Pregnancy week 35: two kilos and a half, and counting

The weekly rhythm

From around now, the clinic wants you weekly — the last-lap dashboard read every seven days: BP, urine, fundal height, position, heartbeat, your count report. Short visits, high value; skipping one is the false economy of the ninth month.

The baby's whole agenda is gain — around a quarter kilo a week, most of it the fat that will run its thermostat outside. The wrinkled suit is nearly filled.

And this is the week the household learns the signs-of-labour list properly — not as anxiety but as competence: what means 'note it', what means 'call', what means 'go now'. One dinner-table briefing covers it.

Your baby this week

The baby is about forty-six centimetres and two and a half kilos. Most of the remaining gain is fat and the last brain-wiring sprint — the brain at birth will still be only a quarter of its adult size; the design finishes outside.

The kidneys are fully developed; the liver is processing waste. The quarters are so snug that movements are strong presses and rolls — the count standard never changes: your baby's pattern is the pattern.

Hearing is sharp enough to know the difference between voices in the room — the recognition repertoire (your voice, papa's bulletins, the daily sounds of home) is loaded and ready.

Changes in your body

If lightening has happened, breath is easier and the bladder schedule is comical. Walking may produce sudden pelvic zings — 'lightning crotch', graceless name, harmless thing: the head is resting on nerves.

Swelling, heartburn, backache, broken sleep — the full ninth-month orchestra. Every section has its management by now; the conductor's note is simply: rest in instalments, water all day, feet up in the evening.

Emotionally the mix is impatience with stage fright. Both correct. The useful channel: the last practical jobs (below) and the daily walk, which is now both exercise and, per every grandmother, gentle encouragement to the baby.

What to do this week

Hold the dinner-table briefing. NOTE IT: plug loss, stronger practice tightenings, nesting. CALL: rhythmic pains 10 minutes apart or closing, count not reached, anything you're unsure of. GO NOW: waters (gush or steady trickle), bright-red bleeding, severe headache with vision changes, pains 5 minutes apart — bag, papers, 108 if no car.

Confirm the weekly-visit dates through the due date and how the hospital wants to be contacted out of hours (labour-room direct number on the fridge sheet).

Do the SIM check on the sleeping arrangement: where the baby sleeps (same room, own flat surface, no pillows or loose quilts around the face), where night feeds happen, where the nappy station is. Ten minutes of arranging now saves 3 a.m. inventing.

Keep the count sacred through all the bustle — the busier the household gets, the more the daily ten matters. It remains the baby's own daily telegram until the day it's born.

Week 35 at a glance

The week's essentials in one place. Your doctor may adjust these for your situation.

When to see a doctor at once

The go-now list, verbatim: waters breaking (gush or steady trickle), bright-red bleeding, pains five minutes apart or continuous severe pain, severe headache with visual changes, a failed count. Bag, papers pouch, 108 if no vehicle — at any hour.

And the call-first list: rhythmic pains ten-ish minutes apart, count reached slowly or not at all, plug loss with anything unusual, fever, burning urine, or plain unease. Near term, hospitals prefer ten unnecessary calls to one late arrival — make the call.

This article is general information only and no substitute for personal medical advice. The person who can advise you knowing your health, your medicines and your previous pregnancies is your obstetrician, or the doctor at your nearest health centre.

Work out your due date

Enter the first day of your last period and your cycle length — your estimated due date, this week's count and the anomaly scan window all appear right here.

It is only an estimate — most babies aren't born on the exact date. A first-trimester scan dates a pregnancy more accurately; in the end, your doctor's date is the one that counts.

Frequently asked questions

Q: Pains every 10 minutes that faded after an hour — was that false labour? — Likely — real labour's signature is progression: closer, longer, stronger, and indifferent to rest or water. False labour rehearses and retreats. Every retreat still earns a mention at the weekly visit; patterns matter.

Q: The baby measures 'big' — will normal delivery be impossible? — Scan weight estimates near term carry a margin of a few hundred grams either way, and 'big' alone rarely decides the route. Pelvis, position, labour's own progress and the doctor's judgment decide together. Have the route conversation with the measurements in front of you both.

Q: Should we shave/wax/enema before hospital — the aunties have opinions? — Hospitals here mostly no longer require routine shaving or enemas; if anything's needed they do it there. Personal grooming is personal choice. The aunties' checklist is a generation old; the hospital's checklist is the papers pouch.

Q: What if labour starts and my doctor isn't available? — The hospital's duty team delivers babies all night, every night — your file, notes and preferences are in the system, and your doctor is informed. Choose the hospital for its always-on team; the specific pair of hands matters less than the system around them.