33 Weeks

7 weeks to go - could they please go by faster?! We are SO anxious to meet our little one! Our "little one" is growing rapidly - we're over 4lbs (about the weight of a pineapple) and over 17inches long from head to heel! So that's why my belly feels bigger - and more painful :/ Other than growing, Baby's had a few developments this week. His/her skin is no longer a red color but has turned the more "normal" newborn color of pink. This is because the liver is now storing Baby's iron; apparently prior to this all of the extra iron in the blood was making Baby look like a little red tomato :) Baby's skeleton continues to harden, with the exception of his/her head - these bones won't fuse completely until early adulthood - which allows for easier passage through the birth canal (and also a funny shaped head, temporarily)! Baby continues to be active - no need to count fetal movements with this one! He/she never stops moving! Ok...that's a little dramatic, but it really does feel like Baby's moving more often than not which is exciting, reassuring, and sometimes annoying/painful (like when I'm trying to sleep!). We've discovered that our child is stubborn and likes to stick feet and elbows into unpleasant places; when we try to gently reposition, he/she promptly puts it right back where it was...sigh. Determined little child!! :) It's fun to play these games with our child - gah, I can't wait to hold him/her in my arms!!!


As this picture demonstrates, the space is rapidly decreasing in the uterus. Because of this, the amniotic fluid amount has slowly started decreasing which is apparently why I'm able to feel so many movements - not as much cushion!

As for me, I'm still tired - all the time, it seems! Tonight is my 3rd night shift in a row and I am definitely feeling it! After tonight I get to go back to day shift for about 3 weeks - yippee! A more normal life schedule! My back pain has been much better this week, very thankful for that! Tyler had a busy weekend - he painted the kitchen all by himself (extremely time-consuming and tiring, I'm sure) and put everything back together and in its place; as if that wasn't enough, he also made 2 delicious dinners for us - he's amazing, what can I say?! Other good news - we've moved up quite a few spots on the daycare waiting list...we've moved from 11th to 3rd!! This means that, at the latest, we should have a spot by the end of February - praise God!! Thank you for all of your prayers in this area - please continue to pray that a spot will open sooner, or that we will find someone willing to watch our baby temporarily between mid-January and February.


Cute little baby born at 33 weeks. No, he's not suntanning with some super sweet shades - he's under phototherapy to help with jaundice and those goggles protect his little eyes. Jaundice is definitely not uncommon in newborns, especially premature babies.

 That's about it for this week - not a whole lot of updating going on, this week has been a pretty quiet one :) Thanks, again, for all of your prayers. Please continue to keep our little growing family of 3 in your prayers this week, that God would just continue to provide for us as we prepare for Baby's arrival and that we would be blessed with a healthy, full-term baby :) Have a great week!