I asked Marcus if we had a tripped planned and was really confused since I can't travel. He reminded me of the trip we are taking soon, to the hospital!



from Baby Center:
Your baby is still packing on the pounds — at the rate of about an ounce a day. She now weighs almost 6 pounds (like a crenshaw melon) and is more than 18 1/2 inches long. She's shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered her body as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered and protected her skin during her nine-month amniotic bath. Your baby swallows both of these substances, along with other secretions, resulting in a blackish mixture, called meconium, will form the contents of her first bowel movement.At the end of this week, your baby 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 she's in a head-down position. But if she isn't, your practitioner may suggest scheduling an "external cephalic version," which is a fancy way of saying she'll try to coax your baby into a head-down position by manipulating her from the outside of your belly.