Week 34 Update

Hope everyone had a fun and safe 4th of July weekend! Can't complain here, things are going well! We had a little scare the other day....I was in super nesting mode and putting away some things in her closet, I stepped on ledge to put something on the top shelf and it broke ('cause I'm such a lightweight now hahahaha) and I hit my abdomen on another shelf causing a pretty good bruise. We went to the hospital to make sure little Aubrey was okay. She looked great on the monitor, nice and reactive and moving around like crazy! They did an ultrasound and she looked great! I can't believe how big she is, no wonder she's moving around to find comfort all the time in there! She was opening and closing her little hands as if to say "Hi Mom and Daddy!" Needless to say, I will be carting a step stool with me everywhere now! The doctor checked me at the hospital and I have not dilated any, but my cervix has thinned 50%, which in the L&D world really doesn't mean much! My doctor took me off the Brethine yesterday, the medicine that stopped my contractions.....so we will see what happens now!

I've got my hospital bag packed and ready to go. I will be keeping it in the car since I work next door to where I will deliver and we live 30 minutes away from there! I worked my very last night call last night and now I only have 12 day shifts left! My last day will be August 1st, so I will have a couple of weeks off to rest before she comes, maybe!

Here's what's going on this week: She now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds (like your average cantaloupe) and is almost 18 inches long. Her fat layers — which she'll need to regulate her body temperature once she's born — are filling her out, making her rounder. Her skin is also smoother than ever. Her central nervous system is maturing and her lungs are continuing to mature as well. If you've been nervous about preterm labor, you'll be happy to know that babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine. They may need a short stay in the neonatal nursery and may have a few short-term health issues, but in the long run, they usually do as well as full-term babies.