Now on my 34th Week!

Hello Arvee!
34 weeks pregnant

Let the countdown begin. This week marks the beginning of your last month of pregnancy. By now your baby should have fully developed lungs (the better for crying with when she's born). If you're worried about going into premature labor, you'll be happy to know that babies born at 35 weeks or beyond have an excellent chance of being healthy and strong.

Your baby now weighs more than 4.7 pounds/ 2.2 kilograms and is 18 inches/ over 45 centimeters from top to toe. She's filling out and getting rounder - she'll need her fat layers later to regulate her body temperature.

If you don't already talk to your baby, this is a good time to start - at 35 weeks her hearing is fully developed. Don't feel ridiculous if you're already chatting in baby talk. Some evidence shows that newborns pay closer attention to high-pitched tones.

If you've been nervous about going into premature labor, you'll be happy to know that 99 per cent of babies born at week 35 can survive outside the womb - and most have no major problems. Although your baby's central nervous system is still maturing, her lungs are nearly fully developed by now.

Many women start to notice a tingling sensation or numbness in the pelvic region or pain as they walk. This may be caused by the pelvic joints loosening, ready for labor. If you're terribly uncomfortable, mention it to your doctor and check out our self-help tips.

4D!

Baby Jay Adam's 4D shoots. Our baby is so gwapo!

Now on my 32nd Week!

Hello Arvee!
32 weeks pregnant

No wonder you're starting to feel huge — it's crowded in there! The growing pressure on your bladder may mean frequent trips to the restroom — which can make a good night's sleep difficult. You may be gaining around 500g/ 1lb a week now and roughly half of that goes right to your baby. In fact, he'll gain a third to half of his birth weight during the next seven weeks, fattening up for survival outside the womb. Thanks to these fatty deposits, his skin is getting plumper and looking healthier.

Your baby now weighs approximately 3.75 pounds/ 1.7 kilograms and is about 17 inches/ 42 centimeters long from head to toe. Although his lungs won't be fully developed until just before birth, your little one is inhaling amniotic fluid to exercise his lungs and practice breathing.

Some babies have a head of hair already, others have only a few wisps. Thick hair at birth doesn't necessarily mean thick hair later on but children with fine hair in childhood usually have thinner hair in adulthood.

If your baby is a boy, his testicles should be descending from his abdomen into his scrotum. Sometimes however, one or both testicles won't move into position until after birth. In two-thirds of all baby boys who have undescended testicles at birth, the condition corrects itself by the boy's first birthday.

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Boy, do I know what the update is talking about! Since Friday I started feeling so big and so, so hot. I'm sweating buckets. My thighs are so big I have cellulite. Yuck. We will be getting our maternity shot pics any day now. So excited! =)

Now on my 31st Week!

Hello Arvee!
31 weeks pregnant

Don't panic if you feel your baby moving less frequently now. She's got less room to move in your uterus and can't do the backflips and somersaults you're both used to. As long as you can feel her squirming from time to time, she's fine. By this stage, most babies have turned head down into the "cephalic" position ready for birth. A few take a little longer and a few remain stubbornly upright in the "breech" position. If your baby is breech, there's still time for her to turn.

Your baby's arms, legs and body continue to fill out - and they are finally proportional in size to her head. She weighs about 3.3 pounds/ 1.5 kilograms and looks more like a newborn. She measures about 16 inches/ 41 centimeters from crown to toe.

Your baby's organs are continuing to mature and she is passing water from her bladder: good practice for the urinating she'll do after she's born. Soon you can wonder what your baby is wishing for - brain scans have shown that fetuses have periods of dream sleep around month eight.

You've probably gained three to four pounds/ 1.3 to 1.8 kilograms this month. Gaining a pound/ 450 grams a week is quite normal during the last trimester as your baby has a final growth spurt before birth.

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On other news, we just had our first maternity shoot yesterday! So much fun! Can't wait to post photos here! :)

Now on my 30th Week!

Hello Arvee!
30 weeks pregnant

Good news — at this point your baby's lungs and digestive tract are nearly mature, meaning she'll do much better in the event of premature birth. She's also becoming more cramped in your uterus and less able to move so freely, although when she does move, it's very noticeable.

Your baby may soon slow up growing in length, (he measures about 15.7 inches/ 40 centimeters from crown to toe by now), he will continue to gain weight until he's born.

This week your baby continues to open and shut his eyes. He can probably see what's going on in utero, distinguish light from dark and even track a light source. If you shine a light on your stomach, your baby may move his head to follow the light or even reach out to touch the moving glow. Some researchers think baring your stomach to light stimulates visual development. But don't expect 20/20 vision when your baby is born - newborns can see a distance of only about 8 to 12 inches/ 20 to 30 centimeters. (Children with normal vision don't reach 20/20 vision until about age 7 to 9.) To complete the picture, your baby now has eyebrows and eyelashes.

A pint and a half/ around a liter of amniotic fluid now surrounds your baby but that volume decreases as he gets bigger and has less room in your uterus. As you and the baby continue to grow, don't be alarmed if you feel breathless, as if you can't get enough air; it's just your uterus pressing against your diaphragm. There is a light at the end of the tunnel though. At about 34 weeks (or just before birth, if this is your second or third pregnancy), your baby's head will move down into your pelvis as the baby gets into the right position for birth. That will make breathing and eating a lot easier.