38 Weeks

According to BabyCenter this week, Baby Helms has really plumped up. She weighs about 6.8 pounds and she is over 19 1/2 inches long (they are comparing her to a leek this time around). She has a firm grasp, which we will soon be able to test when we hold her hand for the first time! Her organs have matured and are ready for life outside the womb.

As for the color of her eyes? We probably will not be able to tell right away. If she is born with brown eyes, they will likely stay brown. If she is born with steel gray or dark blue eyes, they may stay gray or blue or turn green, hazel, or brown by the time she is nine months old. That's because a child's irises may gain more pigment in the months after she's born, but they usually won't get "lighter" or more blue. (Green, hazel, and brown eyes have more pigment than gray or blue eyes.) I have green eyes (with a little bit of blue thrown in) and Jarrett has hazel eyes, so I guess we will see what effect our genes have on her.

Our hospital bags are officially packed. We just have to make another list of last-minute items to grab, such as the iPod (Jarrett still needs to make a Labor and Delivery playlist :) ), the camera, and the frozen grapes and popsicles. Another weekend task is to actually install the car seat now that we have it. We figure if by chance I go into labor before the weekend, Jarrett will likely have plenty of time in early labor to install it... or we'll just throw the entire box in the car and deal with it at the hospital. :)