Week 34

Well, as most of you know by now, Laura has been put on bed rest because her amniotic fluid number is lower than the doctor wants them. They like for the number to be between 8-18 and last week Laura’s was at 6.8. Well we went in yesterday, and they checked her fluid levels again and as of yesterday, her fluid level was at 8.8. We just want to thank everyone for all of their prayers and thoughts! We know that this was definitely a God thing! Here’s the scoop on Anna this week.

Anna’s crown-to-rump length this week is approximately 12.8 inches and her total length is around 19.8 inches at this time. She now weighs almost 5 pounds.

Anna’s hair continues to get longer and thicker. Her hair color probably is not going to be the same color from birth onwards. She is shedding most of lanugo, but the amount of vernix caseosa is increasing. She is taking calcium from Laura to lay down lots of bone. Laura is continuing to take her prenatal vitamins and drink milk to ensure that she receive enough calcium.

If Laura were to deliver Anna now, it would probably be called a pre-term infant instead of premature. The only difference is in the maturity, particularly lung maturity. A pre-term baby is less likely to need intensive care because its lungs have developed. Doctors can test lung maturity with an amniocentesis that checks levels of surfactant.

Anna now rests on Laura’s uterus and is no longer floating.

Fingernails now reach over the finger tips and Anna can scratch herself.