38 weeks!

38 Weeks! Alright, folks-- Warning: TMI Ahead.

I lost my mucus plug yesterday! After feeling disappointed about Monday's appointment, I was so happy to make a little progress-- not that this is any indication of when I will actually begin active labor, but it's still a reassuring sign that things are headed in the right direction.

As I come to realize exactly how close this pregnancy is to being over, I've been thinking a lot about the things I will miss once my little guy is on the outside. I won't miss the heartburn, the leg cramps, the backaches... but I will miss having him all to myself. While so many people have looked at my ultrasound photos or touched my belly, there are some parts of pregnancy that only I have experienced-- private moments. Every move that he's made, I've known it. Every hiccup he's had, I've felt it. There is nothing that he's done that I haven't been there for-- and all of that is about to change. Soon I'll be sharing him with the world & I won't be with him every second. It's mostly exciting, but a little sad, too. We never know what the future holds and I'm really trying to cherish every moment of this pregnancy in case it's the only one I ever have... (That's certainly not the plan!) I know that the milestones we've had over the past 9 1/2 months will be far surpassed by the ones that we will experience over the next year.

This week, baby is the size of a duffel bag (Really?):

And looks like this (hopefully):

Baking Baby Blakely

"Your baby's intestines have accumulated a considerable amount of meconium (the code name for black, tar-like baby poop), which is usually eliminated shortly after birth and gives you your first experience with the 100-wipe diaper change.

Here's what else is up:

Your baby might just scratch himself in the womb as the fingernails have grown over the fingertips now. Baby's lungs continue to mature and his brain and nerve function are working better every day. The latter two will continue to mature until Junior is a teenager, at which point he'll know it all (or at least she'll think she does).

Your baby weighs about 6½ pounds and is around 19 or 20 inches long—as long as a duffle bag (in case you needed an excuse to go shopping for a new bag for your labor gear)."

38 Week Belly Pic

It still feels unbelievable that we will be holding Liam in our arms in two weeks (three weeks max)! We talk almost every day about how no matter how many things we've purchased, how many classes we've taken, and how we've tried to plan, nothing will actually prepare us for the moment we meet our son. I see my growing belly and feel him move inside me, but it just seems hard to believe that there's an actual person, a baby, growing there. I can't wait to see his sweet face!!