So again we began the hunt for homes to go look at over the weekend. We decided this time that we were going to go on Friday night the 18th, to beat people going on Saturday and Sunday. Steven had a theory that the reason we weren't getting these bids was because weren't going to look at homes until Sunday afternoon and everyone else was going on Saturday. Our finance man's theory is that people are realizing that if you don't have a bid on the table by Nov 1st you aren't going to make the November 30th cutoff for the $8000 tax credit for first time home buyers.
Well there just weren't any new ones that came on the market last week so we decided to go and look at the house that was under construction. This house is on Ballard St in the Colony. We already knew we liked the rest of the house we just wanted to see how the two kids rooms turned out. What these people did when they moved in was they tore down the wall between the two smaller rooms to create one big room. Well in this housing market no one wants a two bedroom house they want a three bedroom house, so they weren't getting any offers. Hence why they were doing the construction put the wall back up. They owners did a great job of putting the wall back up and painting and they even put new carpet in all three bedrooms. We discussed the house a little bit and decided to go ahead and put an offer on it since we did like it. We drove to the local Chick-fil-A and filled out all the paperwork (for a third time) and then we left thinking we would have good news the next day.
Our Saturday was jam packed with fun stuff to do. We went to Steven's parent's house to help paint some baseboards and finish up the deck before the baby shower next weekend. Well Steven's Dad got called out on a job for work, so we went to Home Depot to get the paint so we could go ahead and get started. We painted the baseboards in the dining room and the laundry room, and the door frame going from the kitchen into the laundry room. While we were at Home Depot we got a little excited and picked up some color sample pages so we could start getting some ideas of what we would like to change in the house on Ballard St, because we knew we had it in the bag. We showed Steven's Mom some of those colors and she loved one of them so much that she decided she wanted it in her dining room as an accent wall, so our painting job got a little bigger on Saturday. We had lunch and then Steven and his Dad went and got the paint for the dining room wall, and some paint for the laundry room walls too. Needless to say we have a beautiful accent wall in the dining room, but that meant his Mom needed new curtains to go in there. While Steven and his Mom were out looking for new curtains he got the phone call from our realtor.
She called almost in tears to let us know that apparently someone had gone and looked at the house on Ballard St Friday morning and had put in an offer and that the sellers had picked their offer. Again, why didn't their agent say something when ours called to schedule the viewing? Who knows, but seriously he should have especially if they had already submitted the offer! Why waste our time and money driving out there when the seller already has this other offer? Or at least he could have said what we would have needed to offer to beat it, so we didn't waste time putting in an offer that was going to be declined. Steven told me when he got back and I immediately go into this Robot mode that I have where I don't want to do anything other than what I'm currently doing. I don't' want to talk, I don't want to stop, I don't want to be disturbed. But when you are in a house full of people and a couple of them are completely annoying you it's hard to be in that mode.
About 30 minutes after Steven got back and gave me the bad news we got another call from our realtor saying that she had just found a house in The Colony that had the exact same floor plan as the second one we had put an offer on. How there are soo many houses out there that have Doppelgangers I don't know, but they do. She said that if we wanted to we could go out right then and look at it, so we decided to go. Dad had put lasagna in the over and it wasn't going to be ready for an hour so we were good on time. We hopped in the car and headed up to see this new house that neither of us had seen on any of the lists we had received. This house has the exact same floor plan as the one with the skylights and it bright and open and airy, so again we already know that we like the floor plan.
http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/4820-Ash-Glen-Lane_The-Colony_TX_75056_1111722676
Here is a link to the properties info. The pictures don't do it justice. We might want to paint some and we'll need appliances probably, but we can handle that. Plus one of the rooms has paneling in it that we are going to have to remove and texture and paint. Otherwise it's great! The added family room is fantastic too! We've already got it planned out to have for the kids play room in one half and the computer are in the other. Well if everything goes as planned.
