37 Weeks ~ FULL TERM!

How your baby's growing:

Your baby is now considered "full term," even though your due date is three weeks away. If you go into labor now, his lungs will likely be mature enough to fully adjust to life outside the womb. (Some babies need a bit more time, though. So if you're planning to have a repeat c-section, for example, your practitioner will schedule it for no earlier than 39 weeks unless there's a medical reason to intervene earlier.)
Your baby weighs 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to heel (like a stalk of Swiss chard). Many babies have a full head of hair at birth, with locks from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long. But don't be surprised if your baby's hair isn't the same color as yours. Dark-haired couples are sometimes thrown for a loop when their children come out as blonds or redheads, and fair-haired couples have been surprised by Elvis look-alikes. And then, of course, some babies sport only peach fuzz.

*~*Thought this was very nice*~*

We are sitting at lunch one day when my daughter casually mentions that she and her husband are thinking of starting a family. "We're taking a survey," she says half-joking. "Do you think I should have a baby?"

It will change your life," I say, carefully keeping my tone neutral. "I know," she says, "no more sleeping in on weekends, no more spontaneous vacations." But that is not what I meant at all. I look at my daughter, trying to decide what to tell her. I want her to know what she will never learn in childbirth classes. I want to tell her that the physical wounds of child bearing will heal, but becoming a mother will leave her with an emotional wound so raw that she will forever be vulnerable.

I consider warning her that she will never again read a newspaper without asking, "What if that had been MY child?" That every plane crash, every house fire will haunt her. That when she sees pictures of starving children, she will wonder if anything could be worse than watching your child die.

I look at her carefully manicured nails and stylish suit and think that no matter how sophisticated she is, becoming a mother will reduce her to the primitive level of a bear protecting her cub. That an urgent call of "Mom!" will cause her to drop a souffle; or her best crystal without a moment's hesitation. I feel that I should warn her that no matter how many years she has invested in her career, she will be professionally derailed by motherhood. She might arrange for child-care, but one day she will be going into an important business meeting and she will think of her baby's sweet smell. She will have to use every ounce of discipline to keep from running home, just to make sure her baby is all right.

I want my daughter to know that every day decisions will no longer

be routine. That a five year old boy's desire to go to the men's room

rather than the women's at McDonald's will become a major dilemma. That right there, in the midst of clattering trays and screaming children, issues of independence and gender identity will be weighed against the prospect that a child molester may be lurking in that rest-room. However decisive she may be at the office, she will second-guess herself constantly as a mother.

Looking at my attractive daughter, I want to assure her that eventually she will shed the pounds of pregnancy, but she will never

feel the same about herself. That her life, now so important, will be of less value to her once she has a child. That she would give it up in a moment to save her offspring, but will also begin to hope for more years, not to accomplish her own dreams, but to watch her child accomplish theirs.

I want her to know that a Cesarean scar or shiny stretch marks will

become badges of honor. My daughter's relationship with her husband will change, but not in the way she thinks. I wish she could understand how much more you can love a man who is careful to powder the baby or who never hesitates to play with his child. I think she should know that she will fall in love with him again for reasons she would now find very unromantic.

I wish my daughter could sense the bond she will feel with women

throughout history who have tried to stop war, prejudice and drunk

driving. I hope she will understand why I can think rationally about

most issues, but become temporarily insane when I discuss the threat of nuclear war to my children's future.

I want to describe to my daughter the exhilaration of seeing your

child learn to ride a bike. I want to capture for her the belly laugh of

a baby who is touching the soft fur of a dog or cat for the first time.

I want her to taste the joy that is so real it actually hurts.

My daughter's quizzical look makes me realize that tears have

formed in my eyes. "You'll never regret it," I finally say. Then I

reached across the table, squeezed my daughter's hand and offered a silent prayer for her, and for me, and for all the mere mortal women who stumble their way into this most wonderful of callings.

This blessed gift from God... that of being a Mother.

Exactly!

Depressed Much

I believe that at some point in everyones life, they will experience some form of depression. It may not be life changing. It may not require medication or therapy. But, they will experience it. Everyone handles depression differently. Some people just need time to deal with whatever caused or is causing it. This can be a fine line for some. If the feelings aren't getting any better you don't always realize it because you are in a funk. And by then you can become resentful to friends and family who try to point it out and help because you will take it the wrong way. Other people go to therapy. Other people (like me) have always had problems letting people in and that includes professionals. And I definitely don't like talking about my feelings (it makes you look weaker). But i've been in and out of therapy since I was young. And when I was young I didn't open up, but I realized you have to keep going back. What's the answer? Tell them what they want to hear! Not all at once because they will figure it out. Yes, I am aware, this makes Therapy useless. But if I can't open up anyway...ummm hello? Genius! Some peeps need medication. The depression can be caused for so many reasons that I didn't even realized. If there ends up being a combination cause it's a alittle harder to fix. If you have a chemical imbalance or a brain mis-fire, you may need meds forever. It sucks but it's that or getting so low you wish you were dead. See, that's the thing with these meds. You need to listen to the doctor! You can't take yourself off them because YOU think you're doing better and you definitely can't just stop taking them. Sure, at first everything seems fine. You think, "see I'm good". Then 7 days into it you start to become emotionless, you just don't care. Not about anything, you especially. You are just blah. A few days later you start to get morbid thoughts and it's scary. And by the time you realize you have made a mistake it's too late. You need to re-start your meds immediately but get yourself through the next week while they get back into your system. And even though you know this is exactly what is gonna happen, at some point you will attempt to take yourself off your meds again and torture yourself again. If you're depressed, do yourself a favor and look up the symptoms and better yet, the side effects. I didn't realize all the things that are going on because of depression. I'm getting the triple whammy. I'm getting it from the migraines, medication & depression. Just know you aren't alone!

