North American Earth hour tonight from 8-9 PM

Tonight is the North American Earth Hour. From 8-9 PM people across North America are going to be turning off their lights and unplugging appliances to make a statement about climate change. Many cities around the country are also getting involved; the Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco will be dark tonight from 8-9 PM. I encourage all of you to join us in turning off your lights tonight so that we can help save the planet for Baby Pope and the rest of her and future generations.

Chicago is the flagship city for the US. I hope our relatives in Chicago are planning on participating. I think the Hancock Building might be dark.

Find out more information on the Earth Hour website.

35 weeks, only 5 weeks to go!

How your baby's growing: Your baby doesn't have much room to maneuver now that he's over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 1/4 pounds (pick up a honeydew melon). Because it's so snug in your womb, he isn't likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times he kicks should remain about the same. His kidneys are fully developed now, and his liver can process some waste products. Most of his basic physical development is now complete — he'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight.

How your life's changing: Your uterus — which was entirely tucked away inside your pelvis when you conceived — now reaches up under your rib cage. If you could peek inside your womb, you'd see that there's more baby than amniotic fluid in there now. Your ballooning uterus is crowding your other internal organs, too, which is why you probably have to urinate more often and may be dealing with heartburn and other gastrointestinal distress. If you're not grappling with these annoyances, you're one of the lucky few.

From here on out, you'll start seeing your practitioner every week. Sometime between now and 37 weeks, she'll do a vaginal and rectal culture to check for bacteria called Group B streptococci (GBS). (Don't worry — the swab is the size of a regular cotton swab, and it won't hurt at all.) GBS is usually harmless in adults, but if you have it and pass it on to your baby during birth, it can cause serious complications, such as pneumonia, meningitis, or a blood infection. Because 10 to 30 percent of pregnant women have the bacteria and don't know it, it's vital to be screened. (The bacteria come and go on their own — that's why you weren't screened earlier in pregnancy.) If you're a GBS carrier, you'll get IV antibiotics during labor, which will greatly reduce your baby's risk of infection.

This is also a good time to create a birth plan. Using our form will help you focus on specifics — like who'll be present, what pain management techniques you want to try, and where you want your baby to stay after you deliver. It will give you a starting point to discuss your preferences with your medical team. Childbirth is unpredictable, and chances are you won't follow your plan to the letter, but thinking about your choices ahead of time — and sharing your preferences with your caregiver — should take some of the anxiety out of the process..

How I'm doing: I'm doing very well. It's very exciting to know that we're having a girl. We are very much ready to meet her now. We're feeling more pressure to have a name decided on now. We have a first name settled on so now we're just deciding what the middle name will be. We have 3 choices but we could still go with something completely different. We may wait until we see her to decide. And we're still not telling a soul. Surprisingly, I've been able to keep this a secret.

Our glider arrived at the baby store yesterday, so we'll be picking that up over the weekend and getting it set up. Scott really likes it and thinks it's really comfortable and I think he's going to try and take it over before the baby comes. If Tony were still with us I know he'd think it were his too.

I have one more biweekly appointment on April 1st and then I'll start seeing the midwives every week. They didn't mention the Group B strep test so that may or may not be happening at my next appointment. It's very important to me that I don't screen positive. If I do, I'll have to be hooked up to a continuous IV throughout labor which will mean a much less active labor and that in turn might make a medication-free birth more difficult. Many people say the worst position in labor is the one you've been in for the past 15 minutes so movement can be an important pain relief technique.

We have two remaining birth classes. I feel like we've learned a lot through this process and are well prepared for childbirth. I am not afraid at all even after watching many births on video and hearing many stories of difficult births. Learning more about birth, even talking about dealing with pain, makes me more excited to go through the process rather than scared. I think this will help me to relax; which I hope is the key to a less painful birthing process. But I'm not crazy and I still hope that I'm one of the luckier mothers who has less painful but still productive contractions, the baby moves into just the right position, and that her head isn't too big (although I hope all the DHA supplements I've been taking daily have helped her brain to develop well).

My last day of work is April 15th. Not too much longer to go.

It's a GIRL for sure!

We had an ultrasound today and the doctor was able to confirm that we do have a baby girl on the way. We were very excited to find out of course. But more importantly, the baby girl looks healthy and perfect. She's measuring right on target and 5 lbs 6 oz. Measuring by ultrasound isn't an exact science of course and I've read that weight guesstimates can be off by as much as a pound. But given the measurements from today she's in the 52nd percentile for weight. But we already knew she was perfect. She was squishing her face into my placenta when we were trying to get a good picture of her face but we did see her heart beating and her little hands. She looked great. My amniotic fluid levels also looked good. She is also head down and getting ready to go.

