Seventy Four: 34 Weeks

This is what BabyCenter says should be happening at 34 weeks. I decided to make it my own my adding some additional commentary in red.

Your baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds (like your average cantaloupe, but looks more like a large watermelon under your shirt) and is almost 18 inches long. His fat layers — which will help regulate his body temperature once he's born — are filling him out, making him rounder, yet somehow settling in your hips at the same time. His skin is also smoother than ever although yours probably looks similar to your freshman year in high school. His central nervous system is maturing and his lungs are continuing to mature as well.

By this week, fatigue has probably set in again and you may have a hard time keeping your yawns under 100 per day. Your tiredness is perfectly understandable, given the physical strain you're under and the restless nights of frequent pee breaks (approximately 19 per night) and tossing and turning, while trying to get comfortable with at least one child in your bed due to nightmares, fever, leg pains, or bug bites. Now is the time to slow down and save up your energy for labor day (and beyond) which means to delegate everything from dinner to night time duties to your husband. In fact, if he can figure out how to pee for you, delegate that too.

 If you've been sitting or lying down for a long time, don't jump up too quickly. Blood can pool in your feet and legs, causing a temporary drop in your blood pressure when you get up that can make you feel dizzy and loose your balance. Also keep your eye out for loose Lego's on the floor, because those can also cause you to feel unsteady.

If you notice itchy red bumps or welts on your belly , you may have a condition called pruritic urticarial papules and plaques of pregnancy (PUPPP for short). You may also have a condition called pregnancy hypochondriac. This is caused by getting caught up in baby center message boards and starting to freak out that something serious might be going on with your baby, such as low amniotic fluid. See your practitioner so she can make sure it is not a serious problem and then write in your chart that you are officially losing your mind.

In the third trimester, turning over in bed is a nightmare. The solution? Big satin pajamas and even satin sheets — the slipperiness of satin helps tremendously. Or moaning and groaning and asking your husband to roll you over works well too.