33 week update

I'm a little behind in posting.

Tuesday of last week I went to the doctor with Elizabeth, and got to see Baby S on the screen again. The latest images are attached here. Baby S weighed 3.75 pounds, which the doctor said was a little small for 32 and a half weeks. But everything is proportionate, just small. So she will probably not be a big baby, although anything can happen considering babies usually gain most of the weight at the end of the pregnancy.

Anyway, Elizabeth and I had a good visit, and I took her out for lunch after the doctor appointment, and then drove her home. She looked good, and looked VERY pregnant.

During this past week, we started to get more prepared for the arrival of Baby S. We talked more about names, even though we are 95 percent sure of the name already. We've been cleaning and working on getting the baby's room empty so that the crib can be put together and I can start decorating the nursery. Yesterday I got a call from Buy Buy Baby that our car seat came in, so this weekend we will pick it up and purchase the matching stroller.

Also this weekend, we will be getting a preview of parenthood. Our 10-year-old niece, Rachel, will be spending a good part of the weekend with us. Rachel is excited (and I must admit that so am I!) and we are planning what we are going to do. She loves babies, and is so excited to have a little cousin, so we may go look at baby stuff. Also, Saturday is Steven's birthday, and Halloween is on Sunday, so this should be a busy weekend. We have decorated our house, and I think it's the best in the neighborhood, complete with a skeleton sitting on the bench in our front lawn, plus lots of other stuff.

As for Elizabeth, our attorney called me on Monday with some bad news. Elizabeth's father passed away over the weekend. Her parents live about an hour away from her, and she called our attorney very distraught, and also told her she needed money ASAP to get down to see her mother. This of course came from our account, in addition to the Western Union fee to send it to her right away. I am not sure why this is considered an expense for which we are responsible for, but with only 6 weeks and 3 days left until Elizabeth's due date, I am trying to let some things go, especially considering how little the cost is in the scheme of things. Steven and I have a large loan to pay back for the adoption, but we both know that adding to our family with this beautiful little girl will make it all worth it. I have tried to call Elizabeth a couple of times to see how she is holding up, as unfortunately I know firsthand what she is going through, losing her father. She hasn't called me back, so tonight I sent an email to our attorney to see if she has heard from her.

As of Friday, when Elizabeth was 33 weeks along, Baby S should weigh more than 4 pounds (heft a pineapple) and passed the 17-inch mark. She's also rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and her skeleton is hardening. The bones in her skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for her to fit through the birth canal. These bones actually don't entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as her brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood. (I am learning so much. Who knew that the bones in our brains do not completey fusing until we are adults?)