Week 31: Another day....another ounce

*Want to know where I got this info? Go to www.baby-gaga.com*

Length: 16 in Weight: 3.3 lbs

This week, your amazing growing baby is around 3 pounds and 17 inches tall.

With each added layer of baby fat, your baby's wrinkly raisin skin starts to look more and more like it will when they're born.

The heavy news: you can expect your miracle-gro muffin to gain about a half a pound of weight per week from now until about two weeks before birth.

Your baby's developing immune system has made some serious gains over the past weeks getting them in full gear to face our disease-ridden world o’ wonders.

Even so, a large majority of your child’s immune strength will need to come from your milk in the first year.

Their cute little noggin’ (which could already be covered with luscious locks or just purty peach fuzz), is still soft because the skull bones have not yet fused together.

As disturbing as having an infant with a soft cracked skull sounds, it's pretty much a necessity for passage through the birth canal during labor.

If your baby is in your birth canal for an extended period, they'll come out with a bit of a cone head, as a result of their skull plates being compressed while in your rather snug birth canal. It's normal, harmless and their skull will even out into a more round, less cone-heady shape in the next few weeks.

Oh, and FYI: your baby may have that “soft spot” on their head for up to eighteen months after birth.

And how's mom doing?


Here’s a good way to deal with your mounting impatience (and distract you from your discomfort): map out your plan of action for the big day.

It’s an important and necessary step that’s both soothing and fun.

If you think about it, planning all the details of your labor now can be a real saving grace once the chaos and intensity of labor kicks in.

Planning a hospital birth:

*These guidelines also apply for a birthing center birth*

1.Pack a bag with a couple of changes of loose comfortable clothes (bikinis if you want to be hopping in and out of the shower/bath), reading material, music that you think would inspire/relax you during labor, and a camera.

2.Have an infant car seat, blankets, newborn diapers, wipes and a going-home outfit ready for your brand new baby's journey home.

3.If you haven't yet, choose who you want present during labor and whether you're going to have a doula/midwife who will mediate potentially pushy medical staff on your behalf - in order to support you and uphold your birth plan throughout labor.

4.Get to know your driving route to the hospital or birthing center like the back of your hand.

5.Make a list of typical medical procedures you're comfortable with and which ones you'd like to avoid during labor and birth. Type it up and print out the list to give it to your medical caregiver as soon as possible.

6.Start researching your pain management options. Read weeks 35, 36 and 37 for more detailed information and labor tips.

7.Include a post-birth plan to prevent your baby from being taken away from you, ensure that they're not given formula or a bottle, which can induce "nipple confusion" and make breastfeeding more difficult.

Planning a home birth

1.Make sure your midwife is available for the weeks around your due date.

2.Decide whether or not you want to rent a birthing tub!

3.Get the delivery room ready. Your midwife will provide you with a list of necessary equipment to buy and bring the rest herself.

4.Choose who will be present while you labor, and don't let anyone guilt you into including them if you're not sure they're the kind of person you'll want around when you're in the throes of labor.

5.Make sure you've got all the necessary infant supplies: newborn diapers and wipes, swaddling blankets, newborn clothes and a safe sleep space (whether in a protected co-sleeping area or crib/bassinet).

6.Make a go-to-hospital contingency plan with your midwife in the event something goes seriously wrong and medical intervention becomes necessary.

7.Start planning your pain management options and prepping yourself mentally for labor.

Until next time...
-AKL

Week 30: Only 10 more weeks mama

Want to know where I got this information? Go to www.baby-gaga.com


Length: 15.7 in Weight: 3lbs

Woohoo! You can finally see the finish line now that you're in the final quarter of the race!!!

Whether you felt like your pregnancy's been flying by or slower than a snail scaling Everest, you've arrived in your thirtieth week and your baby's cookin' beautifully!

In other news: the fine lanugo hair that covers their little body will start falling off this week in preparation for the big day.