We did put a bid on this house Saturday night, and we have heard back from them with some concessions. So we have countered and submitted that information last night along with our earnest money. The earnest money is the good faith money that you put down to show them that you are serious about buying the house and you most likely won't flake out on them. Once we get down to closing that money will be put towards the down payment. We have finally reached the next level in the negotiations process. We are meeting with an inspector Tuesday night to see what he has found on the property and to go over all of that jazz. We have 7 days to finish up all of this stuff and back out if we want to, but I don't think we will unless the inspector finds some pretty major things. The seller is actually putting on a brand new roof this week, and he's finishing up the repairs in one of the bedrooms and replacing the carpet. Oh yeah it has new carpet through out the whole house.
For now this is where are in the house buying process. Hopefully we'll have a home to move into soon so we can get it ready for the baby.
Monday, September 21, 2009
House Hunting Part 2
I think the number people looking for houses has increased dramatically. We've had too many situations where we put a bid on a house thinking that since it had been on the market for so long that we had it in the bag and it turn out that the exact same day the buyer got 3 other offers.
We began our house hunt officially the first week of September, and that was completely be accident. Our realtor has been sending us a daily email with a listing of houses within our criteria. Well on Wednesday September 2nd we saw one that we both really liked. Steven jokingly asked if I wanted to run up to The Colony to see if we might be able to find it and to just get a feel for the area, and I said sure why not. So we picked Alexis up and away we went to The Colony on a house hunt to see if either of us could remember where the house was. Lucky for us I have a pretty good memory because we found it on our first try.
Funny story about this first house.....When we pulled up we saw the little thing out front that had info on the house and I jumped out and grabbed a copy. After we all looked the flier over I noticed that the house a lock box on it and I just assumed that no one was living there. Remember I have no experience in house hunting/viewing so I had no clue what I was talking about. Having made the previous statement Steven and Alexis jump out and proceed to walk up to the house to get a better look. About the time they are rounding the house and looking at the side I notice a pair of shoes on the front porch and realize my mistake. I had just told them that I thought someone did live there when the front door opens and a man comes out asking if he can help us. Let me just say I almost died right there on the spot. I felt so dumb and intrusive. However the guy, who turned out to be the owner, just thought we were the people that were scheduled to come and that we were just really early. Steven got to talking to him and told him that we had just seen the house online and decided to drive out to see if we could find it, and the owner asked us if we wanted to look at the inside of the house. Well of course we said yes. He told us that someone had put in an offer, but that they had completely declined it and that it was still available. This is the end of the funny/happy part of the story.
We fell in love with that house, but we still wanted to look at other houses in the area that looked okay just to make sure that we weren't going into to something blind. We setup with our realtor to go look at houses on that following Sunday the 6th. Well the next day Steven's uncle Randy passed away and time kind of just went out the window. Sunday came and we did go look at houses and we came back to that house on Malone that we fell in love with after looking at many duds. Looking at a person's home while they are there is extremely uncomfortable. How do they expect to sell their home when you won't even leave for an hour or two so people can come and look at it? When the owner is there you don't feel like you can openly discuss things about the home that you do and don't like because they are there. Those homes were marked off the list immediately. But back to the first home that we really liked and that we put a bid on....The house was on Malone St in The Colony and even our realtor was blown away. When you see the pictures online you think okay it looks nice, but surely it doesn't look that nice. This house did look that nice. We left there and went to a Starbucks and filled out all the paperwork to put a bid on the Malone St house thinking that we had it in the bag because we were offering the full amount, especially since he had told us that they had declined the other offer. Well obviously that is not the case since I said that was the end of the good part. We got the call the next day from our realtor that the owner had decided to accept that other person's offer after he had told us he had declined it. We were broken hearted, but what can you do but go on and look at more houses.
