Thursday, July 26, 2007

33 weeks

33 weeks down, 5-9 to go. It's true what Sheryl said in comments below - this is the part of the pregnancy where I might start to go crazy. Moving slowly is hard for me; I'm not used to it at all. At the same time, I'm not feeling like moving terribly quickly.

The pulled muscle or ligament from the other day seems to have healed. I'll definitely try to avoid that again - it really hurt. Otherwise, symptoms are the same. Heartburn, some foot swelling. A new thing is that now she is out past my lower rib, and sometimes if I move a certain way, or if she moves a certain way, she catches on the rib. Feels gross, and I can't imagine it feels good to her either.

I'm starting to really look forward to meeting her. She is seeming more and more like a person to me. I did freak out last week when I realized that she would be sent home with us only 6-8 hrs after she arrives, but I'm also looking forward to getting to know her.

This week:
- Amniotic fluid is at its highest level during the pregnancy.
- Her head size has increased 3/8ths of an inch due to rapid brain growth.
- Neurons and synapses are developing in huge numbers.
- While most of her bones are hardening, her skull is quite pliable and not completely joined. The bones will be able to move slightly to make birthing easier.
- She takes intermittent deep breaths -- of water. This breathing exercises muscles and encourages her lung cells to produce more surfactant (a protein essential for healthy lung development).
- She is now 17.2 inches (43.7cm) long and weighs 4.23 pounds (1918gm)

(Photo later when we get back to a connection that allows uploads)

4 comments:

fatwonkkid said...

be sure to blog your craziness. this way when you return to normal, you can look back and laugh at the nutszoid things you did.

Karen said...

Bringing the baby home is the scariest part. I remember that so well with Emily. I wanted to say: are you sure you're allowed to just give her to us? how do you know we can do this, because I'm not sure we can!?

Anonymous said...

The 7th rib: baby's first rattle (c;
-Erika

Anonymous said...

I can't wait to meet her too! It's really cool to feel her move around.

And if you get too freaked out when you get her home just call me, I'll be there in a heartbeat and I actually know what to do.

At the same time, I know that when I first bring one home I'll freak out too... I think you're supposed to.