34 Weeks Pregnant Update

I am 34 Weeks Pregnant, how fast has this come around? The last routine pregnancy appointment I had with my actual midwife was at 24 weeks, and honestly time has just flown past since that point. I’ve seen other health professionals and I of course had my blood test and routine appointment at 28 weeks prefer we went on holiday but it’s been ages since I’ve seen my actual Midwife so it was nice to have a bit of a catch up.

How Am I Feeling?

Honestly, as the weeks go past I’m just feeling more and more excited about the birth. I feel really confident that I’ll be absolutely fine in labour, I have so much more education behind me this time around. My environment is completely different and I’m trying to let go of the fear of having a c-section. I’ve been watching a few really positive birth story videos on YouTube which has made me feel amazing. I’ve created some birth affirmations, have a solid birth preferences list and I’m practising my deep relaxation hypnobirthing techniques. I’d like to try and listen to them as many times as I can between now and starting labour.

I am experiencing back ache, especially when walking too far, too fast. I’m really glad I’ve not had to do the school run and I can stay at home if I want. I would have liked to exercise a lot more but it’s been too hot! I am finding myself staying awake a lot longer at night and actually sleeping in a bit which is nice. I’m noticing pressure lower down in my bump than previously which is then putting more pressure on my bladder. I’m still feeling loads of baby movements which is lovely. He’s particularly wriggly at night time.

I started drinking red raspberry leaf tea at 32 weeks to hopefully help my uterus contract as efficiently as possible which in turn might help to shorten the second phase of labour. I am also enjoying smoothies for breakfast to get some extra nutrition and from 36 weeks I plan to start eating six dates a day to help make that first stage of labour go quickly. I want to enjoy labour, but I also want to make sure my body is in a relaxed, stress free state and full of nutritional goodness. I am planning on investing in some Boobix cookies and lactation brownies too to help my supply. I’d make my own but I just don’t have the time!

32 Weeks Growth Scan

The scan went really well to be honest. We got to see Baby F again and he is gaining weight at the right amount. We saw a different sonographer so the measurement was slightly over the 50th Centile line but nothing to really worry about and still well within what they are considering to be ‘normal’ for me. However, there is always a margin for error with scans so he will weigh whatever he weighs when he is born.

Hypnobirthing Sessions

My first hypnobirthing session was fantastic. I had a private hypnotherapist come to my home to do two sessions for us as a couple. The first session talked about relaxing in labour, breathing techniques and a guided relaxation session. The second session included a longer relaxation recording and going through down breathing, pain relief visualisation and a general run through on labour and birth.

My hypnobirthing sessions were booked through Positively You Hypnotherapy which is run by a really lovely lady named Mandy who is based in Winchester, Hampshire.

How I’m Looking at 34 Weeks Pregnant

My 34 Weeks Pregnant: My Midwife Appointment

My 34 weeks routine appointment was on 8th August with my midwife Debbie at the local birth centre. I really get on with Debbie, she has always made me feel listened to and respected. She is such a lovely midwife and I feel really happy to have her on my side through this pregnancy. We talked about my meeting with the consultant midwife and went over my birth preferences which was great and she was really happy with everything I have decided on. We heard Baby F’s heartbeat and it’s always such a lovely sound. My blood pressure was fine, my HgB levels were 135 and my platelets where over 200 which was great. All of these things are really useful for labour! I was awarded a gold star for being so well hydrated too which was good. Our next routine appointment is at 36 weeks.

What’s Next?

August is a really busy month full of appointments and discussing different plans with everyone. I have an appointment booked in on 17th with the consultant midwife to discuss my home birth plan which I am still very confident about. After that I have my third and final growth scan to check all is well and baby F is still growing as expected. Then we are booked in for the NHS run Confident Birthing antenatal at my local hospital which is going back over hypnobirthing and I’ve been recommended this one as I’m planning a home birth. We are also going to attend an antenatal breastfeeding information and support class on bank holiday Monday which will be a great chance to meet the ladies that run the NCT breastfeeding group too. Then we are back to hospital to see the consultant again to just see how things are going on. By the time we go back to see him there would have been ten weeks between our appointments so of course things might change or I might have questions.

For more pregnancy content please head to my hub post which contains links to all my relevant pregnancy based blog posts. My second High Bmi Pregnancy.