35 weeks down....35 DAYS to go!

35 weeks today! I am always curious to get my weekly e-mail about how Brayden is developing. I thought I would pass this weeks e-mail on to you. 5 and a half pounds and 20 inches??? That must be why I feel like I am carrying around a boulder! Only 35 days to go! Yipee!

Your Baby's Development This Week
Week 35 of Pregnancy:
With five more weeks to grow, your baby is accumulating fat at a rapid pace, but he or she has pretty much reached the in utero limit in height by now. Which means your developing baby's once skinny arms and legs are now quite plump…and irresistibly, squeezably soft.
At about 20 inches and five and a half pounds (but with about five more weeks to grow), most of your baby's growth over the next month or so before you meet will be in weight (with a gain of anywhere from one pound to several), not height (baby's pretty much reached the in utero limit in that department). Accordingly, fat continues to accumulate at a rapid pace these days (on baby, not just on your hips). Back in the middle of your pregnancy, your baby's weight was made up of only two percent fat; now that percentage has soared to closer to 15 percent (and will increase to 30 percent at term). Which means your baby's once skinny arms and legs are now quite plump…and irresistibly, squeezably soft.

Also continuing to grow at an amazing pace is your baby's brain power. Luckily, the part that surrounds that amazing brain — the skull — remains soft. And for good reason: A soft skull will allow your baby to squeeze more easily through the birth canal. (Mother Nature was really thinking this one through — imagine trying to push out a rock-hard head…ouch!)