Hi D Ho and welcome to my very late pregnancy update for week 33. I’m now 35 weeks pregnant but have been so exhausted the last few weeks that I’m playing catch up on my updates so apologies for the late posts. So at 33 weeks baby is the size of a pineapple and weighs about 4Lbs.
I’ve kept up my regular exercise – currently bootcamp twice week and pregnancy pilates once a week in the hope of it keeping me fit and giving me back some energy. I’m starting to see the benefits of it now – at 33 weeks with bump #1 I had put on 32 Lbs while at this stage with bump #2 Ive only put on 16 Lbs – exactly half my original weight gain at this point!
What do you think of the photos above? I think I look a lot healthier in the bump 2 photo.
Week 33 was a busy one, most importantly it was my Little Mans 2nd birthday. We had a lovely evening on the actual day itself and then had a special Thomas the Tank Engine Themed party for him at the weekend. I’ll write up all the details in a separate post so you can see how we got on.
In pregnancy news week 33 I had a routine doctors appointment at my GP, all was generally well but she was concerned that the baby may be in a breech position (coming bum first instead of head first). A second GP was called in to check but couldn’t be sure either. Its amazing, when your pregnant your so careful of your bump, its awful if you accidentally hit it off anything but oh my God the doctors completey don’t mind digging their hands into feel the position of the baby. I was sore for a few days afterwards just from this examination.
A breech baby would be one of my worst nightmares as I really want to achieve a VBAC (natural delivery after a c-section) this time round and as the GP said if baby is breech, its game over for a natural delivery. I don’t think she took my plans to try everything in my power to move the baby seriously while I mentally planned handstands or whatever was required according to the spinning babies website along with listening to the Gentle Birth breach baby turn track non-stop.
The GP was also concerned about the babies size, reckoning (from feeling my tummy – very scientific) that I’m measuring 2-3 weeks ahead of my dates. I’ve also been complaining of extreme tiredness, I’m knackered all the time so my GP referred me into the maternity hospital to get checked over that day.
So into hospital I went were I was sent up to the labour ward for assessment. It was very weird to be back here. And I had to wait 4 hours for a delivery suite to become free to be examined in. This did worry me a little bit about what happens on the day if you come into hospital and theres no delivery suite free? Do you wait outside for 4 hours and hope your baby does’t come in the mean time? Or what about if your the one in the delivery suite and theres a queue of other mums who also need to get in – what happens then, is your time on the clock ticking a bit faster to get out of there?
In the end I was brought into the exact same room that I had been in with Little Man. One of the things I remember so clearly from that day was a big press in the corner of the room that the midwifes kept coming in and out too, leaving the doors wide open. This bothered me no end on the day and this time round the exact same thing kept happening. I think I’m going to bring a little sign with me for that press in my labour bag saying “Please take everything you may need for the next 24 hours and close the door when you are finished” – do you think they will think I’m crazy if I include it in my birth plan too? 🙂
Anyway a very nice doctor did a very gentle ultrasound confirming straight away that baby is in a good head down position. Babys spine is to my right which is called the Right Occiput Anterior (ROA) position. I’m hoping that they will move to my left as this is the most ideal position for birth. Our bodies are not symmetrical so it makes it easier if they are on their left, Little Man was on my right and I think that this along with many other little things was one of the factors with lead to my difficult delivery last time round.
Baby was also measuring just one week ahead which is consistent with other scans I’ve had so far so no cause for concern there. The doctor took her time and did a full scan of the baby with everything else showing up normal. Its lovely to see their little face and heart beating. As I’m so exhausted they took some more bloods and recommended I rest for a few days as I’m pretty run down at the moment.
So thats my little pregnancy update on week 33, I’ll be posting details of Little Mans Birthday soon so keep an eye out!
Maverick Mammy 
My daughter was breech too and then turned around (don’t exactly remember when) months before my due date. Ended up doing an emergency CS though, but only because she had her umbilical cord wrapped in her neck. But all went well 😉 x
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Thanks Little Steps/Dean B, it’s always worrying when they are breech but great when they move. Glad all went well for you in the end even if it was an emcs.
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You’re looking fabulous! And what an amazing cake for your little one’s birthday – Thomas is such a 2 year old classic, isn’t he?
I remember obsessing over the position of my baby. He was posterior and I’d read loads about that meaning a horrific ‘back to back’ labour, really painful, very slow, with contractions in the back. When I was admitted I asked the midwife if he was still in that position and she confirmed he was, but was really reassuring that it didn’t necessarily mean those things. As it turned out, those stories weren’t right for me – my labour was really quick, no pain in the back, and not as bad as I’d built it up to be in my mind. I hope you’re little one repositions, but I hope my story is helpful and a bit reassuring if he doesn’t!
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Thanks Katy, I had loads of fun making the cake, it’s lovely to see little man enjoying the same classics as we did! So glad to hear your positive birth story, it’s great to know that it’s not necessarily as bad as you image!
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You look amazing, well done for keeping the exercise while heavily pregnant. The Thomas cake is brilliant, hope you all had a lovely time x
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Thanks Laura, the cake was a lot of work but I think it was worth it!
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That cake is utterly amazing!! And you’re pregnant and you have a toddler. You’re superwoman!!
You look stunning in that second baby photo, even if you’re not feeling radiant you look it there.
All the best and hope little pickle plays ball and things go smoothly.xx
I had a back to back birth with my third, it was painful but I was also induced (and made things progress super fast – 20 minutes in fact!!) so I think it was more that than the fact he was back to back. You’ll be just fine and in the best hands.
Short term pain, long term gain 😉 xx
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Thanks a million, not really feeling like superwoman these days but hopefully a bit more sleep will sort that out!
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What a lovely update. I Loved reading about the position baby is in etc and find that really interesting. I also love the look of the birthday cake. It’s amazing!
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Thanks Angela, the cake took a lot of work but was well worth it!
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Im just coming into my 32nd week and my baby is breech… I am determined to get him to turn though as a c-section doesn’t work for us (we are remote and not driving is not an option). I haven’t looked at the spinning baby website yet but was told about it at an NCT class. This week I am writing my birth plan in prep for my consultant appointment on the 21st. I think we may have very differing opinions!! I think you look fab for 33 weeks I hope the tiredness starts to ease xx
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Ohh, hope your baby turns soon, I think at 32 weeks there’s still plenty of opportunity for baby to turn, baby doesn’t settle into their final position for another few weeks. I agree with you on the c-section, I had one with my first (unplanned section) and I live in a rural area too – it was awful not being able to drive. Fingers crossed for both of us this time, best of luck with your birth plan and consultant appointment!
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Happy birthday little man hope you had a wonderful birthday with Thomas and Friends. Oh no hopefully you get some rest soon you need it!
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Thanks Ana, we had a great party, Little Man really enjoyed it!
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you look amazing.. and happy birthday to your little guy.. busy times x i really hope it all goes well for you x you look so much more healthier on this one.. well done on the exercise x
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Thanks a million, I’ve really been trying hard this pregnancy to exercise and keep the weight down, hopefully it will all pay off in the end!
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