Still, don't be too shocked if your baby is hairier than you’d anticipated. Some babies keep their lanugo after birth - which is totally normal, and it will fall off eventually.

Checking in on the fat factory: your little porker is getting even cuter with increasingly pudgy arms and legs, thanks to their ever-growing layers of subcutaneous brown fat.

In terms of numbers, your big ol' baby should be weighing in at around 3 pounds 12 ounces (or more!) and be nearly 16 inches long!

Keep up the good work you two!

And how's mom doing?

Hey beautiful pregnant woman, have you thought about where you want to have your baby? Ultimately it's your choice and one you need to consider carefully because your experience in each of these environments will set a vastly different mood for labor, which in turn will have a direct impact on how you experience and cope with the pain of labor.

In this crazy modern world, a woman usually has three choices: a hospital, a birthing center, or at home - all of which are perfectly viable and safe options, although there are several measurable benefits to less invasive birthing environments.

Hospital Pros and Cons

Pro: In the slim chance that anything goes seriously wrong, you'll have immediate access to a full medical staff and all the necessary resources to deal with the situation.

Con: If you're healthy and laboring normally, you're going to be exposed to - and potentially pressured into, a plethora of unnecessary, invasive and risky procedures and devices. Simply birthing in a hospital increases your risk of an emergency c-section.

Pro/Con: You'll have access to pain medication in the form of an epidural when you need it, but it's not without considerable risk to the mother, especially if given too early in labor.

Con: You can't sleep in your own bed at night, use your own bathtub or easily access food as desired.

Con: Medical staff may or may not be on your side when it comes to respecting your birth plan.

Con: It's expensive if you're an American, especially if you end up with a C-section.

Birthing Center Pros and Cons

Birthing Centers have popped up in the last decade in reaction to the highly invasive and risky birthing practices of many hospitals.

Pro: They're cheaper than a hospital.

Pro/Con: They rarely offer epidurals, but do have many different less invasive pain management options including a birthing tub.

Pro: They offer a gentle home-like birthing environment for women not comfortable birthing at home.

Pro: They're run by certified midwives and nurses who're trained to deal with all possible complications during labor and birth.

Con: You can't sleep in your own bed at night, use your own bathtub and food access is up to the Birthing Center.

Pro: Birthing centers are women-built, women-centered labor-positive environments that will provide you with much more psychological support during labor than you're likely to experience in the hospital.

Home Birth Pros and Cons

Pro: You're in your home, which if you've prepared the birthing space, means you'll not have to deal with anyone or anything unfamiliar or undesirable, leaving you free to focus on your labor and nothing else.

Pro/Con: You're signing up for a medication-free labor, which means you're going to have to be strong and focused during labor to get all the postpartum rewards and healing that a non-medicated labor offers.

Pro: There's very little risk of you experiencing c-section, forceps, an episiotomy, or any other risky procedures.

Con: In the unlikely chance something goes wrong and your certified midwife is unable to resolve it herself, you will need to get to the hospital when time is of the essence.

Pro: Postpartum sleep in your own bed, your own bathroom, your own food, your own space, no pushy medical staff who "knows better".

Ultimately, it's your choice and one you need to consider carefully because your labor experience in each of these environments will set a vastly different mood, which will directly impact how labor progresses and whether or not you'll have the birth you planned.

Until Next Time...
-AKL

Week 29: I'm spleen-tastic

*Want to know where I got this information? Go to http://www.baby-gaga.com/*


Length
15.3 in 38.8 cm
Weight
2.5 lbs 1.1 kg

If you’ve been feeling weird little fluttering butterflies in your belly, it’s not just your run-of-the-mill pre-birth performance anxiety.

Actually, it's your amazing baby with a case of the hiccups: a fairly common occurrence at this point, due to them practicing breathing for their big birthday.

In addition to getting a round of butterfly-like hiccups, your little swimmer has arduously managed to accumulate enough baby fat to account for nearly 3.5% of their overall body weight.

