34 Weeks

From BabyCenter.com:

Your baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds (like your average cantaloupe) and is almost 18 inches long. Her fat layers — which she'll need to regulate her body temperature once she's born — are filling her out, making her rounder. Her skin is also smoother than ever. Her central nervous system is maturing and her lungs are continuing to mature as well. If you've been nervous about preterm labor, you'll be happy to know that babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine.

I had my latest doctor’s appointment last week, and everything is continuing to go well: my blood pressure was 118/62, Bean’s heartrate was 141, and I gained 2.5 pounds. My next appointment is one week from today, and then I start going every week until the end!

The only new thing of note is hiccups, both for me and for Bean. Some of mine are pretty strong and somewhat hurt when they come up, so that’s been interesting to deal with. Hiccups seem to come on for Bean quite often: they feel like little constant, rhythmic kicks way down in my pelvis. My doc said that’s a good sign of a healthy baby. I’ll take it!

That’s certainly not the only movement I’ve been feeling lately, though. Kenny and I often start laughing most nights on account of my belly moving seemingly of its own accord. It’s pretty neat to watch, and it’s one of the things I think I’ll miss the most. Here’s my 34 week belly pic!