What to expect 33 at weeks pregnant?

What to expect at 33 weeks pregnant. What happens during the 33rd week of pregnancy?

How big is baby?

At this stage in pregnancy, baby is weighing in at around 2kg – or 4lb4oz. Your baby from now will be roughly doubling from this weight to their birth weight over the next 7 weeks. This gives you an idea of just how much fat they are currently piling on in the third trimester!

What to expect 33 weeks pregnant- My body and symptoms?

Your body is currently going through some major changes. The symptoms you experienced during your first trimester may be back with a vengeance; needing to wee frequently, nausea and heartburn.

You may also be noticing some new things, particularly with your skin. You may have started to get stretch marks, itchy skin (particularly around your bump as your bump stretches), and also hyperpigmentation. This is where your pigment in your skin can darken. Some women get a linear nigra which is the line that goes down your bump. Some women notice that their birth marks, moles and freckles may have darkened. Another form of hyperpigmentation is something called chloasma, something that can appear in 50-70% of mums-to-be. This is like a “confetti” on your body in a dark brown or grey colour. These marks generally fade once baby is born.

If you want to try and reduce these during pregnancy, the sun can bring hyperpigmentation out more so using a good SPF on your face and any other skin exposed can help. A folate deficiency can also increase hyperpigmentation so continuing a folic acid supplement can help too.

Your body at this point is continuing to pass antibodies through the placenta and through the umbilical cord to baby. This is helping baby to build their immune system ready for the big outside world.

You amniotic fluid at this point has somewhat peaked. So there isn’t a lot of room now! You may be feeling baby’s movements quite big and sharp. You may be able to feel a full hand, a knee, or a bum on the outside of your bump. This can be nice and can also help you to determine what position baby is in.

You may be feeling at this stage in pregnancy that you are storing more fat on your body. It is really common in pregnancy for this to happen. Your body is storing fat on your thighs, hips and abdomen for the remaining weeks of your pregnancy and also the newborn period. Some people can feel self conscious about this, but I would really encourage you to try and focus on how much of an amazing job your body is doing in growing your baby. Your partner is probably feeling in total awe of what your body is doing, and you should feel in awe of everything you are achieving too.

What preparations should I be making at 33 weeks pregnant?

Now is a really good time to start thinking about how you are going to be feeding your baby. If you are planning on breastfeeding, think about the things you might need. This could be having a good nipple cream on hand, nipple shields in case you need them, a breast pump if you are planning on pumping and maybe some milk storage bags. I would also really encourage you to have a look into breastfeeding; the more you know, the most it will help you in those early weeks when breastfeeding can be challenging. We cover breastfeeding and bottlefeeding in our Postnatal Course, The Baby Chapter.

Ways to prepare can be having a good understanding of getting baby’s latch right to reduce sore nipples, the positioning of baby and learning different positions so you feel confident to hold your baby in the most efficient way to feed. It is also really good to be aware of the frequency that your baby will feed. Baby’s feed between 8-12 times in a 24 hour period from the second day after they are born. Within their first 24 hours it is normal for them to only feed 3-4 times. This is why they are piling on so much weight in the third trimester!

If you are planning to formula feed, now would be a good time to have a look at some sterilising equipment, get some bottles in, and take a look at the different formula milks that are on the market. As well as The Baby Chapter online course, I would recommend having a look at the First Steps Nutrition Trust website. This has lots of info on formula milk and says how all formula milk has to have a certain amount of nutrition and meet certain standards.

Watch the full video of  33 weeks pregnant with midwife, Beth.

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