Yeah, compared to we lardy adults, it’s not very impressive, but considering they used to have NO fat, it’s certainly a healthy (and body-warming) accomplishment in its way.

Another fantastic life-critical accomplishment: your baby's spleen is now in charge of hematopoiesis — the 10 dollar name for the process involved in building up certain important blood components.

And how's mom doing?

Last week we covered 10 reasons why you want to breastfeed, now we're going to cover why it's a challenge which ends in formula-feeding for a small percentage of women. Some women have issues with their milk supply due to poor nutrition, being away from their newborn too often, and/or stress, which often leads them to opt for formula rather than making simple diet and life changes that're more "milk-positive".
At first glance, it seems pretty obvious: pull out breast, attach child and voila! You and your newborn snuggle into one of the sweetest (literally - your milk is sweet!), most vital things you'll ever do for your infant.

Unfortunately for some women, this flow-chart breaks down at the "attach child" phase due to issues with latching - most frequently because the infant is "tongue-tied", which makes them unable to successfully latch on the mother's nipple. There is some dispute on the practice of tongue-clipping and its necessity for successful breastfeeding.

Other women have issues with their milk supply due to poor nutrition, being away from their newborn too often, and/or stress, which often leads them to opt for formula rather than making simple diet and life changes that're more "milk-positive".

Some women choose not to breastfeed because they are taking medications which're potentially risky to their infant.

The reality is: the majority of women who fail to breastfeed beyond the first month do so because they lack critical knowledge about breastfeeding and receive little active support from their partner and/or family in the process.

Either way, it's not a major tragedy if you're forced to choose formula, but many women still feel badly about their inability to breastfeed.

If you make an honest effort to breastfeed and fail due to circumstances which're truly beyond your control, you did your best - modern life isn't particularly infant-friendly, especially when it comes to breastfeeding.

Breastfeeding Basics

WARNING: The first months of breastfeeding are going to be a boot camp experience.

Your newborn will want to be at your breast virtually all of the time and not in a way you can schedule into your planner. This phase lasts about two months and becomes more regular and predictable by the third month.

Non-stop breastfeeding in newborns is instinctual. Respect mother nature's design by feeding whenever your infant cries with a dry diaper.

There is no such thing as an empty breast. Seriously, as long as you're baby's suckling contentedly, everything is fine - besides, their suckling stimulates milk production!

Breastfeed exclusively for the first six weeks without pumping.

Use lansinoh oil if your nipples chap or crack.

What you eat goes into your milk, so eat lots of veggies, fruits, whole grains, legumes, and stay away from junk food, fast food, fart-inducing foods, citrusy things, onions and cabbage.

Learn to slow yourself down, shut off your phone (as your supply and let-down are directly impacted by stress), clear your mind and focus on your body's interaction with your child and their well-being.

The healthier and happier you are going in, the more likely you'll be to successfully breastfeed your infant into toddlerhood.

Breastfeeding creates a uniquely intimate bond with your infant, which enables you to build a gentle healthy relationship with your child as they grow into toddlerhood.

Until next time
-AKL

Week 28: I'm making blood, fat & hormones

*Want to know where I got this information? Go to www.baby-gaga.com


Length
14.8 in 37.5 cm

Weight
2.2 lbs 1 kg

You know how you’ve been feeling like a whale with legs?

To state the obvious, that feeling isn't going anywhere until you finally get down to the hard work (aka labor) of evicting your womb-squatter.

For the time being, your little genius is in the fat collection business!

Despite being a bipedal whale, this fetal fat collection stuff is serious business, and you’ve got to put up with it because it’s going to keep your little porker warm and healthy after birth, since their brain will be unable to regulate their tiny baby-body's temperature.

Other good stuff from inside the womb: your little explorer's eyes are doing lots of blinking this week because they’re now responding to light and dark!

