Tomorrow, April 30th, is a One Day Blog Silence in honor of the victims at VA Tech.
onedayblogsilence.com
Here is what is happening this week: pregnancy.org and baby-gaga.com
For all the weight and bulk you’re lugging around these days, you’d think your little champ should weigh much more than a mere 5 lbs and measly 17 inches in height, but nope, that’s about the average size for a baby in its thirty-third week. In terms of appearances, they’re getting cuter and pudgier every minute—just piling on the baby fat and those adorable little wrist rolls and chubby toes. And as we’re sure you’ve already noticed they’re getting stronger with every passing day. Nowadays, it’s possible to observe a well-placed kick just by watching your belly—but you already knew that didn’t you? Although they’re getting stronger, your bigger-by-the-day baby is losing space to move around, so the actual rate of movement will drop off in the last few weeks, despite that powerful drop-kick they’ve been working on. Did you know you’ll continue feeling their movements even during labor?
Other interesting facts: Amniotic fluid is at its highest level during your pregnancy. Your baby’s head size has increased 3/8ths of an inch due to rapid brain growth. Neurons and synapses are developing in huge numbers — forming connections in your baby’s brain will give him the skills he needs to thrive as a newborn. This week, he may be able to coordinate sucking and swallowing with breathing. While most of his bones are hardening, his skull is quite pliable and not completely joined. The bones will be able to move slightly to make birthing easier. Your baby takes intermittent deep breaths — of water! That’s okay, though since he gets oxygen from the placenta. This breathing exercises muscles and encourages his lung cells to produce more surfactant (a protein essential for healthy lung development). If your baby is a boy, his testicles will be descending from his abdomen into his scrotum. Sometimes one or both testicles won’t move into position until after birth.
