NESTING!!!!!

Ok, I have been on a nesting binge in the last couple of weeks. For those of you who may not know what I mean, it is said that when the baby close to being born, the mother begins to "nest". She has a sense of urgency that she must get everything for the baby in order. Well that has been me these past couple of weeks. I cant explain why, but I cant stop making preparations for the baby. I want to stop sometimes but I cant stop! I have put together all of her furniture myself. I have washed all of her 0-3 month clothes and blankets and towels... I have put most things away in preparation for getting new things at my next shower (Its on Feb 4th by the way). They say that when you are as out of control with it as I am, birth is imminent. I hope to buy a little more time but I have a feeling Arden is coming a bit earlier than March 19th. I guess we shall see.

In all of my nesting commotion I failed to do the 32 week update. I am 33 weeks today and here are the stats:

This week Arden weighs about 4 pounds and measures 17.2 inches from the top of her head to her heels. Her skin is becoming less red and wrinkled, and while most of her bones are hardening, her skull is quite pliable and not completely joined. This will help her ease out of the narrow birth canal. She still may be sucking her thumb in preparation for feeding when she is born.

Finally, here are some picture of the room and of me at 32.5 - 33 weeks... Enjoy!

"Always Be My Baby"

Well this little girl is just like her mommy and has impeccable taste in music! She LOVES Mariah Carey!!! I know what you are thinking, how do I know that she does...she probably cant tell the difference between songs. But I tell you that she does. I have a CD changer in my car and I listen to all different types of songs not necessarily sequentially. Whenever Mariah (my favorite singer) comes on, Arden literally dances. She is pretty much still for the other songs (although she also likes Usher and Brandy). She even livens up more for some Mariah songs more than others. Her favorites seem to be "I Am Free" from the Daydream CD (my all time favorite Mariah song), "Open Arms" from Daydream, "We Belong Together" from Emancipation of Mimi, "Dont Forget About Us" from Emancipation of Mimi, and "All I Ever Wanted" and "Music Box" from Music Box. I promise you this kid wakes up when her Mariah Jams come on! I think I will make her a mix CD of her favorites and of others that I think she will like. This is great. I can tell we will get along great! LOL. :)

In other good Berry news, I went to the doctor today for an ultrasound because my placenta was said to be low lying at my 20 week ultrasound. Basically it was covering my cervix and if it remained that way it could create complications and eventually would result in me needing a c-section. The hope was that as my uterus grew it would reposition the placenta (which is attached to the uterine wall). Well the good news is that my placenta has in fact "migrated" away from my cervix! YAY. So everything looks great.

Arden is doing well, although she is getting quite smashed! Her legs and arms are measuring long for her gestation, but her estimated weight is a little bit smaller than average. I guess she'll be long and skinny like her mommy! She weighs approx. 3 lbs 7 oz. and I am 31 1/2 weeks. I guess I will post the other things that are going on in her development this week.

• Arden's growth in height and weight will begin to slow from here on out (but the she will still gain 2 pounds this month).
• Her brain is still growing rapidly, making connections and learning complicated functions she will need for the rest of its life.
• She may have a callous on her thumb from sucking on it.
• Arden's blood is her own and does not mix with mine.

Showered

I had my 1st baby shower on the 7th. It was al ot of fun. Thank you to everyone who was able to come. I got a lot of basics that I need for the baby and I am very grateful for the friends that I have. You all have been great. Thank you so much. I love you guys and Arden loves you too even though she may not know it yet.

The BIG shower has yet to come. Invitations are just being sent out. It will be in February (the 4th). Those of you who werent able to make it to the 1st shower are invited to come to this one if you like. You just have to let me know. Even if you did come to the 1st, you are welcome at this one as well. This is the family party and will be quite a shin dig I am sure. My family tends to be very over the top, but I love them anyway! A lot of invitations/announcements have been sent out. I wont go into #'s because I wouldnt want to unnecessarily shock anyone, but I can be pretty sure this party will have many more people than the gathering of 30 or so at the last one.

Arden is such the little celebrity.

Oh yeah I am 30 weeks this week. Here are Arden's stats:

• Ari is a bit more than 15 1/2 inches long now, and she weighs almost 3 pounds.
• A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds her, but that volume will decrease as she gets bigger and fills out my uterus.
• Her eyes open and close, she's able to distinguish between light and dark, and she can even follow a light source back and forth.
• Once she's born, she'll keep her eyes closed for a good part of the day. When she does open them, she'll respond to changes in light but will have a visual acuity of only 20/400 — which means she can only make out objects a few inches from her face.

Berry is 29 Weeks

I am now 29 weeks pregnant and this week I return to school. I dont want to go back. It should be interesting to see how I get through the day now that I and Arden have gotten a bit bigger and I am starting to get very tired after very little physical exertion. I'll keep you posted.

Here are Little Berry's stats for this week:

• Arden now weighs about 2 1/2 pounds and is over 15 inches long from head to heel.
• Her muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and her head is growing bigger to accommodate her brain — which is busy developing billions of neurons.
• Arden becomes more capable of surviving outside the womb every day now.
• She is more sensitive now to light, sound, taste and smell.
• Her eyes can now move in their sockets.