34 Weeks
Your baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds (like your average cantaloupe) 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.
His skin is also smoother than ever. His central nervous system is maturing and his lungs are continuing to mature as well. If you’ve been nervous about preterm labor, you’ll be happy to know that babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine. They may need a short stay in the neonatal nursery and may have a few short-term health issues, but in the long run, they usually do as well as full-term babies.
By this week, fatigue has probably set in again, though maybe not with the same coma-like intensity of your first trimester. Your tiredness is perfectly understandable, given the physical strain you’re under and the restless nights of frequent pee breaks and tossing and turning, while trying to get comfortable. Now’s the time to slow down and save up your energy for labor day (and beyond). 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.
Note from Jen:
Feeling pretty worn out this week, but we have been busy moving out of the hangar, packing for Yosemite and making sure we have all the baby stuff pretty much ready.
My feet and legs are starting to swell every day… my right more than my left. If I ask really nice, Kenny will rub them for me after a long day 🙂 A little bit of sciatic nerve pain is back once again as well as the heartburn/ reflux. Overall, though I still feel pretty good considering that I only have a few weeks left.
I don’t think Van has turned yet, but hopefully the time at Yosemite will help me relax and all the walking will get him into position. Not too worried yet.
Here is my 34 week picture (taken a few days early). We’ll also be sure to take lots of photos at Yosemite 🙂