So we spent the rest of the week scouring for more houses to go look at and we came up with another list to give to our realtor. And again we setup an appointment to go look at them on that next Sunday the 13th. If remember that was the weekend that it rained all weekend, so we thought for sure we were the only fools that would go house hunting in the rain, and that there is no way that anyone will be putting in any bids on homes. Wrong! The first house we looked at was the exact same floor plan as the house on Malone so we already knew that we liked the floor plan. We got there and the owners were still there, but on this particular house I understood why. They were in the process of finishing up some remodeling and they wanted to explain what was going on with it and when it was going to be finished. After they explained this they left and let us look at the rest of the house in peace. There were some things that were going to need to be updated, but it wasn't a bad house at all. We just didn't want to put an offer on it until we say the finished product of the construction they had going on. On we went to the other houses.
We came to a house on Roberts St and we really liked it. The owners had redone the kitchen area and those of you who know know this is a big deal. They had actually added two skylights and the entire home just felt light and airy and perfect. There were a few minor things that we were going to need to fix, but in the grand scheme of things it didn't matter to us. We left there and looked a couple of other homes and decided to put a bid on the house on Roberts St. While we were traveling to our realtor's home she called the buyers realtor to discuss putting in an offer on that home. He told our realtor that another person had just put in an bid and if she got ours over to him soon that he submit both offers at the same time. The way he made it sound was like that our offer was better than the other so we needed to get it in to him before he gave the other one to the seller to consider. We did what he said and sent everything over to him. Again we got bad news.....the next day when our realtor called him to check on things apparently he had had a third offer made on the home that was just slightly higher than ours. She asked him what we needed to offer to beat out the other offer because we weren't even at the top of our price range, but he never told her. When she emailed him back to find out what was going on he responded and said that it wouldn't have been fair to the other buyer if he had done that. Who here knows that you are trying to make as much money as possible when buying a home? Our realtor pretty much told that buyers realtor that he completely screwed over his client because we were willing to offer more, and that he wasn't doing his job. Talk about crazy! I personally would want a realtor that is going to bring me the best offer available. Another crazy thing is that there were so many people out looking at house and making offers in the crazy stormy weather we had that weekend.
We began our house hunt officially the first week of September, and that was completely be accident. Our realtor has been sending us a daily email with a listing of houses within our criteria. Well on Wednesday September 2nd we saw one that we both really liked. Steven jokingly asked if I wanted to run up to The Colony to see if we might be able to find it and to just get a feel for the area, and I said sure why not. So we picked Alexis up and away we went to The Colony on a house hunt to see if either of us could remember where the house was. Lucky for us I have a pretty good memory because we found it on our first try.
Funny story about this first house.....When we pulled up we saw the little thing out front that had info on the house and I jumped out and grabbed a copy. After we all looked the flier over I noticed that the house a lock box on it and I just assumed that no one was living there. Remember I have no experience in house hunting/viewing so I had no clue what I was talking about. Having made the previous statement Steven and Alexis jump out and proceed to walk up to the house to get a better look. About the time they are rounding the house and looking at the side I notice a pair of shoes on the front porch and realize my mistake. I had just told them that I thought someone did live there when the front door opens and a man comes out asking if he can help us. Let me just say I almost died right there on the spot. I felt so dumb and intrusive. However the guy, who turned out to be the owner, just thought we were the people that were scheduled to come and that we were just really early. Steven got to talking to him and told him that we had just seen the house online and decided to drive out to see if we could find it, and the owner asked us if we wanted to look at the inside of the house. Well of course we said yes. He told us that someone had put in an offer, but that they had completely declined it and that it was still available. This is the end of the funny/happy part of the story.
