33 Weeks

This week the baby is the size of celery (17.2 inches and over 4 pounds).  We actually know that Muffin weighs 5 pounds because of our ultrasound on Tuesday.  We'll continue to hope for appropriate growth and gradual weight gain - for Muffin and for me!  (What to Expect says that the baby will gain 1/2 pound per week and will almost double in weight before birth.  I'm going to pretend I didn't read that!)

At this phase, the baby is keeping his or her eyes open while awake.  He or she is starting to coordinate sucking and swallowing and drinks up to a pint of amniotic fluid each day.  His or her bones are also hardening, but the skull remains pliable until after birth.  I am passing to the baby which help the immune system to continue developing.  This seems especially important during a pandemic!  Kicks and punches are feeling more uncomfortable all the time, but this is because as the baby grows, the ratio of amniotic fluid to baby changes.  Now there is more baby than fluid, so there's less "cushion" to absorb those pokes and jabs.  

I've been feeling noticeably less comfortable in the last 2 weeks or so.  I think this baby is sitting a little higher than Gavin (Jellybean) did and I can feel the effects of that.  I'm easily winded and sitting in an upright position puts uncomfortable pressure on the top of my abdomen.  Reclining and lying on my side are the most relaxing positions.  I feel like a turtle on my back when I try to stand up from a sitting or lying position.  And I know that this will only get worse in the next 7 weeks!  Oh, well, it's only temporary.  In the meantime, I'm conscious of how much time I spend on the floor (playing with Gavin) and sitting at 90 degrees.

Pieces of our "baby order" are still arriving from Amazon and Target.  As things have arrived, I've unboxed, washed, and put them away - mostly.  Tomorrow's project is to clean out the garage and bring in the baby items that we need to clean up: car seats, baby bathtub, activity play mat, high chair (although we won't need this for several months) and probably other things that I don't even know are out there!