Little LaCasse : 36 Weeks!

February 6, 2013...ONE MONTH UNTIL D-DAY!!!!

What Little LaCasse has been up to:

Baby is almost ready!
The only organ still to mature is the lungs
Baby may drop into the birth canal
Fat is dimpling the baby's elbows and knees and forming creases in the neck and wrists
Skin is growing smooth and soft
Gums are very rigid
Baby has a fully developed pair of kidneys
Liver has begun processing some waste products
Baby will gain an ounce a day between now and birth
Length (18.7 inches); weight (5.8 pounds)

What we have been up to:

Got the GBS screen done at my last appointment and my midwife checked me for the first time. I’m 1 cm dilated, 50% effaced, and the baby’s head is low and engaged! Such great news. I expected to hear that nothing has happened. I guess these Braxton hicks that are occurring around the clock are worthwhile.
36 weeks means the start to drinking red raspberry leaf tea (4-5 tea bags/8 oz cups per day) in hopes of “toning my uterus” and making future contractions more efficient, rather than a bunch of inefficient contractions and the start to taking evening primrose oil (500 mg tablet by mouth in the AM and 500 mg inserted vaginally right before bed). My midwife said that the contractions/Braxton hicks I’m having now are toning my uterus as well, so hopefully there is some truth to all of this. Now, if only I could find a tea to tone my arms, thighs, and ass, I’d have it made.
I’ve been obsessed with fruit lately. I ate an entire honeydew in less than 12 hours the other day and I used to think honeydew was the loser of fruit salads.
Up 20 pounds so far and would like to only gain another 5 or less between now and D-day because Lord knows that between raising a baby, breastfeeding, working, and finishing school, the gym is going to be a foreign place.
Met with my doula again tonight. It was our last meeting until she comes to help with my labor.
Toured Lennon’s daycare center and got all of the paperwork filled out. It made me so sad L
Had Lennon’s car seat base installed and checked by the ambulance squad
Put a waterproof mattress cover on our memory foam bed incase my water breaks in the middle of the night in order to avoid getting blamed for ruining the bed throughout my entire labor.
Got a pedicure last night so my toes are pretty if I go into labor because I would still worry about that admist everything else
Heartburn is still in full force, lower extremities are still puffy, and I have the occasional lower back and hip ache, but other than that, all is good!