Thirty-Four Weeks

I was thirty-four weeks as of this past Saturday. According to BabyCenter, the baby now weighs about four-and-three-quarters pounds (like a cantaloupe) and is almost eighteen inches long. Her fat layers, which will help regulate her body temperature once she is 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. It says that if I have been nervous at all about preterm labor (which I have somewhat because of my previous scare and because there have been two premature births in our church in just the past few months -- thankfully the babies are doing great!), I will 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.

I am also nervous about the baby coming early because I feel like there is still quite a lot around the house that I would like to accomplish before her arrival. The girls' room is still chaotic, as we still need to move some furniture around, and even though both of them will not be in there together for a few months, most likely, it would still feel nice to have it in order. And once furniture is in place, I feel like I can likely get other things in place, like the baby's diapers and clothes. I would also like to can the strawberries that are taking up a huge amount of freezer space right now so I can make and freeze some chili and maybe one other dish like I did last time around in preparation for Elsa's birth. I plan to can both old-fashioned strawberry preserves and strawberry jam, and know if I do not do it before the baby is born, I likely never will and will just end up using the berries for smoothies or something! And then there is just the general cleaning and decluttering I would like to accomplish. Oh, and things like getting the car seat down and installing it in the car and packing our hospital bags! I cannot wait to meet the little girl, but there is certainly plenty I could accomplish before the due date. Elsa starts back at Gabriela's on August 15, three mornings a week this time around, so I will likely be able to get a lot more done in those last few weeks.