24th February 2017
At 34 weeks pregnant my little Pip is about the size of a cabbage. She (yes, it's a girl!) is nearly 19 inches long and weighs nearly 5lbs now. Here's what's been going on during my 34th week of pregnancy with baby number three.
Baby Development
Pip's vital organs such as her lungs, brain and nervous system are continuing to develop at a fast rate in preparation for her birth and her immune system is continuing to build off mine. She is possibly losing her vernix, the waxy coating that protects babies' skin from drying out in the womb; neither of my boys were born with any so I'd assume she won't be either! Her kidneys are working and she is no doubt peeing a lot in there - lovely!
Body Changes
I just feel like I am enormous now. Even my face is pregnant - look at how many chins I have! I have people telling me I look like I'm due any day now, though that is probably not helped by the massive maternity parka coat I am always wearing! I have colostrum now, so hopefully in a few weeks I will be able to harvest and freeze some, just in case.
Pregnancy Symptoms
The iron tablets are finally helping and I don't feel as lethargic and heavy as I was. I'm still tired, as you can no doubt tell by those enormous dark circles under my eyes (no amount of concealer can hide them this week!) but it is just normal pregnancy tiredness now. The downside is the side effects of the tablets; iron is notorious for mucking up your bowels! I won't go into any more detail than that, but it is a small price to pay to feel normal-ish again!
I saw the consultant this week. Amazingly it was the consultant that was there through my labour and birth with Noah and he remembered me which was lovely. I remembered him being so kind after Noah's birth; he had visited my bay a few days after the birth to check all was well with the epidural wearing off and ended up listening to me have a total breakdown as I didn't know what was going on with Noah. Anyway, the consultant said if my placenta doesn't move by 36 weeks then I shall have a c-section at 39 weeks. And if it does move then I shall have a c-section at 12 days overdue. My next appointment is with the midwife who is coming round to do the home birth booking at 34+3.
Antenatal Appointments
I saw the consultant this week. Amazingly it was the consultant that was there through my labour and birth with Noah and he remembered me which was lovely. I remembered him being so kind after Noah's birth; he had visited my bay a few days after the birth to check all was well with the epidural wearing off and ended up listening to me have a total breakdown as I didn't know what was going on with Noah. Anyway, the consultant said if my placenta doesn't move by 36 weeks then I shall have a c-section at 39 weeks. And if it does move then I shall have a c-section at 12 days overdue. My next appointment is with the midwife who is coming round to do the home birth booking at 34+3.
Looking Ahead
As I have colostrum now I am planning to harvest and freeze some ahead of the baby arriving. I did this when I was expecting Jude, just to have the reassurance that if anything happened I'd have a stash for him. When Noah was born he couldn't feed at all so had a dextrose drip and then formula until I could breastfeed him, and it does worry me a little that the same could happen again. Having a small stash of colostrum in the freezer just gives me peace of mind, so I shall start expressing after 37 weeks.
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