Week 33-34 Bumpdate
The past 2 weeks since our last pregnancy update have flown by faster than ever! Here’s the most recent bumpdate!
Week 33-34 Bumpdate:
How far along: 33 and 34 weeks (I am 35 weeks along today!) – there are only about 5 weeks left!!!
Now I’m realizing just how close we are to meeting our baby girl!!
Size of the baby: I think my pregnancy app said she was the size of a head of cabbage at 34 weeks.
I had an ultrasound at my 34-week doctor’s appointment and the ultrasound tech was estimating baby is 4 lbs. 14 oz. I know that weight estimates can totally not be accurate come birth, but it was still nice to hear a guess at her size!
** I still highly recommend the Ovia app. It’s the only pregnancy app I use.
According to my app, her bones are continuing to harden (and I can certainly tell because of how strong her movements and kick are now days!). It’s so great to ready pregnancy updates on my app that say things like “Your baby is mostly developed, which means that at this point, she is growing in a lot of the same ways as she would outside of the womb.” It’s reassuring to think that she would likely be fine if she came any day now.
My app also says that most of her organ and skeleton development at this point is just about growing bigger and stronger. One of the last things for her body to “fine-tune” right now is her lung development. And she’s just working on piling on more baby fat at this point! 🙂 Grow, baby, grow!
A special ultrasound: I had a doctor’s appointment at 34 weeks and my stomach was measuring a tad bit smaller than average, so they sent me to get an ultrasound right away just to double-check that all was well. It did make me a bit nervous, but I had an inkling everything was still fine. Long story short, everything is great! Our little girl is doing just fine! She’s just a bit more lightweight, like her mama, and apparently I’m hiding her well, according to the doctor (although I feel big!). She’s also not a huge baby. It’s nothing to worry about, and I know my own body and how I’m built (I’ve always been on the lighter side). It looks like this little one is following in my footsteps, which makes sense! That doctor’s visit was a reassurance and another reminder of God’s care, provision, and loving design. It was a blast getting to see our daughter on the screen again (I hadn’t seen her in 14 weeks, since I was 20 weeks along!). What we know: she’s a healthy almost-5-pounds already, active, in the right position, with long legs, and she has chubby cheeks, pouty lips, and a tiny bit of hair! <3 I think my heart may explode. And how fun to leave the doctor’s office with another ultrasound DVD in hand! This is such a sweet season of anticipation as we dream about our little girl and what she will be like!
Weight gain: I believe I’ve gained roughly 25 pounds by now – which is in the healthy range for me. I’m celebrating the weight gain! We want to give our baby girl a healthy start!
I can tell I weigh a bit more now, because I seriously feel like I’m stomping around the house…and it’s harder to stand up after crouching to clean, etc. I also feel so heavy when I’m going up stairs!
RELATED READING: First Trimester Recap, A (Belated) Weeks 17-18 Bumpdate, Week 19-22 Bumpdate, Week 23-24 Bumpdate, Week 25-26 Bumpdate, Week 27-28 Bumpdate, Week 29-30 Bumpdate, Week 31-32 Bumpdate
Gender: GIRL!!! We’re so excited to be having a girl! We know her first name and we’re mostly decided on her middle name. We’ll announce her name once she’s born.
Symptoms:
Still no stretch marks – yay! I put Palmer’s Cocoa Butter Massage Lotion For Stretch Marks
I had a leg cramp last night, but generally, I don’t get them much and I think that’s because I have 1-2 bananas per day in my morning smoothies.
When I sit or stand for a period of time, my back hurts, so when I’m sitting I make sure I’ve got pillows propped around me!
About once or twice a day, I get out of breath or dizzy. I don’t like dizzy spells at all, but I just try to slow down, make sure I’m breathing, and make sure I’m hydrated!
I get more intense Braxton Hicks when I really push myself with cleaning tasks, lifting laundry, or walking too ambitiously. 🙂 But my body knows when it needs a break, so I try to listen to it and slow down when my stomach starts cramping.
I still feel more energetic in the mornings than in the afternoons, so that’s when I like to accomplish tasks that require more physical energy! By mid-afternoon, I usually am wishing for a nap – and sometimes I do take one!
My hips are quite achy at this point. They especially ache at night, so that’s the main reason I flip between my left and right side during the night, even though I do have a pillow between my knees. It honestly feels like my hips are trying to fall off some days!
Pregnancy brain is back in full swing, haha. (Oh, good!) I had a good stretch for a while this summer when I wasn’t totally forgetful, but now it’s back and I’m finding I’m making multiple trips to the store or forgetting the silliest things!!
Missing: I’m not really missing any particular food.
Wearing: Sweatpants and bigger T-shirts around the house… and a dress or jeans with a slightly “better” shirt if I’m going somewhere public, haha.
RELATED: My Favorite Basic Maxi Dress (+ a discount for you!) — Psst – it’s not a maternity dress but it works as one!
Craving: I’m still LOVING Annie’s brand mac ‘n’ cheese, especially the white cheddar variety!
I’ve also started craving yummy baked goods – I’ve made a couple different batches of cookies lately. 🙂
I got myself a steamer at a little coffee shop the other day. 🙂 I’m lucky I don’t like to drink coffee – a steamer works just fine for me! PS — in the photo above, I can kind of still see my feet, haha!
