Week 33, April 1 - April 7
Thursday, April 1st
(55 days to go)
The baby is due
next month!!!!!!!
Baby Update: As [we] begin week 33, [the]
baby is continuing to grow at an amazing
rate. Right now, it measures about 11 inches
long and weighs about 3 1/2 pounds (ha!).
By the time this week ends, [the] baby will
have added almost 3/8 inch to its length.
- "The Pregnancy Journal" by A.
Christine Harris, Ph.D.
Thursday, April
1st, Entry #2
I learned today
that I was treated for a bladder infection
that I did not have. Nice, huh? They said
better safe than sorry. Aside from having
a gigantic baby this has been a pretty uneventful
pregnancy.
Speaking of gigantic babies, let me state
here that if you want to buy any clothes
for Ella please don't buy 0-3 month sized
clothing. I have so much all ready and I
have a feeling she's not going to get around
to wearing all of it. A travesty, seeing
as how almost all of what she has I've boughten.
The rest of the 0-3 month stuff that I hadn't
washed is currently being washed. Figured
it was safe. I was more concerned about
getting confused as to what's been washed
and what hasn't... so now when something
new arrives it just won't come out of it's
bag until it's been washed.
Friday, April
2nd (54 days to go)
Just finished
"Glorious Appearing", the 12th
and final book in the Left Behind Series.
It was a good series. If you haven't read
any of it, I'd suggest you get crackin'!
I think finishing the book 3 days after
it came out is some kind of record for me.
Had a dream about the baby last night. She
was supposed to be a newborn but she looked
months old all ready... sitting up and bright-eyed.
She amazed us all when she said my name...
not just "mama", but Carrielyn.
Actually, Carrielyn came out like my nephew
Owen used to say it, more like carrie-ann.
Ella was some sort of genius baby. A mother's
hope for her child, or a peek in to the
future? Only time will tell.
Baby Update: Depending on its size and position
in [the] uterus, the baby may be carried
high (which is the case with me), pressed
up against [the] lungs, or low, pressing
against [the] pelvis; the baby may lie in
a position that makes [the mom] look wide
or compact; and [she] may look bigger or
smaller than women who are just as far along
as [she is] with their pregnancies (and
as I've mentioned, I'm in the "larger"
category). - "The Pregnancy Journal"
by A. Christine Harris, Ph.D.
Saturday, April
3rd (53 days to go)
Ella experienced
yet another cultyral event yesterday. She
got to hear the 70-year old Count Basie
Orchestra. She was awake throughout the
whole thing. I hope she enjoyed it. By now
her little brain can actually process music,
so it wasn't just noise, but hopefully a
pleasing sound. I enjoyed it.
Baby Update: By about this point, the volume
of amniotic fluid has reached its maximum.
As the baby grows, there will be less fluid
and more baby and thus, [the mother] will
feel considerable movement from within.
The amniotic fluid is clear and straw-colored.
By the time the baby is born, 2-6 cups of
fluid fill the amniotic sac (but in my case,
it may be more). - "The Pregnancy Journal"
by A. Christine Harris, Ph.D.
Sunday, April
4th - Palm Sunday (52 days to go)
I have the itchiest
belly in the world. Actually, right now
it's okay because I took a shower. So far
all that cures the itchies is water, but
taking several showers and/or baths in a
day just isn't practical. I've tried regular
lotion, calamine lotion, and cortizone.
I'm going to try taking Benadryl in pill
form when my belly starts to itch again,
but I'm pretty sure it's not going to work.
If it doesn't, I'm going to call the doctor
tomorrow. Maybe I can get something prescription
strength. I'm seriously going to tear out
my hair if this continues much longer.
Speaking of hair, I keep meaning to mention
that there are a couple of pregnancy things
that seem to be holding partially true for
me. One is that you get thicker hair. Well,
I can't tell a difference in thickness but
I do know that I'm losing much less hair
than usual. Usually just a few strands during
a shower now. Hair is also supposed to grow
faster, but that one is harder to gage.
I haven't noticed it growing faster. But
what is growing faster are my nails. But
nails are also supposed to be stronger,
and mine definately are not. It's just that
now when they brake, they grow back pretty
quickly. :)
Baby Update: Sometimes babies at this stage
practice sucking by sucking their thumbs
or fingers. - "The Pregnancy Journal"
by A. Christine Harris, Ph.D.
Monday, April
5th - (51 days to go)
Here's the Monday
stuff. The heartbeat
at 33 weeks, and Baby
Center's Take on development at 33 weeks.
What's going on this week? Well, tomorrow
is the 2nd of the 6 parenting classes, and
Saturday we have the first of 3 baby showers.
Finally! I'm finally far enough along that
it's time for baby showers. Yea!
Baby Update: [The] baby is about 1 inch
longer than it was just four days ago! -
"The Pregnancy Journal" by A.
Christine Harris, Ph.D.
Tuesday, April
6th - (50 days to go)
Yesterday I went
to the doctor's to get this rash on my belly
checked out. The doctor referred to it as
the "pregnancy rash", which I
believe is PUPPPs (Pruritic
Urticated Papules and Plaques of Pregnancy).
If you follow the link beware that there
is a somewhat graphic picture (not of me
- this is an informational website). And
let me say that as of now my case is not
nearly as bad as the one in the picture.
But I do itch like crazy. So far my prescription
doesn't make the itch go away. :( But maybe
I need to use it a few more times to get
it work. Maybe Ella's grandpa the pharmacist
will let me know. I can't pronounce it,
but it's Triamcinolone. I'm supposed to
use it 4 times a day.
Ella is still fine and this rash will not
affect her. She's been busy "moving
furniture" lately. I hope she's not
trying to turn breech. She should just stay
head down like she is.
Baby Update: As fat accumulates under the
baby's skin, its skin color changes from
dark red and transparent to pinkish (even
in babies who will eventually be dark-skinned)
and translucent. The baby is making its
greatest demands for protein and fat now
during the last half of pregnancy. In the
last six to eight weeks before birth it
will double its weight. - "The Pregnancy
Journal" by A. Christine Harris, Ph.D.
Wednesday, April
7th - (49 days to go)
I don't think
I could possibly have slept worse last night.
I hope this isn't the trend from here on
out. No matter what position in my back
hurt. It was awful. :( Not a happy camper
this morning.
We had our 2nd of 6 parenting classes last
night. The topic was breastfeeding. I thought
it was going to be feeding in general but
the teacher didn't touch on bottle feeding
at all. Makes sense since she said that
90-92% of newborns are breastfed. Did you
know the rate drops to 40% by 6 months?
Aren't we just the laziest country? The
worldwide average weening age is from 2-7
years old. Making it to a full year here
is considered good. Kind of sad. Anyways,
it was another non-ground-breaking class.
I can read and read and read (and listen),
but I'm not sure how much it'll help until
I'm there trying to do it myself. This is
the part that scares me most... even more
than the delivery itself. Next week we start
the labor and delivery stuff. We're supposed
to bring pillows because we'll be on the
floor doing breathing exercises. Horror
of horrors (for me anyways). I think I pointed
out my views on this in last week's Wednesday
entry. Oh well... I'll make the most of
it.
Baby Update: At the close of this week of
pregnancy, the circumference or distance
around [the] baby's head has increased by
about 3/8 inch due to rapid brain growth.
(Did you know that the average circumference
of a baby's head at full term is 30 centemeters?
The cervix only dilates to 10 centemeters.
Ouch!) - "The Pregnancy Journal"
by A. Christine Harris, Ph.D.
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