38 wks

the last 37 wks went by fast, but now that i am full term - i have a feeling things will slow down with my anxieties picking up. we are both on edge with excitement and nerves :) plus i'm getting slower and if i drop something now - it stays down there. i knocked something over the other day in the store. it took me a good few extra minutes to pick it up. a friend said - it's bad when you have to use your toes...my response was - it's bad when you can't see your toes to use them. :) ha ha. at least i have a sense of humor and can laugh at my big pregnant self. i am definitely gearing myself up for lots of walks after the baby is born.

today we went to the doc. things are good - she is healthy and the doc was thinking she is probably 6 lbs now. still down in place and she'll make her appearance when she is ready. so they won't make me go longer than 3 wks - so by end of the month we'll be parents. yay.

How your baby's growing:

Your baby has really plumped up. She weighs between 6 and 7 1/2 pounds (boys tend to be slightly heavier than girls), and she's nearly 20 inches long. She has a firm grasp, which you'll soon be able to test when you hold her hand for the first time! Her organs have matured and are ready for life outside the womb.

Wondering what color your baby's eyes will be? (i'm thinking her eyes will be brown since we both have brown eyes, but we could be wrong) You may not be able to tell right away. If she's born with brown eyes, they'll likely stay brown. If she's born with steel gray or dark blue eyes, they may stay gray or blue or turn green, hazel, or brown by the time she's 9 months old. That's because a child's irises (the colored part of the eye) may gain more pigment in the months after she's born, but they won't get "lighter" or more blue. (Green, hazel, and brown eyes have more pigment than gray or blue eyes.)

During the next two weeks your baby will gain weight, as fat is stored to help maintain body temperature and glucose levels. Your baby might still have vernix (that creamy coating that protects the skin), but it is mostly confined to skin creases and folds and the back and neck. Your baby has a firm grasp reflex now. If a light is shown on your belly, your baby will now turn towards it. This is called the "orienting response."

Your baby may weigh six to six and one half pounds at this point or he or she may weigh eight pounds or more! At around 18 1/2 inches long, he or she would look very well developed if born today. Your baby would not need any special care at this point.

The "lanugo" or fine downy hair that covered most of your baby's body in the second trimester is mostly gone now, or present only on the upper back and shoulders.