I’m still starting off each day with a healthy smoothie, though, so that has been helping to make sure I’m still getting my fruits and even my greens! 🙂
RELATED: How I Prep Freezer Bags For My Morning Smoothies
Feeling: I’m still getting randomly emotional and shedding tears for no good reason.
Today is the first day of school and it is bittersweet not to be returning this year. It felt so weird saying goodbye to Bjorn this morning instead of hopping in the car with him to head to work. But I am so very grateful to be able to stay home with our baby girl this year!! (And on the rougher days, I sure am glad I’m not trying to manage teaching or other work situations when my body is so tired and my mind is preoccupied.)
My mind is just really focused on baby at this point. There is so much I don’t know about babies and parenting, so of course pregnancy for a first time mom can be an overwhelming time! I feel so reassured, though, when I think about all of the support (both family and friends) we have surrounding us. It makes me feel so much better knowing my mom has been there before and will be able to offer support, as well as Bjorn’s family living nearby. I don’t feel alone and that is a wonderful blessing.
Looking forward to:
Childbirth classes! We start them next week (they didn’t offer any in August, so we’re doing September) and I’m looking forward to arming myself with more knowledge!
Bjorn’s aunts are also throwing a baby shower for us in September – I feel so honored! Cue the happy tears! <3
Meeting her soon-ish!! 🙂
Bjorn is: still really looking forward to being a daddy. He is going to be the best daddy bear ever!! He is already protective of her and so attentive to me, despite how busy he is! I am so grateful for Bjorn.
Movement: Baby girl loves to move! She is still following her own little pattern of about one active day, then one low-key day, and so on. (Although the past 2-3 days, she’s just been active!) She is kicking and stretching with much bigger movements now days – it’s like she’s telling me, “Mama, I am running out of room in here!” 🙂
Like I mentioned in my last bumpdate post, I know many moms love feeling their babies kicking and stretching, but it has gotten uncomfortable for me so I don’t love every second of it. And I think that’s okay. I do love knowing she is alert and strengthening her muscles. 🙂 I just want to be holding her and seeing her little kicks outside of the womb! Sometimes she runs her hand or her foot along the inside and that is such a weird sensation! She has also started kicking me more in the ribs, haha. My favorite thing is when she gets hiccups about once a day – I love that! The hiccups really remind me that she is a little person in there!
I also love the fact that when she gets hiccups, she doesn’t seem to get frustrated! I’ve heard that some babies get uptight and start kicking when they get hiccups, but our little girl doesn’t. I’m hoping that that somehow points to a more easygoing baby. 😉
She still slows down her movements around bedtime and stays fairly still all night. I am SO grateful for that. Is it too ridiculously hopeful to hope that she likes to sleep during the night when she comes? 😉 It’s like she knows her mama is resting and I so appreciate that! (Either that or I’m so tired during the night that I don’t wake up to any of her kicks!)
Sleep: I’ve had some more intense, vivid dreams lately, but I don’t usually wake up during the night. I still don’t get up during the night to use the bathroom.
My Hiccapop Pregnancy Wedge Pillow
Best moments: Imagining what she looks like!! I can’t wait to hold her and look into her eyes!!
Again, I still love it when she gets hiccups. (She has hiccups right now, as I type up this post!) What a sweet little girl!
I just LOVE going through baby clothing!! 🙂 It seriously is one of the most fun things about having a girl. I published a post yesterday about finding baby clothes on ThredUp. (There’s a promo code in there for you, too!)
RELATED: Where I Find Affordable, Cute Baby Clothes
My dear friend Jordan threw me a baby shower at the end of August. It was such a blessing to me — and her friendship is such a blessing, too! I mentioned the baby shower in my August Recap post, but it was a very special morning. I felt so touched and grateful for these people who already love our baby girl so much. The baby shower was a “Miss Rumphius” theme, which is my favorite children’s book. It was so sweet!
I’m feeling SO much more prepared for her arrival, which really takes a load off my mind! The baby shower gifts really helped so much. I also spent time washing and drying all of baby girl’s clothing last week, and having it all washed and dried and sorted is such a good feeling! Our hospital bag is mostly packed, which also makes me feel more at peace.
Bjorn and I got maternity photos done at the end of August. I am SO glad we were able to squeeze in a mini session in the Twin Cities when we were visiting my parents the night before my baby shower! We were only in town for about 20 hours and with Bjorn’s busy schedule, it was pretty much the only time we could make a session work. And I’m loving the photos from Kaitlyn C Photography — I can’t wait to share more soon!
** You can catch up on past pregnancy posts by clicking the “Motherhood” tab at the top of this page, or just click a link below!
12 Tips for Relieving Morning Sickness (what worked for me)
A (Belated) Week 17-18 Bumpdate
I’m so glad everything is going well with the pregnancy. I’m sure it was a huge adjustment to stay home instead of going to school but this first year with baby is so important! The baby clothes look great and it’s goid you have them ready. Enjoy your birthing classes!
Thanks so much, Maria! I’m glad I have the baby clothes ready, too! I’m still getting used to the idea of being home but I so far don’t regret the decision we made.
I LOVED it when my baby got the hiccups while I was pregnant. He is almost 2 months now and I still love when he gets the hiccups because it reminds me of when I was pregnant. Such an exciting time!
It is an exciting time! 🙂 I think little baby hiccups are so cute! Thank you for reading along, Anna!