Her positioning was the purpose of the ultrasound today. Our midwife was pretty certain that she felt her head down at our appointment yesterday but they usually do an ultrasound to be sure. It's much more difficult to deliver a baby breech so being head down is important, especially with our birth plan. Now hopefully she'll stay that way.

As I mentioned we had an appointment with one of the midwives yesterday. The baby is doing great. Her heartbeat was in the 140s and everything else seemed to be fine. She's moving all of the time so that's no problem. She doesn't like when I lean forward when I'm sitting. She'd prefer I recline so she has more space. I'm feeling much more restricted in my lung and bladder capacity. I'm looking forward to her "dropping" or engaging in the next few weeks so I can breathe better but I'm not looking forward to the added pressure that will put on my bladder. I've also had mild heartburn that should ease up with the added space as well.

Not much else to report from the visit. I've set my last day at work. I will go out with a bang on Tax Day, April 15th. That will give me two weeks before my midwife-given due date of April 30th. Remember that I still think my due date is April 25th. Not that any of these dates matter all that much since everything is just an estimate. Babies are on their own schedule. Right now I'm still hoping that the baby will stay put until at least May 4th when the new hospital opens so I can enjoy my private room and plasma TV. I may change my mind as I get closer to the 40-week mark. There is a full moon on April 20th so perhaps that will influence baby's arrival? That is one old wives' tale that does appear to be true.

Pregnancy photos

I know several people who have gotten pregnancy portraits taken. Since we don't want to spend money on a professional and since Scott is good enough to be a professional, Scott took some pictures of me a week ago at Santa Monica beach. So in these pictures I'm 32 weeks pregnant. Hint: click the pictures and they get bigger.






All of the pictures, even the blurry outtakes can be found on our website here.

34 weeks - 3 weeks until full-term, 6 weeks to go!

How your baby's growing: Your baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds (like your average cantaloupe) and is almost 18 inches long. Her fat layers — which will help regulate her body temperature once she's 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. If you've been nervous about preterm labor, you'll 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.

How your life's changing: By this week, fatigue has probably set in again, though maybe not with the same coma-like intensity of your first trimester. Your tiredness is perfectly understandable, given the physical strain you're under and the restless nights of frequent pee breaks and tossing and turning, while trying to get comfortable. Now's the time to slow down and save up your energy for labor day (and beyond). If you've been sitting or lying down for a long time, don't jump up too quickly. Blood can pool in your feet and legs, causing a temporary drop in your blood pressure when you get up that can make you feel dizzy.

If you notice itchy red bumps or welts on your belly and possibly your thighs and buttocks as well, you may have a condition called pruritic urticarial papules and plaques of pregnancy (PUPPP for short). Up to one percent of pregnant women develop PUPPP, which is harmless but can be quite uncomfortable. See your practitioner so she can make sure it's not a more serious problem, provide treatment to make you more comfortable, and refer you to a dermatologist if necessary. Also be sure to call her if you feel intense itchiness all over your body, even if you don't have a rash. It could signal a liver problem.

How I'm doing: I was just commenting to Scott the other day that I'm starting to feel as tired as I did at the beginning of this pregnancy. I'm tired in the mornings even when I feel like I got a good night's sleep. I feel pretty lucky in that I think I'm still sleeping pretty well. I think I sleep in one position (on my left side) all night long almost without changing positions so I wake up a little sore. But I feel lucky that I'm still sleeping mostly through the night. If I do wake up, I always have to go to the bathroom, but needing to go doesn't wake me up. It is getting harder and harder to get into the right position in bed and to change positions. Not too much longer to go though.

Pregnancy is 40 weeks long but babies are considered full-term at 37 weeks. So I only have three more weeks until I'm considered full-term and only 6 weeks until my due date. It's going to get here very fast. I'm officially considered "disabled" two weeks before my due date; although some people have been treating me like I'm disabled for much longer than that! So that means I can start my leave on or around April 15th. Tax day will be a happy occasion this year. I'm excited to get to that point so I can start putting my nesting to good use. Now when I'm home I'm too tired to nest; instead I just think about all the things I want to do. Only about a month left of work. Which is good because I'm hot all the time, I'm running out of clothes that are work-appropriate and still fit, and none of my shoes fit and are comfortable anymore (I had to buy two new pairs a week ago).

32/33 weeks

I'm a week behind so I'm going to do a double-update today to catch up.

32 Weeks



How your baby's growing: By now, your baby weighs 3.75 pounds (pick up a large jicama) and is about 16.7 inches long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus. You're gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to your baby. In fact, she'll gain a third to half of her birth weight during the next 7 weeks as she fattens up for survival outside the womb. She now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). Her skin is becoming soft and smooth as she plumps up in preparation for birth.

