Week 33

At 33 weeks Baby....

• is the size of a durian:  4.2 to 5.8 pounds and measures about 17.2 to 18.7 inches. He may grow up to a full inch this week! 
• is keeping his eyes open while awake.
• is starting to coordinate breathing with sucking and swallowing.
• has bones that are hardening.
• is going through (more) major brain development!

33 weeks  1-18-14

 33 week update: 

Well, I think Mother Nature is giving this mama-to-be some nice breaks from my busy school days!  This week we had not only a snow day, but also a 2-hr late start.  Our day off was great, because I got all caught up on house work and got a very good start on report cards and conference folders.  I also worked more on long term maternity leave lesson plans. 

Friday night we went to the hotel in Morris for night one of the Wetterling reunion.  We couldn't stay overnight, because Saturday was our 6 hour child birth preparation class. I didn't know what to expect with this class.  It was long and the presenter was a bit dry and unorganized, but it was still worth it.  A lot of the information I had already read in books, online, etc, but it was good hearing some of it again.  They went over everything from 3rd trimester symptoms to pre-term labor signs to actual labor and delivery, and everything in between.  We also got a tour of the maternity wing.  I really enjoyed seeing this.  One of the most interesting parts of the class was learning about the pain relief methods.  I have a very hard time comprehending what labor pain will feel like and prior to this class, I really didn't know what method of pain relief I would use.  I guess I'm still not certain; however, the nurse said that a little over 90% of people at their hospital end up getting an epidural--therefore, I'm certainly not going to rule that out.  They say it is very safe for the baby and that is one of the most important parts in my mind.  One of the other methods makes the baby extremely drowsy and makes their breathing difficult...I definitely don't want that medicine...I'd rather be in pain myself than cause my newborn to have problems right away.  I also learned that pre-term babies 34 weeks and older are able to remain in Fergus without having to be transferred to Fargo.  This was relieving to me--next week I'm already 34 weeks; therefore, if for some reason Baby comes early, we probably wouldn't have to worry about him going to a far away clinic.  We also saw video clips of actual deliveries and c-sections.  Wow!  That was an eye-opening experience.  It's pretty unbelievable!  Mike said that he wished they wouldn't have showed us such graphic videos; however, I liked seeing them.  I want to know what it looks like...I want to know what will be happening to me in a few short weeks!  After the class, a few people asked me if I was more scared than ever about child birth.  My answer--not really!  I'm definitely worried about things going wrong--Baby being breached or turned around or the many other complications that could happen--but as far as the actual delivery--I just want to do it!  No, it doesn't seem overly pleasant and I certainly hope that labor is more on the short side than the extremely long side, but I'll do what it takes to get our baby boy here with us!  

Another short school week ahead--no school on Monday! : )  I can't wait until Wednesday--my very first baby shower that school is putting on for me!  I'm SO excited!!