We fell in love with that house, but we still wanted to look at other houses in the area that looked okay just to make sure that we weren't going into to something blind. We setup with our realtor to go look at houses on that following Sunday the 6th. Well the next day Steven's uncle Randy passed away and time kind of just went out the window. Sunday came and we did go look at houses and we came back to that house on Malone that we fell in love with after looking at many duds. Looking at a person's home while they are there is extremely uncomfortable. How do they expect to sell their home when you won't even leave for an hour or two so people can come and look at it? When the owner is there you don't feel like you can openly discuss things about the home that you do and don't like because they are there. Those homes were marked off the list immediately. But back to the first home that we really liked and that we put a bid on....The house was on Malone St in The Colony and even our realtor was blown away. When you see the pictures online you think okay it looks nice, but surely it doesn't look that nice. This house did look that nice. We left there and went to a Starbucks and filled out all the paperwork to put a bid on the Malone St house thinking that we had it in the bag because we were offering the full amount, especially since he had told us that they had declined the other offer. Well obviously that is not the case since I said that was the end of the good part. We got the call the next day from our realtor that the owner had decided to accept that other person's offer after he had told us he had declined it. We were broken hearted, but what can you do but go on and look at more houses.
So we spent the rest of the week scouring for more houses to go look at and we came up with another list to give to our realtor. And again we setup an appointment to go look at them on that next Sunday the 13th. If remember that was the weekend that it rained all weekend, so we thought for sure we were the only fools that would go house hunting in the rain, and that there is no way that anyone will be putting in any bids on homes. Wrong! The first house we looked at was the exact same floor plan as the house on Malone so we already knew that we liked the floor plan. We got there and the owners were still there, but on this particular house I understood why. They were in the process of finishing up some remodeling and they wanted to explain what was going on with it and when it was going to be finished. After they explained this they left and let us look at the rest of the house in peace. There were some things that were going to need to be updated, but it wasn't a bad house at all. We just didn't want to put an offer on it until we say the finished product of the construction they had going on. On we went to the other houses.
We came to a house on Roberts St and we really liked it. The owners had redone the kitchen area and those of you who know know this is a big deal. They had actually added two skylights and the entire home just felt light and airy and perfect. There were a few minor things that we were going to need to fix, but in the grand scheme of things it didn't matter to us. We left there and looked a couple of other homes and decided to put a bid on the house on Roberts St. While we were traveling to our realtor's home she called the buyers realtor to discuss putting in an offer on that home. He told our realtor that another person had just put in an bid and if she got ours over to him soon that he submit both offers at the same time. The way he made it sound was like that our offer was better than the other so we needed to get it in to him before he gave the other one to the seller to consider. We did what he said and sent everything over to him. Again we got bad news.....the next day when our realtor called him to check on things apparently he had had a third offer made on the home that was just slightly higher than ours. She asked him what we needed to offer to beat out the other offer because we weren't even at the top of our price range, but he never told her. When she emailed him back to find out what was going on he responded and said that it wouldn't have been fair to the other buyer if he had done that. Who here knows that you are trying to make as much money as possible when buying a home? Our realtor pretty much told that buyers realtor that he completely screwed over his client because we were willing to offer more, and that he wasn't doing his job. Talk about crazy! I personally would want a realtor that is going to bring me the best offer available. Another crazy thing is that there were so many people out looking at house and making offers in the crazy stormy weather we had that weekend.
Week 33 of Pregnancy
What changes are occurring with your body?
The top of your uterus is a little over 5 inches from your belly button. Your total weight gain should be between 22 and 28 pounds.
You may wonder if you will be able to tell when your water breaks (also called rupturing of the membranes). This is the breaking of the fluid-filled sac (amniotic fluid) surrounding the baby. Only 1 in 10 women experience a dramatic gush of the amniotic fluid, and even then it usually happens at home, often in bed. Sometimes the amniotic sac breaks or leaks before labor begins. This may be just a small trickle. It is common to be uncertain about whether leaking fluid is amniotic fluid or urine. Many pregnant women leak urine in the later stages of pregnancy, so be sure to have it checked. If you think your membranes have ruptured, you should call your health care provider.
Until you see your physician or midwife, do not use tampons, have sexual intercourse, or do anything that would introduce bacteria to your vagina once your water has broken. Let your doctor know if the fluid is anything other than clear and odorless, particularly if is greenish or foul smelling, because this could be a sign of infection. Your doctor should discuss with you what to do if your membranes rupture. Most doctors want to evaluate you and your baby as soon as the membranes rupture because of the risk of developing an infection. Your doctor may decide to induce labor.*
How big is your baby?
