34 Weeks

Wow, only 6 weeks left. We continue to check things to get done off of our list. Birth plan: check. Furniture set up in the nursery: check. Bags packed: not yet. But we'll get there. Nicole is still feeling good. She's had moments where she's said "if I wasn't thinking about it right now, I wouldn't know that I'm pregnant." That could probably pass as the definition of a great pregnancy.

We are headed to Iowa this weekend for a shower with friends and family there. (Well, Nicole will be headed to a shower. I will be headed to some baseball games at the College World Series.) We are really excited to see everyone there and get to be around family. I am also really excited to go on a road trip with a woman who is 35 weeks pregnant. We have some rules from our doctor: we have to stop every two hours for Nicole to get out and walk around and Nicole has to drink a lot of water. Normally on this drive we'd stop once. We're thinking we can make it in three stops. We'll see how it goes. I'd say the chances are very high that we'll need to stop more , considering the whole "drink a lot of water" rule. It feels like this coming weekend the last big thing we have before Reilly's estimated time of arrival gets here.

Nicole still has people tell her that she doesn't look nearly big enough. She keeps measuring exactly where she should be and our doctor and nurse both think that she's doing wonderfully. We have another appointment on Wednesday—hopefully that one will go as well as the others have.

Your baby acts completely like a newborn, with her eyes opened when awake and closed when sleeping. She has started to settle into more of a routine for sleeping & awake times. She has learned to blink. She can also see more clearly when there is a bright light on Nicole's stomach and probably has the outline of all her organs memorized. Antibodies from Nicole's blood are being transferred to Reilly. These immunities continue to build until birth. Then breast milk will add even more protection against disease. Reilly Marie may have already turned to a head-down position in preparation for birth. Since this is our first baby she may be settling into the pelvis with her head pressing against Nicole's cervix. Fingernails have reached the end of the fingertips now. The Little Bun may scratch her face even before she is born. Reilly Marie's length is probably about 17.7 inches and weight is around 4.7 pounds.