Late update! 33 weeks

Got a night owl in there? Your baby continues to develop regular sleep-wake cycles now. When your baby slumbers, she'll close her eyes (they're pretty sensitive to light these days) and she may even start to dream. But when your baby's up and at 'em, be prepared for some powerful kicks. You might be feeling them in a new place now -- your ribcage (just below your breasts). And wow, can they be sharp sometimes! But on the bright side, these movements are probably a sign that your baby's head-down, perfectly poised for her big birthday entrance. All of the organs are now developed and some are functioning already just as they will after the birth. More and more subcutaneous fat is forming so your baby's wrinkles disappear slowly but surely. The skin becomes a rosy color and the fine downy hair that was on the skin is replaced with vernix caseosa. This "baby cream cheese" prevents the skin from drying out. The fine downy hair comes off and floats in the amniotic fluid. Because the baby takes small sips of amniotic fluid, he swallows these hairs which then tickle and stimulate his intestines, which helps in their function after birth. For the time being, your child must continue to grow. He is now 16 inches (41 cm) long and weighs 4 ½ pounds (2 kilos). For the next four weeks on he will gain up to a couple of ounces a day. Depending on the time of his birth he will become a seven-, eight-, nine- or ten-pounder. Little girls are a bit smaller and lighter and the oldest (first) children are generally lighter than the following children. That may be because of the tight abdominal muscles, the stretching of the uterus and the age of the mother. The more children a mother has, the more the abdomen will be able to stretch.


P.S. 4 and a half pounds yeah right! She weighed more than that a week and a half ago. We all must remember her daddy was 23 inches and almost 10 pounds!