And in life-critical physical developments: your champ's tiny industrious bone marrow is now a major construction site for blood cells, while their super-cute adrenal glands are actually producing androgen and estrogen — which will stimulate your body to begin milk production.

Say “Moo”!

And how's mom doing?

If you’ve not yet made up your mind, it's about time to take a deep breath and dive into the name-game. One of the biggest most life-changing aspects of having a newborn will be their need to breastfeed - or more specifically, be attached to your breast for the majority of their waking hours in the first three months of life.

There are only about a bazillion baby-name books out there (check out Amazon.com) not to mention the plethora of websites with head-spinning lists of name possibilities.

If you're not feeling any of the existing names you've seen, you can always create a new name (you know, like “Thygor”).

Naming your child isn’t always the most obvious process, anyway. Some parents wait to meet their child before they name them! It's still a good idea to have a list of preferred options if you're going to choose this route.

If you haven't yet started thinking about your baby on the outside, one of the biggest most life-changing aspects of having a newborn will be their need to breastfeed - or more specifically, be attached to your breast for the majority of their waking hours in the first three months of life.

No, it's not easy (neither is formula-feeding, for that matter - it's just less mother-dependent), but it is an undeniably superior form of baby-food.

10 Reasons why you'll want to breastfeed:

1. It's simple and quick (no bottles, measuring or mixing!).

2. It protects your baby from diseases, viruses, stomach pain, and infections, and lowers their risk of allergies and asthma.

3. Your milk contains oxytocin - the "love hormone", which helps you and your baby bond with one another.

4. It also contains over 400 vitamins, minerals, fats, and proteins NOT present in any formula out there.

5. Breastfed babies have higher IQs. (The longer you breastfeed, the higher the IQ of the child.)

6. It's custom-tailored specifically to your child's nutrition and immunity needs.

7. It protects your baby against SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome).

8. It burns about 500 extra calories a day for YOU. Breastfeeding = quicker postpartum weight loss!

9. It contains special brain-promoting proteins and fats not found in any formula out there.

10. It's 100% free (well, pumps and nursing bras aren't, but they're still cheaper than a year's worth of formula).

3D/4D

This weekend we went in for our first 3D/4D ultrasound. I know the whole 3D/4D thing weirds some people out but for us we wanted to get a better look at our little girl. It was a fun experience and one we're looking at doing again in a few weeks when she gets even bigger.

Our session lasted 30 minutes and unfortunately during that 30 minutes she was very happy to sleep and not move much. It took almost the full 30 minutes to get some good shots but we were successful. As soon as the tech started poking around she lifted her hand to her face so a majority of the time half her face was hidden. We had to laugh that no matter what we did, moving from side to side, poking her, jiggling her, she kept that hand right in front of her....I'm thinking she might have a stubborn streak in her.

It really was neat to see her as a little baby vs a black and white outline. We enjoyed trying to figure out who's nose and lips she'll have. She has some chubby cheeks, a little double chin and even a small leg roll. Poor little girl....mama is chalking that up to not having much room in there and she's all squished. All in all we are so in love with our little girl and can't hardly wait for her to finish cooking so we can hold her in our arms.

Jared bought a doll not too long ago and brought it home to try and help Shy and Chan get used to a "baby" being around and being in our arms. Chan loves to go up to the doll and touch his nose to her face and Shy...well...she's typical Shy....she doesn't want anything to do with the doll or with whoever is holding the doll at the time. However, she is more than happy to sit in the baby's stoller or car seat. We recenetly purchased the stroller/car seat combo and Jared was putting it together to make sure all the parts were there. I could hardly keep Shy in my lap while he worked on the stroller. She's a crazy girl! We had to break out our nephew's old stroller for her to sit in just to calm her down. She ended up sleeping in our nephew's stroller for the next few hours.

Life is about to get busy here for us with work schedules, birthing classes, baby classes and much more. I have a feeling the next 85 days are going to fly by!

Until next time!
-AKL