As your third trimester progresses, your baby will weigh about 4.5lbs to 5lbs. If you are worrying about preterm labor, you can rest assured that babies born in this week will be generally fine if they have no accompanying health problems. The head of your baby will be facing down and in preparation of labor. This can cause certain discomfort in the bladder but do not be overly concerned about it. You may also notice the change of baby movements. Your baby can reach out and touch your tummy or lay straight across your tummy causing you to be uncomfortable.  At this stage, your baby has already grown long fingernails. Do not be alarmed if your baby scratches you in the middle of the night! He/she will also have grown sufficient fat layers to keep him/herself warm and comfortable. The five senses will have developed well and your baby will react to sound and light!   If you find your baby to be hyperactive and moving around a lot when you are sleeping at night, a good advice would be to listen to comforting and soothing music to calm your baby down. You can even try massaging the baby to soothe the baby’s movements a little. This way he/she will be relaxed and maybe fall asleep too, this way you can enjoy a night of good sleep.

Being 34 weeks pregnant means you are about one month away from full term pregnancy. Your baby should weight around 5.4 pounds now. If you notice you are short of breaths more often, worry not! This is possibly due to the tremendous physical strains of the size of your baby. The enlarged uterus at this stage of pregnancy will put more pressure on your diaphragm. Take deep slow breaths when you feel that you are having difficulties breathing. You can adopt the counting method of taking six sets of slow breathing. I.e., breathing slowly, count from 1 to 10, and repeat for six times. When you are experiencing shortness of breath, it is important NEVER to lie down with your back facing down. Lying down in this position compresses your lungs, rib cage in addition to the already huge pressure on your diaphragm. You should sit up straight and try to keep your shoulders back. Do slide in a few cushions for added comfort. For pregnant mothers with a history of asthma and other medical conditions, please consult your doctor if you develop the symptoms accompanying the shortness of breath during pregnancy. If you are experiencing problems sleeping, it would help a lot if you adopt a sleep on your side position. This position is extremely helpful as the weight of your belly is supported by lying on your side.