34 weeks

Our growing baby boy is about 5 pounds and about 20 inches long at this point.... about the size of a cantaloupe. His organs are almost fully matured, with the exception of his lungs- they will continue to develop until birth. His testicles are descending into his scrotum at this point, and his fingernails have grown to reach the tips of his fingers. It's nice to know that babies born between 34 and 37 weeks with no other health problems generally do just fine- they may need a short stay in the neonatal nursery and have a few short term health problems, but in the long run generally do well as full term babies.

I have been doing pretty well this week- went to the doctor again on Thursday for our bi-weekly appointment. He prescribed me some generic prilosec to help with the heartburn pains I have been having- earlier it was just acid reflux, and it seemed pretty bad, but Tums usually knocked it out temporarily, and it was nothing compared to what I have now! I am still just as hungry as I was throughout this pregnancy so far, but if I eat large portions of anything, there is no room for it so I normally throw it up, or it just hurts as I can feel it sitting in my rib cage- our baby is taking up the space where my stomach usually is. So I am forced to eat very small portions often throughout the day, and I can no longer enjoy anything spicy or too acidic. I have been having oranges, lime flavored things etc because I simply cannot cut those things out of my diet. But no more salsa, tomato sauce, etc until this clears up.

In other news, my good friend Katie, who was one of my preggo buddies, due January 10th, had her baby Luke on January 1st! He is a healthy 6 pounds, 1 ounce, and about 18.5 inches. He is a beautiful baby, and I got the pleasure of being able to hold him when he was less than 12 hours old! I am so excited for her and Carl, as we have been going through this pregnancy together, it's so exciting to know that her waiting has paid off! And it is reassuring to me to know that the end is in sight, and soon Mike and I will be celebrating the birth of our own baby boy : ) Luke and Sean I'm sure will be good friends, along with the other babies that our friends are due to be having in 2010. Now I am just a bit nervous- holding my friend's newborn baby makes everything seem so much more real, and I feel like there is so much left to do to prepare for the arrival of our little one, and not enough time to do it all!