How your life's changing: To accommodate you and your baby's growing needs, your blood volume has increased 40 to 50 percent since you got pregnant. With your uterus pushing up near your diaphragm and crowding your stomach, the consequences may be shortness of breath and heartburn. To help relieve your discomfort, try sleeping propped up with pillows and eating smaller meals more often.

You may have lower-back pain as your pregnancy advances. If you do, let your caregiver know right away, particularly if you haven't had back pain before, since it can be a sign of preterm labor.

Assuming it's not preterm labor that's ailing you, you can probably blame your growing uterus and hormonal changes for your aching back. Your expanding uterus shifts your center of gravity and stretches out and weakens your abdominal muscles, changing your posture and putting a strain on your back. Hormonal changes in pregnancy loosen your joints and the ligaments that attach your pelvic bones to your spine. This can make you feel less stable and cause pain when you walk, stand, sit for long periods, roll over in bed, get out of a low chair or the tub, bend, or lift things.

33 Weeks

How your baby's growing:This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds (heft a pineapple) and has passed the 17-inch mark. He's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and his skeleton is hardening. The bones in his skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for him to fit through the birth canal. (The pressure on the head during birth is so intense that many babies are born with a conehead-like appearance.) These bones don't entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as his brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood.

How your life's changing: As your baby fills out even more of your belly, lots of things might start to change: Whereas before you were sashaying, you may find yourself waddling. Finding an easy position to sit in — let alone sleep — is becoming more of a challenge. And bumping into chairs and counters is par for the course.

You may be feeling some achiness and even numbness in your fingers, wrists, and hands. Like many other tissues in your body, those in your wrist can retain fluid, which can increase pressure in the carpal tunnel, a bony canal in your wrist. Nerves that run through this "tunnel" may end up pinched, creating numbness; tingling, shooting or burning pain; or a dull ache. Try wearing a splint to stabilize your wrist or propping your arm up with a pillow when you sleep. If your work requires repetitive hand movements (at a keyboard or on an assembly line, for instance), remember to stretch your hands when you take breaks — which should be frequently.

Many women are still feeling sexy at this stage — and their partners often agree. You may need to make some adjustments, but for most women, sex during pregnancy is fine right up until their water breaks or their labor starts.

How I'm doing: My stomach is starting to get very large. It's beginning to get in the way during normal activities now. Some yoga positions are becoming more difficult either because my stomach is in the way or they are just harder because my stomach is so heavy. I can't do a normal forward fold anymore because my stomach touches my legs and even doing "plank" is starting to get difficult because it's harder to hold all of my weight up with my arm strength. I still enjoy yoga a lot. It helps loosen muscle tension. Thankfully, my yoga studio has added a Tuesday evening class so I can continue going to class twice a week (or once a week when we aren't home on Sundays). I also tried out a water aerobics class for the first time with my friend Kelly. It was more of a workout than I expected and I think will be good for some upper-body stregthening which is lacking from my other gym activities. I didn't make it back this Sunday but hopefully Kelly and I will continue that on Sunday mornings. I'm getting to be quite a sight in my two-piece Speedo.

Aches and pains are starting to set in. I have a pretty regular pain in my left butt muscle. I'm pretty sure it's my sciatic nerve getting pinched; which is a very common problem in pregnancy. The only problem is it hurts almost all of the time I'm moving and there's not much that can be done for it; except having the baby. The other main ache is my stomach. I think the weight of my stomach gives me stomach pains when I overexert myself. I did this on Friday and paid for it later. I'm finding I can only carry very light loads now. Anything heavy puts too much strain on my stomach muscles; which pretty much aren't good for anything at this point.

We're starting to organize the house a little bit. We got a few large baby items that we're trying to find places for. The highchair is set up and pulled up to the table and the stroller has a place. We're still looking for a home for the bouncer and sorting through baby clothes. The car seat is going to be installed in the car this week as soon as we get the car washed and vacuumed.

I will be considered full-term in a month now so not much time remains to get things in place and ready to go.

We had an appointment last week. Our midwife was fairly certain that the baby's head was down. If she's not certain at our next appointment she may order an ultrasound to check the baby's position. If the baby isn't head down there are some things that we can do to try and encourage her to move in that direction: some yoga positions, acupuncture, a chiropractic technique, etc. A breech baby makes a natural childbirth a lot more difficult so we really want her to be head-down. Childbirth classes are going well. Scott had to miss a class while he was in Colorado so my friend Ayala came with me a substitute. We have 4 more classes to go.

We went camping this weekend. We stayed at Leo Carrillo State Park which is a lovely campground right near the beach. Yes, I can still manage to sleep in a tent. I'm not 100% comfortable anywhere so it's almost as comfortable as my bed. We sat on the beach and watched the dogs and the kids and saw dolphins swimming in the ocean a few times. Then we explored the tidepools. It was a nice relaxing weekend. Back to work tomorrow.