Eight Months Pregnant...

Only one more month to go until Boy Cornett is due to arrive! We are still undecided as to what we will name The Boy. We have a list, but it changes all the time, and we can't agree on the order. The good news is that the indecision can't go on forever - eventually we'll have to just choose one. I expect it to happen sometime soon after he is born, although that may be wishful thinking given our track record so far.

The past two months of pregnancy have been fairly eventful. I was diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes in early June. After meeting with a diabetes counselor, modifying my diet, and checking my blood sugar four times a day for a couple of weeks, the problem was declared "under control", which means that I don't have to have any insulin shots. I still need to follow the diet and check my fasting (first thing in the morning) blood sugar for the rest of the pregnancy, but it looks like I had a relatively mild case. One of the first signs that GD is out of control is that the baby grows too large, but that does not seem to be the case. We had an ultrasound on June 24th, and the baby's weight was estimated at just under 4 pounds (67th percentile). Four weeks later (yesterday) he had grown to 6 pounds, 4 ounces, which is the 72nd percentile. He's a little larger than we'd like to see, but well within normal limits. Babies typically gain about a half pound a week from this point on, so if we go full-term he should be about 8.5 pounds.

Here's a capture from our ultrasound yesterday. It's hard to figure out what you're looking at in these late ultrasounds, since the baby too big to see the whole body at once. This is his spine and part of his head:

I've also been having fairly frequent Braxton-Hicks contractions starting at about 31 weeks. Sometimes it feels like they never stop! We were a little concerned about pre-term labor for a few weeks, but at this point the danger has most likely passed. The baby is developed enough that even if I went into labor at this point, we would not try to stop it. The only concern would be whether his lungs are developed enough since the lungs are the last organ to develop, typically completing at about 37 weeks, at which point the baby is considered full-term developmentally. Only another 9 days until we hit that milestone, then the baby can come whenever he wants, as far as I'm concerned!

Our friends Andrea and Alex Jones and E Ben's mother Terry Cornett threw us a baby shower last weekend. It was great to see everyone and we had lots of fun! E Ben opened most of the gifts. Our friends and family are so generous and we are so appreciative. Check out this link to see the photos from the shower.

The Boy is getting stronger every day, and he continues to be extremely active. Sometimes I think he's about to kick through my belly! Portland weather has been cooperative so far this summer, with plenty of cool days. Even on the hot ones, our downstairs stays relatively comfortable, which has been very helpful. This is my last week of work before my maternity leave begins. So pretty soon we'll just be waiting for the baby to arrive! We can't wait to meet him and see what he looks like finally!