36 Weeks

Hi Everyone! Well, I am now 36 weeks old!!! Getting ready to come see you all very soon!!! I'm probably about 18 1/2 inches tall and 6 1/2 or 7 lbs! To take a look at how big I am, click here:

http://www.babycenter.com/fetal-development-images-36-weeks

I had another doctor appointment this week. The doc says I am ready to be born at any time! Of course, her preference is that I wait a couple more weeks, but I'm now big enough that she won't worry if I decide to come now. I'm thinking I'll stay in here a bit longer, but maybe it would be ok to come a little early. At least that's what Mommy is hoping. :)

Please pray for Mommy when you think about it. She's doing GREAT, but this weekend she has to stop taking the medicine that has helped stop her contractions. So we're praying they don't come back until it's actually time for me to arrive.

Some fun news...my room is almost ready for me! It's blue on one wall and I have a crib (from Uncle Chris and Aunt Heather) and a changing table ready to go. I also have plenty of Cubs gear and stuffed animals ready for me...so many great gifts from my friends and family! After it's all done, I'll have Daddy put a picture up.

Also, Daddy put together my stroller and installed my car seat. Seemed a little funny to him since it's not time to use them yet, but I think it's good for him to get used to driving with a carseat in the back of his "locker room on wheels."

OK, that's all I have for today. I love you all and can't wait to see you very soon!!!

Love,
Baby Jude

35 Weeks and Ryne Sandberg

Hey everyone! Well, I've made it to the 35 week mark and everything is good! The charts say I should be about 18 inches tall and 5 lb, 4 oz, while putting on about a half pound per week. But since I was already 5 lb, 6 oz on Monday, I'm probably about 5 lb, 10 oz now. Wow, getting big!!! Mommy is definitely hoping for an early delivery now! :) Speaking of Mommy, here is what she looks like now...beautiful, huh?! More on that later. Also, it's not as good as my real pictures, but here is what I look like now:

http://www.babycenter.com/fetal-development-images-35-weeks

We had a fun thing happen this week! On Wednesday, we went to the White House for an event honoring baseball. To our surprise, we got to meet a ton of cool people. First, the President and First Lady. The President said that Mommy looks amazing. Daddy's been saying that, but for some reason it sounded better coming from the leader of the free world! :) However, that was only the start! We got to meet Daddy's all-time favorite player, Ryne Sandberg, and several other Hall of Famers. Cal Ripken and John Smoltz were two of Daddy's favorites. It was also cool to meet some ESPN folks like Mike and Mike, Peter Gammons and Tim Kirkjian. Anyway, it was a blast! Daddy was like a kid in a candy store!

We have another doctor appointment on Wednesday. We have them every week now, since I am coming to see you all soon. We're also working on all the typical baby projects...setting up the crib and nursery, packing the hospital bag, etc. I can't believe it's almost time to come see you all. It will be so much fun!

OK, that's all I have for today. I'll write to you again next week! Soon, I'll have to say "I'll write next week IF I don't see you first!"

Love you all.

Love,
Baby Jude

New Pictures and a NAME!!!

Hi everyone! Well, this is a big news post indeed!!! Daddy doesn’t have much time, but I wanted to at least make sure you got all the big news. First, here are my new pictures!!! Aren’t they amazing?!?! Mommy and Daddy were just in awe looking at all the pictures. They said they could have stayed in there all day!!! The fourth one down is Daddy's favorite and the fifth on down is Mommy's favorite. The technician said everything still looks good…I’m now 5 lb, 6 oz, which is about 10 oz bigger than Daddy and Mommy thought! So I’m a big boy! And maybe I’ll come early! :)

Also, I have a name!!! It’s Jude Alexander Bennett. Daddy and Mommy have been praying over it for several weeks now, and yesterday Daddy gave me a letter he wrote to me. It talks about why they chose my name. Jude means “praised” and Alexander means “helper of mankind.” It’s also cool because the Book of Jude is a special blessing for my life.

So…pictures and a name!!!!! It’s been a big day…I need to sleep now!

Love,
Baby Jude

34 Weeks

Hey Everyone! I'm a day late, but Daddy's been in France for a few days, so he's using that as an excuse for posting late. Anyway, I'm now 34 weeks old and as you can see, I'm getting bigger here in Mommy's tummy. I'm now about 18 inches tall and weigh about 4 lbs, 12 oz. To see what I look like, click here:

http://www.babycenter.com/fetal-development-images-34-weeks

Mommy and I had another doctor appointment on Wednesday. It was the first one we've been to without Daddy. The doc said everything is going great. The best news is that I get to take another picture on Monday. So you all will get to see what I look like one more time before I come out! That will be great fun. Also, Daddy and Mommy seem pretty close to deciding on a name for me, so I'll probably be able to sign my name to these blogs soon. It's about time!

Also, today we bought paint for my room. Of course it's going to be blue, and I'm sure some Cubbie gear will find its way in there!!! In fact, our friends Wes and Carly just gave us a great framed picture of Wrigley Field and Uncle Chris and Aunt Heather gave me a crib!!! What amazing gifts! And so many others of you have given me great things too! My grandmas have pretty much clothed me for the first year of my life. I'm a lucky boy already!

OK, I'll talk to you all again on Monday night after my pictures!

Love,
Baby Boy

33 Weeks and Another Shower

Hi everyone! Well, I stayed put for another week! I'm now 33 weeks old, and only seven weeks away from my big due date!!! I'm getting bigger and stronger (just ask my mommy...I'm making it pretty hard for her to sleep, because I like to kick her in the ribs), and I sure am ready to come out and see all of you. I'm about 17 1/2 inches tall now and weight about 4 lbs, 4 oz. Bigger every day! As you can see, though, Mommy is still beautiful at 33 weeks! Also, here's the link to get an idea of what I look like now:

http://www.babycenter.com/fetal-development-images-33-weeks

The big news from this week is that Mommy and I had our D.C. shower. Our friends Shauna and Keirsten were so great in making it happen! Shauna organized the invitations and a lot of the details and Keirsten opened up her home for the shower, as well as helping with the details. So a big thank you to both of them! We had a great time, and lots of great friends gave us fun stuff to help me start my life in the big world. More than anything, it felt good for Mommy and I to feel so loved. The second picture is of Mommy opening gifts at the shower. That's our friend, Layne, next to Mommy...she's our buddy.

Mommy and I have another doctor appointment next week. We'll probably find out whether or not I get to have another picture taken before I am born. For all of you praying for us, please pray that Mommy's contractions continue to lighten. This week has been better, but they still show up sometimes, which can make it hard to sleep or just be comfortable. Mommy says to pray that they hold off another 4-5 weeks, then bring them on for real a little early! :)

Happy America's Birthday to all of you...as Daddy types for me, Mommy and I are sitting here listening to my first fireworks outside. They're pretty cool!

Love you all,
Baby Boy