OK, well the belly is growing rapidly now and I’m getting slower….finding it harder to walk long distances and get puffed quite quickly.  I’ve been meaning to go swimming in the mornings but just haven’t had time.  I started swimming yesterday morning, though, and plan to swim every morning from now on.  It helps to have a week off work to start finding time for such things.  My belly button is threatening to turn into an outtie too.  The midwife appointment on Monday showed that everything was fine.  My blood pressure was very low because the midwife took it while I was lying down!

Info from Birth.com.au:

You are now 34 weeks pregnant, which is the beginning of week 35.  Your baby has grown to be about 46 cm long and approximately 2,350 grams in weight. During the next 6 weeks or so, your baby’s main task is to gain weight and grow a little larger, as well as build up their immune system, which is obtained from you passing blood antibodies through the placenta. Babies born around 34 to 35 weeks normally do quite well, but are still regarded as ‘mildly preterm’, generally requiring some time in the intensive care nursery. This could be for observation, monitoring, possibly small amounts of oxygen for a few hours (or days), obtaining warmth in a humidicrib and perhaps nourishment from a drip in their vein and/or milk feeds down a tube into their stomach, if they tire quickly when feeding.

Another week over!!  The weeks feel like they’re flying past at the moment.  Again my belly seems to be growing quite quickly at the moment, and I’m starting to feel a bit heavy in the belly area.  Mostly it’s just when I stand up and start to walk.  I’m also getting lots of feelings of a tight belly, which I guess are Braxton Hicks contractions.  They mostly come when I’m walking, particularly if I’m walking fast or over a reasonable distance.  I also still get occasional swelling of the ankles, but I’ve realised that this seems to happen when I don’t wear boots (which I wear to work every day), so the swelling usually happens on weekends.  Otherwise everything else is fine.

Info from Birth.com.au:

You are now 33 weeks pregnant, which is the beginning of week 34.  Your baby weighs about 2.1kg and measures about 45 cm in length. Your baby is now fully formed physically and has a firm grasp reflex. They can now determine the difference between sweet and sour tastes. Premature babies born as early as 33 weeks have been observed to suck harder on a teat dipped in glucose. However, even unborn babies can detect subtle changes in the flavour of the amniotic fluid they float in. It is believed the fluid acts as a ‘flavour bridge’ to their mother’s breast milk. Breast milk changes flavour depending on what the mother eats (such as sugar, garlic or curry) and so does the amniotic fluid. Observations of unborn babies have demonstrated that they swallow more frequently when surrounded by sweet tastes and swallow less fluid if it tastes bitter or sour. < back to top

Most babies assume a head down position by this time (if not already there). A few babies remain in a breech position. Your caregiver feels for your baby’s head during your pregnancy visits and should now be able to detect which side of your belly their back is laying on (right or left). Your baby can move frequently from one side of your belly to the other. At this stage, it does not really matter if your baby’s back is anterior (towards your front) or posterior (towards your back).

Another week over! Again not much to report except that my belly is getting bigger. I’m not getting swollen ankles very often, which is good. I am definately slowing down though. I’m puffed after climbing a single flight of stairs, I don’t walk as fast as I used to and get tired more easily. It’s getting harder to bend down to pick up something off the floor, and rolling over in bed requires a bit of effort, though it’s been like that for a while now.

At the Birth Centre appointment my blood pressure was 110/76, fundal height was 35 cm, and the baby’s hearbeat was fine.  The midwife had trouble trying to work out the orientation of Bugalugs, but I think the final verdict was that it’s probably head down with it’s back sitting against my left side.   Doesn’t matter, we’ll find out for sure next week when I have the ultrasound.

Info from Birth.com.au:

You are now 32 weeks pregnant, which is the beginning of week 33. Your baby is about 44 cm long and approximately 1,900 grams in weight. Your baby’s lungs continue to mature, producing increasing amounts of surfactant. This is a fatty liquid (phospholipid) that lines their lungs, assisting the tiny sacs within (called alveoli) to expand efficiently for breathing after birth. Your baby’s sucking and swallowing action (required to drink milk) fully coordinates between 32 to 34 weeks. However, if your baby is born this early, they may still require fluids and glucose through a drip in their vein and/or be fed milk through a fine tube to their stomach, because suckling tires them quickly. Nearly 80% of preterm babies are born between 32 to 37 weeks gestation and are regarded as ‘mildly preterm’. If born at 32 weeks, they have about a 95% chance of survival and need to be cared for in an intensive care nursery.

Many women start feeling heavy and large now and may feel the need to slow down. Physical tasks can require more effort as the weeks pass by and you may consider stopping work (if employed) over the next few weeks.

Haemorrhoids or piles are essentially varicose veins of the anus or rectal canal. They can appear as small lumps around the opening of the anus during pregnancy, often during the last few months. Haemorrhoids can be painful (although not always) and quite itchy. They can also bleed, especially after a bowel motion. At times the bleeding can be quite bright and heavy.

Constipation. Difficulty opening the bowels or passing motions is a common complaint during pregnancy and is thought to happen because the progesterone hormone makes the gut movement slower. The longer food stays in the intestines, the more water is reabsorbed from the bowel, making motions harder to pass. Direct pressure on the intestines from the growing baby can also slow the passage of food through the bowel. For some women, constipation also contributes to causing haemorrhoids.

Emotional reactions Pregnancy heightens your emotions and senses, with many woman wondering “What type of world am I bringing my baby into?”, particularly after watching the news. Scenes of suffering children and relationship separations can be particularly difficult, often reducing you to tears. You may also be sensitive to who you have around you, perhaps becoming more selective about your companions, or not socialising as much. This is all quite normal.