Grain of Rice

Tonight we enjoyed a yummy dinner at a lovely restaurant in San Juan called Bottles. We are celebrating the 10 year anniversary of our first date; a Dave Matthew’s concert in Denver I still remember clearly…sigh…

Now 10 years later I am 38 weeks pregnant and ready to deliver at any moment. As you can see in the photos, I am grandissima to say the least. At my apppointment last week I was already dilated to 1 1/2 cm. and 25% effaced. My next appointment is tomorrow and I expect to be a little more now, especially since I’ve continued to stay active and work. My doctor said not to get too excited though because I could stay that way for 2 weeks or go into labor within hours - so we just have to wait it out and see.

I am terribly uncomfortable because of my big belly. I’m not sleeping well and even simple movements are becoming difficult. The end is no fun! Up until about a month ago everything was bearable, but now…wow, the end is quite dramatic! Saxton keeps saying things such as, “Not much longer,” and “Why isn’t he here yet?” Saxton thinks he’s going to come out ready to play catch out on the playground. All 3 of us watched the whole world series. This baby is very prepared for the baseball mania he will experience with Daddy. We haven’t bought him a glove yet because Saxton doesn’t know what position he’s going to play!

I shouldn’t complain because in reality everything is fine. The pregnancy has gone very well and he seems to be doing great. He’s approximately 6 1/2 -7 lbs. now and 20-21 inches long. He’s packing on the fat now, this will help control his body temperature when he’s outside of the womb. His organs are fully developed and in place. His toenails and fingernails have grown to the tips of his toes and fingers (so cute!). The muscles in his arms and legs are very strong, he has a firm grasp which he’ll soon be able to use on our pinkies! He’s practicing lung movements breathing in and out the amniotic fluid. He sometimes gets hiccups because of this. His head is down and in position so he’s pretty much ready to greet the world - just a matter of time now. We can’t wait to meet him!!!

This might be the last entry before he arrives. As soon as we are able, we will announce his arrival on the blog along with pictures of him. Thank you for your thoughts, prayers and support throughout the pregnancy. Everything has meant so much to us. We hope you’ll get to meet him soon!

I am 35 weeks pregnant and HUGE! I have no idea how I will make it to my due date of Nov. 15th. Maybe it’s just the Puerto Rico heat and being so uncomfortable, but I’m starting to feel very strongly that I want my body back and for him to be here. Overall we are so fine though and more excited than ever to meet this little man.
At our appointment last Friday he measured right on target…. so he is approximately 5-6 lbs. and between 18-20 inches long! He is putting on an average of a 1/2 lb. per week now….heaven help me! His organs are almost mature and his lungs are almost fully developed, but if he were to be born now he would probably have to be put in an incubator. He still doesn’t have enough fat deposits beneath his skin to keep him warm outside of the uterus - so he needs to stay in the rice cooker a bit longer. His brain is developing rapidly and he’s practicing blinking. He’s dropping lower in my tummy and feels to be in the head-down position. He’s still moving a lot and is very active throughout the day. Last weekend he moved strongly throughout Saxton’s entire 3 hour symphony concert - incredible….We are very blessed and grateful to have him and look very forward to his arrival soon.

Tilt your head to the right to see the profile.

Backstage after a concert in Tel Aviv in late July.

Click on the photo to the left and tilt your head to the right to see the baby’s face & hands.

Yesterday we had a very nice check-up…Well, I guess any Mom & Dad would be happy with good news after being so far away in Israel. We had a mini sonogram and saw almost everything again, but this time we got more than one nice look at his face. It was like he was looking right at us. We saw his heart and the four chambers. We hadn’t seen that clearly before and it was fascinating. We also saw his penis again and more than once…The Dr. just laughs now because we see this every time there is a sonogram - he has no problem showing this area. We definitely have a boy! The Dr. was happy with how he looked and was very happy that I was home. I think the greatest thing was to hear his heartbeat again. I recorded it on my phone. I physically feel pretty good, but feel huge and still have quite a bit more to go and will just keep growing - AHHH! I love that I feel him often now, his movements are getting very strong. Saxton has been able to see my stomach move since I’ve been home and feel the movements. It has been a very special time for us.

Here are some details about him right now:
Baby Rose measures about 14 inches from head to heal and weighs almost 2 pounds. His hearing is fully developed. As he reacts to sounds, his pulse increases. He might even move in rhythm to music :). His lungs are developing now, but are not yet mature. His brain waves appear like a full-term newborn now and he has more defined patterns of sleeping and waking. His veins are visible through his skin, although his skin is quickly changing from transparent to opaque. He has developed a strong grip and may grasp the umbilical cord. Fortunately, it is designed to withstand all of his activity.

My boy’s got backbone. This is a sonogram taken before Elizabeth left. We’ve got another appointment on Monday and should have some more recent sonogram pictures then.

A photo of Elizabeth looking cute and showing.

So it appears it’s time for Elizabeth to get a new bathing suit.