Your baby is approximately 16 ½ inches long and weighs between 4 ½ to 5 pounds. Because growth can be so different for each baby during this time, your baby may be a little off from these measurements which in most cases is totally normal.*
What is happening with your baby?
Your baby’s skin is beginning to look less red and less wrinkled. Fat stores are continuing to be deposited under his/her skin. His/her bones are all beginning to harden except for the skull. The skull needs to remain soft and pliable for delivery.*
I can feel all almost 5lbs of this baby! Seriously when he decides to move it's like my belly is about to burst open like the scene in Aliens. Half the time it feels like he's doing the worm in my belly. Crazy thought.....in four weeks (according to my doctor) I'll be full term and can give birth any time after that!!! 4 weeks...I'm not sure we're quite ready for that. We still need to get a house.
The top of your uterus is a little over 5 inches from your belly button. Your total weight gain should be between 22 and 28 pounds.
You may wonder if you will be able to tell when your water breaks (also called rupturing of the membranes). This is the breaking of the fluid-filled sac (amniotic fluid) surrounding the baby. Only 1 in 10 women experience a dramatic gush of the amniotic fluid, and even then it usually happens at home, often in bed. Sometimes the amniotic sac breaks or leaks before labor begins. This may be just a small trickle. It is common to be uncertain about whether leaking fluid is amniotic fluid or urine. Many pregnant women leak urine in the later stages of pregnancy, so be sure to have it checked. If you think your membranes have ruptured, you should call your health care provider.
Until you see your physician or midwife, do not use tampons, have sexual intercourse, or do anything that would introduce bacteria to your vagina once your water has broken. Let your doctor know if the fluid is anything other than clear and odorless, particularly if is greenish or foul smelling, because this could be a sign of infection. Your doctor should discuss with you what to do if your membranes rupture. Most doctors want to evaluate you and your baby as soon as the membranes rupture because of the risk of developing an infection. Your doctor may decide to induce labor.*
How big is your baby?
Your baby is approximately 16 ½ inches long and weighs between 4 ½ to 5 pounds. Because growth can be so different for each baby during this time, your baby may be a little off from these measurements which in most cases is totally normal.*
What is happening with your baby?
Your baby’s skin is beginning to look less red and less wrinkled. Fat stores are continuing to be deposited under his/her skin. His/her bones are all beginning to harden except for the skull. The skull needs to remain soft and pliable for delivery.*
I can feel all almost 5lbs of this baby! Seriously when he decides to move it's like my belly is about to burst open like the scene in Aliens. Half the time it feels like he's doing the worm in my belly. Crazy thought.....in four weeks (according to my doctor) I'll be full term and can give birth any time after that!!! 4 weeks...I'm not sure we're quite ready for that. We still need to get a house.
Monday, September 14, 2009
House Hunting
A longer better blog will follow with more detail. We are officially house hunting and have put a bid on a house. We are just waiting to hear what the buyer has to say about our offer.
http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/5068-Roberts-Drive_The-Colony_TX_75056_1111684504
This a link to the house we are looking at right now. We are really hoping that this one doesn't fall thru.
http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/5068-Roberts-Drive_The-Colony_TX_75056_1111684504
This a link to the house we are looking at right now. We are really hoping that this one doesn't fall thru.
