Thirty-four Weeks Pregnant

I now weigh about 4 3/4 pounds and am almost 18 inches long. My fat layers — which will help regulate my body temperature once I'm born — are filling me out, making me rounder. My skin is also smoother than ever. My central nervous system is maturing and my lungs are continuing to mature as well. If Mummy and Daddy are nervous about preterm labour, they'll be happy to know that babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine. They may need a short stay in the neonatal nursery and may have a few short-term health issues, but in the long run, they usually do as well as full-term babies.

Thirty-three Weeks Pregnant

This week I weigh a little over 4 pounds and have passed the 17-inch mark. I'm rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and my skeleton is hardening. The bones in my skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for me to fit through the birth canal (although I won't be born that way). These bones don't entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as my brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood. Forty-three days till my birthday - officially at least!

Thirty-two Weeks Pregnant

By now, I am just shy of 4 pounds and am nearly 17 inches long, taking up a lot of space in Mummy's uterus. Mummy's gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to me. In fact, I'll gain a third to half of my birth weight during the next 7 weeks as I fatten up for survival outside the womb. I now have toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). My skin is becoming soft and smooth as I plump up in preparation for birth.

It's only 50 days until my birthday!

Hospital

Daddy took Mummy and me to the hospital today. A registrar listened to my heart and then a nurse took some of Mummy's blood. My birthday has now been set at Friday 2 November.

Set?!!

I ask you.

Entre nous, I've half a mind to come a bit earlier, just to show 'em who's boss!

Still, for what it's worth, here's a list of some interesting facts about 2 November...

It is All Souls Day.
On 2 November 1913, Burt Lancaster was born.
On 2 November 1938, Queen Sofia of Spain was born.
On 2 November 1930, Ras Tafari was crowned Haile Selassie, Emperor of Ethiopia.
On 2 November 2003, Sir Ranulph Fiennes and his companion Mike Stroud completed their 7th marathon in 7 days, each in a different country. Fiennes had suffered a heart attack five months previously.
On 2 November 2000, the first crew arrived at the International Space Station.
On 2 November 1988 the Morris worm, the first internet-distributed computer worm to gain significant mainstream media attention, was launched from MIT.
On 2 November 1982, Channel 4 was launched.
On 2 November 1964, the first episode of 'Crossroads' was broadcast on ITV.
On 2 November 1936, the BBC launched its Television Service (renamed BBC1 in 1964.)
On 2 November 1962, US President John Kennedy announced that the 'Cuban Missile Crisis' was over. He had just pushed the world closer to the brink of nuclear war than it had ever been.
On 2 November 1960, Penguin publishers were cleared of obscenity for printing the D.H.Lawrence novel 'Lady Chatterley's Lover'. On the same day, the first section of the M1 motorway was opened between the present junctions 5 and 18. Curiously, I will be born right next to this very stretch of motorway.
On 2 November 1957, The Levelland UFO Case in Levelland, Texas, generated international publicity. It remains one of the most impressive UFO cases in American history. On the same day, Elvis Presley set an all-time record with 8 hit singles in the UK Top 30 chart at the same time.
On 2 November 1954, the comedy series 'Hancock's Half Hour' was first broadcast on BBC Radio. Exactly a year earlier, the Samaritans was founded.
On 2 November 1924, the first 'crossword puzzle' was published in a British newspaper (the Sunday Express.)
On 2 November 1917, Britain issued the 'Balfour Declaration on Palestine.'
Exactly three years earlier, Russia had declared war on the Ottoman Empire.
On 2 November 1903, 'Daily Mirror' (designed especially to be read by women) was launched.
On 2 November 1899, the siege of Ladysmith in Natal began when Boers encircled British troops and civilians inside the town.
On 2 November 1871, British police begin their 'Rogue's Gallery' - taking photographs of all convicted prisoners.
On 2 November 1841, the Second Afghan War started.
On 2 November 1950, Irish writer and playwright George Bernard Shaw died aged 94.
On 2 November 1944, Rommel committed suicide after being arrested for his involvement in the failed plot to assassinate Hitler.

Thirty-one Weeks Pregnant

This week, I measure about 16 inches long. I weigh a little over 3 pounds and am heading into a growth spurt. I can turn my head from side to side, and my arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath my skin. I'm moving a lot too, so Mummy may have trouble sleeping because my kicks and somersaults keep her up. Take comfort: All this moving is a sign that I am active and healthy.