5 seasons; winter, spring, summer, fall & breaking up?

Why does it seem like people break.   up in groups? This couple breaks up and then next thing you know another couple breaks up. It almost starts to seem like a domino effect.  And when it's people close to you, you start to feel helpless.  You want to help and take all their pain away.  But unfortunately that isn't possible.  All you can do is be there for them and listen to them.

Sometimes things work themselves out and other times, our loved ones aren't so lucky.  Some people heal faster than others. People all cope differently but we all need someone to lean on.

Siblings...Ugh!!!

Where do you start. Most of us can't stand our brothers and sisters when we are growing up. We fight, scream, kick, punch and try to hurt each other as much as we can when we are little. Why? Who knows. Isn't that what you are supposed to do? Fighting for attention, pissed off that the other one is alive. You really don't need a reason to go off when you're young. You will rat each other out for the littlest thing and help each other get into trouble. As long as you clean up the blood, your parents don't want to hear about it!

If you are lucky, as you grow up you may start to form a tolerable relationship with your brothers and sister. Be able to sit in the same room without punching and kicking. Have a conversation at the table without name calling and screaming. You may actually agree on things and maybe even watch tv together. Separate ends of the room of course. You pay take rides from each other to the mall or movies. You will need each other and out of necessity, you will kind of get along.

Maybe, just maybe, as you become a young adult you will become friends with your brother and sister. Crazy to think, but it may happen. Hang out together. Call each other for advice. Go out to dinner. Plan a trip to see the parents together. Rely on each other. You don't even realize it's even happening. Sometimes this won't happen until there is an event in your life. Someone gets married. Someone has a baby. Graduates from college. Some day you may even need each other so much, you don't know what you did with out them. You come to rely on each other just to get through the day. You need to know they are there for you. You and them have been through the same situation and can relate. And that will bring you to a level of closeness that couldn't have been achieved without that tragedy.

But like everything in life, these relationships usually have a cycle also. And the day will come when these relationships will start to fade. They each will fall into their own level. Ones you were super close with, they will start to slip away. Ones you were so so with, they might remain the same, but seem strained. Ones you were getting through things with, they might seem to feel like you are losing them again. And it might take another tragedy to get you back together. But you are brother and sister. And hopefully that bond will keep you always and forever in each others hearts.

Super Bowl Sunday...Pretty Much Says It All

Sports...Sports...Sports. What can I say. There are things that people get so passionate about that when they talk to others they can get so heated very quickly. Some people can't talk about politics, some people can't talk about religion. For others, it's sports. But now you got to break it down to seasons. Some people have teams for every sport. Others just have football and baseball. Some have football and basketball. Some baseball and hockey. Some hockey and golf. You see the numerous possibilites.

Some folks are just watchers of the sports. They may have a spouse or significant other who watches so they watch along. Over time they have a team they like, but they don't get that love for the game or team. The love where they will get into a heated conversation, almost fighting over a disagreement. They won't stay home because the game is on, not answer the phone, turn up the tv. Spend money on tickets and say it's for the love of the game.

Some people love sports that others don't consider a sport. And then get upset trying to explain to people how difficult it is to be a Nascar driver or a Dragster driver. And that it's not as simple as just turning left or going straight down the track. You get irritated easily at other peoples irrogance.

You have your famous rivalaries that will never go away. In baseball it's Yankee's Vs. Redsox. I'm a Yankee's fan. And both sets of fans are very passionate and it can get nasty when they are playing each other. And I mean going to the hospital nasty.

Today is Super Bowl Sunday. People have been planning parties for today. It's D day! What all football fans have been waiting fan. Even if you aren't a fan of either Green Bay or Pittsburgh, you will go to a party and watch the game.  Heck, you most likely will go to one even if you don't like football. I don't like either team, but I'm realistic and my teams aren't going anytime soon. But I want Green Bay to beat Pittsburgh badly!

But more than the junk food and loud football game, I'm glad that today got here and that tomorrow is Monday. I'm glad for one HUGE reason. I'm glad because it means football is over. Don't get me wrong. I enjoyed it while it was here. It gave me a way to pass the time. A way to pass the time until BASEBALL SEASON! Heck ya baby!!! Calling all Pitchers and Catchers...Get your butts to Florida...It's time to get business started.

I can't wait for life to get back to normal. Baseball 6 out of 7 nights. Stressfull, crazy nights watching the pitcher struggle or have a spot on night. Talking during the day to other fans about who might win, on your team or their's. Who's hurt and who did great the night before. Who was sucking wind and who needs more time in the bull pen. Is Cano golden glove again this year? Tex can never be taken off 1st base. Jeter needs to have a better year. CC is still #1...And unfortunately the Sox are gonna be competition this year.

But for now...Go Packers!