Randy's Passing
Randy went into the hospital on Tuesday evening September 1st. He was complaining about pain after his chemo treatment that afternoon. They admitted him and began to give him pain meds and to run tests to see what was going on. Wednesday we got a text that he had been crashed carted and that he was in CCU. The hospital staff was unable to get his hear rate and blood pressure to normal rates. His heart rate was at around 140 beats per minute and his blood pressure was extremely low. On Thursday I had a staff meeting most of the morning, so I didn't find out until later in the morning what exactly was going on. Steven's Mom had received a phone call from the hospital that Randy had taken a turn for the worse and that they were bringing in the Chaplains. That was about an hour before I got out of my meeting. Once I got the email I immediately tried to get a hold of Steven to let him know that we could leave and head up to the hospital if needed. Right after I emailed him we got another text that things were going down hill fast, so we left work immediately and went to the hospital to be with the family. Around 12:15 everyone had left Randy's room other than Nanny, Kim and myself. About that time a nurse came in a informed Nanny that if there was any family in the building that we needed to get them to the room quickly because Randy was fading fast and he didn't have much longer. His heart rate had dropped so fast in such a short amount of time they knew it was going to be very long. That's when I noticed his heart rate had dropped to 57 beats/minute. Over the next ten minutes it dropped to zero and he passed away. There aren't words to express all the emotions that go with witnessing someone die. When the monitor hit zero I said "oh God" and everyone else began crying. I'm not sure that I want to ever experience that again, it's too much emotion for me to process. I can handle the phone call after the fact, but not to be in the room when it happens.
Family Drama
Let me start off by saying that most of the time I love our family and everything is usually peachy keen. However the last few weeks are about to drive us all crazy!
I have lived out here in Dallas for almost 8 years and for the most part I haven't asked for hardly any help from my family. I have worked extremely hard to get where I am in life....good paying job, bills paid, clothes on our back, decent credit score, a plcae to live and so on. By trying to keep all these things in order I haven't been able to afford to go out and visit my family near as much as they want me to. They have openely admitted that they feel like I have cut them from my life and in a way I had to, especially when I first moved here. They live a very different lifestyle than I do, and at the time that I moved here I already had my own issues that I was struggling with. I couldn't work through my issues and still be completely active in their lives because it just wouldn't have worked. I thought that I had finally straightened things out with my family and now I think it's all gone to crap again. I feel like they think that I think I'm better than them, and that I don't need them in my life at all. Which is completely wrong! I love them and all of their little quirks. Let me take credit for my inaction by not calling more or emailing more or just plain not remembering to send birthday cards. But they don't either. Three quarters of the time they flake out on me and never do what they say they will. I was really afraid that none of them were going to come out for the baby shower that Steven's Mom is hosting at the end of this month. Seriously pregnancy hormones can't take something like that.
Now the other side of the family....Steven and I both are about to go crazy dealing with his family. There is always drama with his sister and brother-in-law, and the latest involves Dad and Steven helping move them in with Mom and Dad. Did I mention they had to do this in the rain the same afternoon after we buried Steven's Uncle? So yeah that's one thing. Then you add in all the family that has come to town to be here for Randy's passing and the memorial service and the funeral. I'll blog about Randy's passing later, but it was really hard on all of us. I have a hard time thinking about that day because I was there. Randy's sister Connie came in from Florida and has been driving everyone crazy. She has come into town and put together a laundry list of things that need to get done and put Steven's Dad to work doing them. The only thing is that his Dad has a kidney stone and has been told by his doctor not to do any physical activities that might knock it loose because he is supposed to have surgery on Oct 3 on it. And another sister that no one has seen in years has shown up and she is trying to be best friends with everyone. She keeps offering to babysit all the little kids and says that she's moving in with Nanny now and all of this stuff. She says the most inappropriate things at the most inapprpriate times and no one knows how to act around her. Everything has just been crazy for the last two weeks!
We are ready for a nice break from family interaction.
