Use our pregnancy calendar to see what’s happening in your pregnancy each week.

Counting sheep well into the early hours? Here’s what you can expect from week thirty three of your pregnancy.

Your Baby:

Is roughly the size of a pineapple!

Has a 98% chance of survival with no problems or complications if born this week

Is surrounded by over one litre of amniotic fluid which it spends it’s time swallowing and then urinating. Delicious

You:

Have a uterus that’s roughly 5 inches above your belly button

Breathlessness, heartburn, dodgy stomach, trapped wind? You can thank that giant uterus

Your placenta weighs roughly 2lbs (900g) at this stage

Week Thirty Three

Let’s talk about sleep, baby… because frankly, we ain’t getting any. It seems a cruel twist of fate that just when you need your sleep the most, it’s gone. Let’s face it, thirty three weeks in is pretty tiring what with lugging a baby around (not to mention everything else that’s going on in your life…) so falling asleep should be pretty easy. But, between struggling to get comfortable, dealing with a bladder that’s being used as a trampoline and all that overtime your brain is doing right now, it’s no wonder that many women lie awake for hours at this time of your pregnancy. I’d love to tell you I have a wonder cure but… I don’t. There are things you can do to help encourage sleep, such as:

• Make yourself as comfortable as possible with pillows – whether you like to prop yourself up on your back (around a 30 degree angle for your back and head should keep you both safe and comfortable) or wedge pillows/quilts/limbs under your bump, try to get yourself into a sustainable position that will support you throughout the night. It may even mean claiming the bed for yourself for a few weeks. Which is totally fine cos you’re currently two people and that’s what a double’s for. Bye for now hubby.
• Turn off distractions – we all do it; look at our phone in the middle of the night to find out what time it is. But studies show that the blue light given off by LED screens can lower the levels of melatonin or even stop them, keeping you awake for longer. Try leaving your phone downstairs or, if you rely on it for your alarm then leave it on the other side of your bedroom screen down. Similarly, if you’re still using a baby monitor, try turning the screen off or putting it on the floor – you want as dark a sleeping place as possible.
• Practice your ‘calm’ breathing – when insomnia strikes, try focussing on some deep, calm breathing to help get you back to sleep. Breathe in for four counts and then out for eight, each time focussing on your chest moving and controlling the speed of your breathing. Not only will it help calm you (and hopefully reignite those sleepy urges) but it’s also great practice for breathing techniques during labour.
• If all else fails, embrace the insomnia and leave your bed. You want to associate your bedroom with sleep, at least until the baby arrives, so you’re better to get up, read a book in a different room and then go back into bed when tiredness returns. I’d say you’re also less likely to disturb your partner then but frankly there’s something rather satisfying about letting them know that you’re awake… after all, why should you have all the fun?!

Other fun things this week: all those lovely digestive and respiratory issues I mentioned at the top? Yep, living that dream right now. Every day is a wonderfully exciting roulette of symptoms at the moment. On the plus side, it does keep life interesting.

Missed a week? Catch up on week thirty two

Fancy sneaking ahead? Here’s week thirty four