39 Weeks & Cradle Pics...

Now that we've hit 39 weeks, I probably won't be sending any more baby pics. Instead, I'll find something else to get out to you. This week, its the cradle, fully assembled, but not 100% ready to go just yet. Antoinette is exactly 14 days to her due date.

If Billy is going to be 22 inches long, as the Doctor predicted, he'd be about 21.5 inches today. He will have likely crossed over the 7 lb. mark, and should be steaming toward that 7.5 lb. mark the doctor projected. For Antoinette, belly growth should have stopped, although several people have been telling her that her belly looks like its still expanding. The average weight gain for a woman at this stage of pregnancy is 30 lbs. Billy's lungs have also finally matured. They are the last major organ system to reach the point of full maturity.

For pregnant women, generally speaking, this is the most uncomfortable time. The final 2-3 weeks where she has reached her peak belly growth make typical day to day activities a bit more difficult. For most women, the cervix has begun to "ripen" in preparation for delivery and their bladder is under and enormous amount of pressure as the baby, who has not stopped growing, continues to put more and more pressure on it each day. For Antoinette, as of her last doctor visit, there were no signs that she had begun to move toward delivery. Her next visit is coming up on Thursday. We expect an internal that should give us a better gauge as to where we stand.

Billy should have shed his lanugo, or the fine hairs that covered his body, except on his shoulders and the creases of his body. His tiny toenails have reached the edges of the nail beds. His lifeline, the umbilical cord, has reached its maximum thickness (about 1/2 inch) and may have wrapped itself around some part of his body. This is the case for about half of all babies, with about 1/3 having it wrapped around their neck. Once the cord is cut, it marks a symbolic moment in the child's life where for the first time, he has become a fully self sustaining person.