Now the other side of the family....Steven and I both are about to go crazy dealing with his family. There is always drama with his sister and brother-in-law, and the latest involves Dad and Steven helping move them in with Mom and Dad. Did I mention they had to do this in the rain the same afternoon after we buried Steven's Uncle? So yeah that's one thing. Then you add in all the family that has come to town to be here for Randy's passing and the memorial service and the funeral. I'll blog about Randy's passing later, but it was really hard on all of us. I have a hard time thinking about that day because I was there. Randy's sister Connie came in from Florida and has been driving everyone crazy. She has come into town and put together a laundry list of things that need to get done and put Steven's Dad to work doing them. The only thing is that his Dad has a kidney stone and has been told by his doctor not to do any physical activities that might knock it loose because he is supposed to have surgery on Oct 3 on it. And another sister that no one has seen in years has shown up and she is trying to be best friends with everyone. She keeps offering to babysit all the little kids and says that she's moving in with Nanny now and all of this stuff. She says the most inappropriate things at the most inapprpriate times and no one knows how to act around her. Everything has just been crazy for the last two weeks!
We are ready for a nice break from family interaction.
Week 32 of Pregnancy
What changes are occurring with your body?
The top of your uterus can now be measured about 5 inches above your belly button. Because the top of your uterus is so high, you may begin to have trouble breathing or feel short of breath. This is due to the pressure that your growing uterus is placing on your diaphragm. This same pressure may also cause an increased amount of heartburn.
Most likely you are gaining about a pound per week. Your blood volume has increased by 40% to 50% during the past 32 weeks. This allows your body to accommodate both you and your baby. This increased volume is also important because it makes up for the amount of blood you will lose during delivery.*
How big is your baby?
Your baby is a little over 16 inches long and weighs between 4 and 4 ½ pounds.*
What is happening with your baby?
Your baby is continuing to grow. His/her toenails and fingernails have formed. The lungs are continuing to mature but will not reach full maturity for several more weeks. Your baby’s skeleton has completely formed, but his/her bones are very soft and pliable.*
The top of your uterus can now be measured about 5 inches above your belly button. Because the top of your uterus is so high, you may begin to have trouble breathing or feel short of breath. This is due to the pressure that your growing uterus is placing on your diaphragm. This same pressure may also cause an increased amount of heartburn.
Most likely you are gaining about a pound per week. Your blood volume has increased by 40% to 50% during the past 32 weeks. This allows your body to accommodate both you and your baby. This increased volume is also important because it makes up for the amount of blood you will lose during delivery.*
How big is your baby?
Your baby is a little over 16 inches long and weighs between 4 and 4 ½ pounds.*
What is happening with your baby?
Your baby is continuing to grow. His/her toenails and fingernails have formed. The lungs are continuing to mature but will not reach full maturity for several more weeks. Your baby’s skeleton has completely formed, but his/her bones are very soft and pliable.*
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Week 31 of Pregnancy
What changes are occurring with your body?
You may have noticed a yellowish or creamy substance that has begun to leak from your breasts. This substance is called colostrum or pre-milk. Colostrum is the first stage of breast milk that occurs during pregnancy and lasts for several days after the birth of the baby. It is much thicker than the milk that is produced later in breastfeeding.
Not all women leak colostrum, but either way, this is considered normal. You may notice that the leaking only occurs at certain times of the day. If you experience leaking during the day, you may want to invest in some nursing pads that can be placed in your bra to absorb the colostrum.
Many women begin to experience Braxton Hicks contractions during the last several weeks of pregnancy. Braxton Hicks contractions can begin as early as the second trimester; however, they are most common in the third trimester. The muscles of your uterus tighten for approximately 30 to 60 seconds or as long as 2 minutes. Braxton Hicks are also called "practice contractions" because they will prepare you for the real thing, and you can practice the breathing exercises you are learning in your childbirth classes.
How big is your baby?
Your baby is continuing to grow and has grown to over 15 ½inches in length and weighs anywhere from 3 ½ to 4 pounds.*
What is happening with your baby?
Your baby is continuing to develop a layer of fat under his/her skin. This is in preparation for his/her arrival into the world and gives the baby more of a newborn appearance. During the next several weeks your baby will really begin to put on the weight. Remember the average size of a newborn is about 7 ½ pounds and 19 to 21 inches long.*
You may have noticed a yellowish or creamy substance that has begun to leak from your breasts. This substance is called colostrum or pre-milk. Colostrum is the first stage of breast milk that occurs during pregnancy and lasts for several days after the birth of the baby. It is much thicker than the milk that is produced later in breastfeeding.
