- beginning week 38 -

ahniér's, now as long as a leek, weighs nearly 7#

[length: more than 19½ inches, head to heel]

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ahniér isn't so little anymore - weighing in at close to 7# & hitting the height charts at the 21” mark [or less] – she could be gaining as much as one full ounce of weight per day now
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as we prepare [best we can] for her ETA, she’s also getting ready, big time - vernix & lanugo continue to shed from her body into the amniotic fluid - she swallows that amniotic fluid [yum yum?] & some of it winds up in her intestines where it, along with other shed cells, bile & other waste products [triple yum], will turn into her first bowel movement [meconium] & perhaps her first diaper change
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her lungs & fetal digestive system continue to mature, too - all systems, almost go! - only 2 more weeks [or plus two more, max] before she makes her appearance & what an adorable appearance that will be! - her lungs continue to mature as more & more surfactant’s secreted [remember, it helps prevent the lungs from sticking to each other when she begins to breathe…definitely a good thing] – her lungs are continuing to mature & her grasp has become even firmer then before
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almost all babies born now will live with little medical intervention - there really isn't a lot to report on ahniér this week, so lets do a quick recount of where we're at now: all internal organ systems are pretty much ready for the outside world, she’s got her meconium stockpile building up [her first black baby poo], lots of healthy baby fat, a rapidly developing brain [that'll keep growing with her for years to come] & she’s more or less reached official baby status - all she needs to do is "head out" & say hello to the rest of the world

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