34 Weeks--Wow!

YOUR baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds (like your average canteloupe-hey, that's my favorite fruit!) and is almost 18 inches long. His fat layers — which will help regulate his body temperature once he's born — are filling him out, making him rounder. His skin is also smoother than ever. His central nervous system is maturing and his 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.

Developments:
~We got the changing table from Shawn's aunt/uncle--it was Shawn's when he was a baby, and with a hardware switch-a-roo & thorough dusting, it'll be good as new!
~Nursery is painted (that's how we spent our 4th)! May not have pics for awhile; I have to order the curtains, organize furniture, get some photos framed, etc...
~We found some soft, neutral baby bedding at Babies R Us...it's going to look awesome!
~Finished childbirth prep class...are we ready?? Hope so!

Unruh Photography-Maternity Photos, Part II

OK, so I know there are TONS of pics posted below, but it's only because I'm so excited about the results of our maternity session with Unruh Photography (thanks, Derrick & Jenna!). The few from last week were a sneak-peak, and once I got my hands on the rest of the pictures, I couldn't help but share. We love them!

Dirty Laundry

WE found a brindle-colored, overweight, snoring-like-a-freight-train Boston in our dirty laundry basket (in our room) last eve, and being the easily-won-over owners that we are, we let him stay there all night...I woke up at 4am irritated by his snoring. Have I mentioned it's really loud?

33 Weeks

THIS week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds (pineapple) and has passed the 17-inch mark. He's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look (that's good!)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.

Thanks to help from baby's Uncle Brenden & Auntie Andrea, the nursery has been spackled, sanded, and primed! Due to Shawn's perfectionist tendencies (hey, that's ok!) we will probably do 2 more coats of primer before painting. We're still not 100% on paint color(s) anyway.

Aside from making it through a few smoltering Kansas summer days, we're doing awesome!

Maternity Portraits by Unruh Photography

OUR friends at Unruh Photography took some beautiful 32-week maternity shots last weekend. We are so pleased with the results and had so much fun during the session held in Wichita's OldTown. We will treasure these photos for years to come. It will be neat to show them to Baby Harris and say, "that's you!" Be sure to look up Unruh Photography the next time you need professional photos!