Shocking but true. By week 35, your amazing uterus has expanded to 1,000 times its original size. You’ve probably gained most of your weight by now. We're guessing you're probably 25 to 35 pounds heavier. That's alot of extra baggage to shlepp around. Hold on. Only five more weeks till your due day!
Right around now, your baby drops; it is called lightening and it leaves you feeling (you guessed it!) LIGHTER. The baby is beginning to settle deeper into your pelvis, relieving pressure on your diaphragm, so you are not so short of breath. With every good feeling in pregnancy it seems there is an opposite reaction/bad feeling…so here it is: lightening can increase the pressure on your bladder, causing more trips to the bathroom. Get used to it. Get some good magazines or your laptop in there for the next month or so.
The vast majority of your baby's growth is complete by this point. The teey tiny little kidneys are completely developed, and the eentsy-weentsy liver is beginning to process waste (see how everything related to babies can be cute? Even their itty-bitty little organs are adorable). Because the baby has gotten so big, you will notice that they will no longer be performing a hip-hop dance workout. There just is not enough room for back flips and aerials. This does not mean you will not feel them move; their kickboxing routine should stay the same.
At this point your health care provider will most likely want to begin seeing you once a week until you deliver. They may also ask you to begin counting your baby's movements if you have not already begun to do so. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recommends that you time how long it takes you to feel 10 kicks, flutters, swishes, or rolls (not hiccups).
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