We're a bit over half way through Week 33 and Antoinette's Mother Charlotte, co-starring in this week's Belly Pic with her daughter, is in town until Tuesday. Little Billy will be Charlotte's first ever grandchild. With a little luck, we'll get a couple of good kicks for Grandma before she heads back to snow covered Chicago. She's visiting with her friend Rosalie and kicking off a steady flow of visitors that will culminate in our trip back to Chicago with the little guy in June. We are heading back for my longtime friend Stacy's wedding, Billy's Baby Shower (details are still in the works), and my nephew Ricky's birthday party, all rolled into one neat little package. Or at least, that's the plan. The reality is likely to be much more confused and rushed, and the little guy's Grandparents, from both sides, are likely to get a good dose of memory regarding what late night feedings (or late night screamings, depending on how deeply you were sleeping when the little guy goes off) were all about. Either way, it will be fun to get back to Chicago to see everyone for all of these functions. And it will be warm, too. We try not to go outside if the temperature is under 50 degrees. It usually warms up in a few hours, so why bother? A Chicago winter after two years away would probably be the end of us.
Moving on to Billy, his lung development is nearing completion. Little boys are always just a bit behind little girls in lung development, but even for a little boy, his lungs should be just about ready to rock by the end of next week. He's still likely be small at under 5 lbs, but he'd be nearly the correct length, meaning he would basically just look a little thin and need lots of warm blankets. Room temperature would likely still be a bit too cold for him. Ironically, he can now tell the difference between night and day, even in the womb, but he seems to magically forget that difference after he's born when he's hollering for a late night snack. His pupil dilation is now a fully functional capability of his eyes allowing for proper regulation of the amount of light entering the eye.
His skull is soft and the plates that make up this crucial protective covering of the head are not fused together. This is crucial to natural birth as the flexibility in the skull allows his head to literally smush itself to a proper size for birth. Sometimes you'll notice an interesting shape to your child's head during birth. It tends to straighten itself out after a few days, but it can be odd when you look at your child for the first time. Billy should pack on about a half pound a week from here on out and from a weight standpoint, he weighs about as much as a full size duck.
As for Antoinette, she just had her doctor visit on Wednesday and it went very well. She saw a new doctor at the same practice, but went in with plenty of questions. First of all, the baby is completely healthy with no signs of any funny business going on. Her belly is right on track, measuring 33 inches in Week 33. Her body weight has increased a bit, but the doctor said that is normal for some women who are slow putting it on in the beginning and that she's still on the low end of the average weight gain, at this point. She also told us that the scheduled Week 33 Ultrasound will be pushed back until about Week 36 or Week 37, at which point they will better be able to assess size and proper positioning for birth, since Antoinette will be about full term. Antoinette is due back in two weeks. Two weeks after that, she'll have her final visit before accelerating her visits to weekly once she's technically full term (Week 37).
From a symptom standpoint, her back pain is here and there. It really is the most pressing issue right now and can often result in little to no sleep if it acts up. Perhaps its the bodies way of preparing us for little to no sleep once he's actually welcomed into the world. She's still a bit sleepy, but really, she seems rather cheerful on the whole. She continues to enjoy the experience and really seems to love being pregnant.
Finally, early next week, we'll be preparing "The Bag", which is the compilation of all of the necessities for a labor and delivery. We'll probably forget something, but oh well. They have a gift shop with a 2000% mark up, I guess. Nothing like dropping $24 on a deodorant.
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