Dear Pooh Bear,

Welcome to 33 weeks little guy! Not much longer now! Can you believe the countdown says 45 days?? When it is put that way it really doesn’t seem long at all. I am still amazed that we get to meet you in only a few short weeks! I think I say that every week but each week it becomes more real.

Last weekend I had a photographer take pictures of your mommy and daddy so that someday you can see what mommy looked like while you were in her belly. I know that you will always think of me as old, but maybe you can look back at these pictures and see that I was actually young once!

Can you believe that at 33 weeks you already weigh more than your big dog sister Tinkerbell? At 3.6 lbs she thinks she owns this house, but I am sure someday you two will run this place together. I look around our little townhouse every day and try to imagine what life will be like when you are here. But for some reason I believe that I have no real clue what it will be like, because how can one even imagine the joy that you will bring into this home.

With the joy will come a lot of changes. I remind your daddy of that a lot since right now he likes to sleep till 11 or 12:00 on the weekends. I remind him that once you are here that will no longer be the case.  Don’t worry, we both know that it will all be worth it.

As the weeks move on I am beginning to be more and more uncomfortable and tired. I knew this would be coming, but I have to wonder what the future weeks will bring. The unknown scares me little one. Your fists get lodged in my sides a lot (which really hurts!), and your little butt likes to press up into the top of my belly. Sometimes I like to think you are giving me a high five when I feel you at my sides. I literally can feel your little fist when I press my belly.  You still get the hiccups every day! I hope they don’t make you too uncomfortable. Little tasks are getting harder and harder. I cleaned the house this past weekend only to feel very winded and uncomfortable very quickly. It’s not as easy to do menial tasks.

Your mommy has been snoring a lot these days. So much so that your daddy has been sleeping in your room! I remind him that I have had to listen to him snore for 10 years, so he can bare with it for a few months, but that still doesn’t make it better. I just can’t help it!

This week your daddy and I will take our first Lamaze class. We have a nurse that works in the hospital that you are being born at come to our house. I am still very pro epidural, but I figure it’s good to know what to expect. I think your daddy and I are in for a rude awakening. I hear we have to watch a video about childbirth, and to be honest I’m not very excited about it. I think it may scare me even more!

Pooh Bear: 33 Weeks!

This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds (heft a pineapple) and has passed the 17-inch mark. He’s rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and his skeleton is hardening. The bones in his skull aren’t fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for him to fit through the birth canal. (The pressure on the head during birth is so intense that many babies are born with a conehead-like appearance.) These bones don’t entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as his brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood.

As your baby fills out even more of your belly, lots of things might start to change: Whereas before you were sashaying, you may find yourself waddling. Finding an easy position to sit in — let alone sleep — is becoming more of a challenge. And bumping into chairs and counters is par for the course.

You may be feeling some achiness and even numbness in your fingers, wrists, and hands. Like many other tissues in your body, those in your wrist can retain fluid, which can increase pressure in the carpal tunnel, a bony canal in your wrist. Nerves that run through this “tunnel” may end up pinched, creating numbness; tingling, shooting or burning pain; or a dull ache. Try wearing a splint to stabilize your wrist or propping your arm up with a pillow when you sleep. If your work requires repetitive hand movements (at a keyboard or on an assembly line, for instance), remember to stretch your hands when you take breaks — which should be frequently.

Many women are still feeling sexy at this stage — and their partners often agree. You may need to make some adjustments, but for most women, sex during pregnancy is fine right up until their water breaks or their labor starts.

I definitely have been waddling that’s for sure! You have a lot more to grow little one. I would say your weight will almost double before you are born! Let’s try to keep it below 8 lbs though ok? What do you say?