39 Weeks Pregnant - Baby BRIANNA

Right before going to My Birthday/ Our Date Night Dinner at Melting Pot
Right before going to My Birthday/ Our Date Night Dinner at Melting Pot

Right before going to My Birthday/ Our Date Night Dinner at Melting Pot

(Thank goodness you can't tell how swollen my ankles and feet are!)

As your official due date approaches, you're probably fixed on the calendar. But since less than 10 percent of women deliver on their actual due date, chances are baby is going to take you by surprise on a different day (I will be induced Tuesday, December 8, 2009 if she is not here by then). Whenever the muffin arrives is the right time for her, so try not to get disappointed if your date comes and goes and the Mini hasn't made an appearance.

Head for the hospital or birthing center if you think you're in labor (even if it turns out that you're not!) It's better to make a couple of test runs than to deliver your baby at the local truck stop. If you are in labor but it has just started, the hospital may send you back home, which can be a bit of a buzz kill. But trust us, you'd rather be comfortable in your own home than stuck in a hospital bed with only four TV channels for the next 12 hours waiting to dilate from 1 centimeter to 2.While there is nothing false about the pain that comes with false labor, it's a fake-out because it doesn't dilate the cervix like true labor does. And when you're trying to squeeze a grapefruit out of something the size of a cherry, it's an important distinction. Basically, false labor gives you all of the pain and none of the advancements. Nice, huh?One way to identify false labor is to start timing your contractions. True labor contractions come regularly and get progressively closer together (and they hurt more as they get closer). False labor contractions are about as regular as your bowels since you've been pregnant—not very—and they vary from one to another on the pain meter.False labor is more common in second or subsequent pregnancies than in first pregnancies.

One uncomfortable complaint of late pregnancy is frequent hiccups. No, not you, your baby. Because there is no air around your baby, when she practices breathing, it can cause amniotic fluid to get into her windpipe, resulting in those regularly spaced thumps that make you think you're carrying a jumping bean in your belly. (Today we watched my belly go up and down as little Brianna had the hiccups. It's quite entertaining.) Other news this week:The lanugo (an exotic word for soft, downy hair) that used to cover your baby's body has mostly disappeared, but you may find a bit leftover on the shoulders, forehead and neck. Don't freak and think you've given birth to a monkey: It'll fall out soon.The color of baby's skin is changing from a red-pink hue to a white or blue-pink color (even in babes with dark skin). These changes are due to the amount of fat your little pudger is putting on. The circumference of your baby's head and abdomen are about the same size now (though you may not be able to tell if your baby's born with the common cone-shaped head!).The placenta is lending your Mini antibodies that'll keep him strong and healthy after birth. That said, it's still a good idea to invest in that mega-size bottle of hand sanitizer. (Already done...and as Eric says, "Everyone that comes to visit her will wash their hands and arms all the way up to their elbows and then will use hand sanitizer after. HA HA! He is going to make a super protective and great dad!) At this point your little critter is about 19 to 20 inches long and weights about 7 pounds. That's just around the size of a large rabbit. What's up Doc?

Well, 2 more days until "D-day" (if she makes it that far). I am still having quite a bit of contractions but they are just not close enough still.

We had a SUPER great weekend. We just prepared for Brianna all day yesterday by cleaning the house and dusting baseboards and all that fun stuff one more time. We then went out to dinner at Melting Pot for my 28th birthday and as our last "date night" for a while. We really were able to enjoy ourselves. Both of us will be taking off tomorrow to relax and wait for baby Brianna. We are going to run by the fire station and have both of our carseats checked (we have heard that 90% of carseats are installed incorrectly so we want to make sure ours is perfect). Then it's relax time until Tuesday. We are going to be waking up super early Tuesday morning in order to be there at 5:00 a.m. My wonderful sister will be staying at our house watching our German Shepherd (Caesar) and our cat (Jasper) and just keeping an eye on everything to make sure Brianna can come home to a safe house. I am so thankful to have her so that we don't have to board our pets. :) I am also so thankful to have Eric here until December 23rd...actually he only has to work 4 days between now and January 3rd. My mom and Margie (Eric's mom) will also be around to help quite a bit too. How awesome is that? I am so privaleged...truly God is watching over us. :)