Not all women leak colostrum, but either way, this is considered normal. You may notice that the leaking only occurs at certain times of the day. If you experience leaking during the day, you may want to invest in some nursing pads that can be placed in your bra to absorb the colostrum.
Many women begin to experience Braxton Hicks contractions during the last several weeks of pregnancy. Braxton Hicks contractions can begin as early as the second trimester; however, they are most common in the third trimester. The muscles of your uterus tighten for approximately 30 to 60 seconds or as long as 2 minutes. Braxton Hicks are also called "practice contractions" because they will prepare you for the real thing, and you can practice the breathing exercises you are learning in your childbirth classes.
How big is your baby?
Your baby is continuing to grow and has grown to over 15 ½inches in length and weighs anywhere from 3 ½ to 4 pounds.*
What is happening with your baby?
Your baby is continuing to develop a layer of fat under his/her skin. This is in preparation for his/her arrival into the world and gives the baby more of a newborn appearance. During the next several weeks your baby will really begin to put on the weight. Remember the average size of a newborn is about 7 ½ pounds and 19 to 21 inches long.*
Week 30 of Pregnancy
What changes are occurring with your body?
You may begin noticing that you become tired easily during this last part of pregnancy. This may be especially true if you are having difficulty sleeping at night. Some women are able to experiment with different sleeping positions that make sleep a little easier. If you are suffering from insomnia, and it is becoming increasingly worse, you may want to consult with your healthcare provider. During this later part of pregnancy, you may also experience mood swings. Some of you may have experienced this in the earlier part of pregnancy as well.
Your body is producing a number of different hormones that can cause your joints to become looser. This may result in your feet actually getting larger. Some women report that their feet grow one shoe size during their pregnancy. This is normally a permanent change.*
How big is your baby?
Your baby has now grown to be about 15.15 inches long (CHL) and weighs about 3 pounds.*
What is happening with your baby?
As your baby continues to grow, he/she takes up a larger portion of your uterus. You may not feel that your body can handle your growing baby, but it will compensate by allowing your uterus to extend underneath your rib cage.
Your baby’s eyes are becoming more mature, and now he/she can tell the difference between light and dark. Babies at 30 weeks can even follow a light source with his/her eyes. Once your baby is born, he/she will spend a great deal of time with their eyes closed. This is completely normal. Newborns only have the ability to focus on objects a few inches from their faces. While “normal” adult vision is 20/20, a newborn’s vision is 20/400.*
You may begin noticing that you become tired easily during this last part of pregnancy. This may be especially true if you are having difficulty sleeping at night. Some women are able to experiment with different sleeping positions that make sleep a little easier. If you are suffering from insomnia, and it is becoming increasingly worse, you may want to consult with your healthcare provider. During this later part of pregnancy, you may also experience mood swings. Some of you may have experienced this in the earlier part of pregnancy as well.
Your body is producing a number of different hormones that can cause your joints to become looser. This may result in your feet actually getting larger. Some women report that their feet grow one shoe size during their pregnancy. This is normally a permanent change.*
How big is your baby?
Your baby has now grown to be about 15.15 inches long (CHL) and weighs about 3 pounds.*
What is happening with your baby?
As your baby continues to grow, he/she takes up a larger portion of your uterus. You may not feel that your body can handle your growing baby, but it will compensate by allowing your uterus to extend underneath your rib cage.
Your baby’s eyes are becoming more mature, and now he/she can tell the difference between light and dark. Babies at 30 weeks can even follow a light source with his/her eyes. Once your baby is born, he/she will spend a great deal of time with their eyes closed. This is completely normal. Newborns only have the ability to focus on objects a few inches from their faces. While “normal” adult vision is 20/20, a newborn’s vision is 20/400.*
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