33 weeks

by Grace Ko


They say starting this week, baby is taking up more space than amniotic fluid! Which means his movements are felt and seen much more. My belly does rolls and waves like it's its job thanks to this dancing baby. 

Baby's dancing away but this mama's been feeling...

Big.
Large.
Heavy.

I stepped on the scale the other day and nearly fell backwards at the number I saw before me. My mind quickly did the math, and then did it again... because I was astounded at how much weight I had gained. You see, I am at the max weight my doctor told me to gain and with about two months still to go, I was suddenly flooded with fear. "Is this okay?" "Should I be worried?" "Will the weight come off?"

I posted about this on social media and I was overwhelmed by the support from other mamas - how every woman's pregnancy is different, how as long as baby and I are healthy it's okay, and how the weight will eventually come off.

Along with the extra weight, there's also been the sore back, swollen legs and feet, constant heartburn (tums are a constant companion in my life right now). It's nearly impossible to comfortably reach my toes so with that as an excuse, I made an executive decision this week to get a pedicure. A fellow pregnant friend and I have adopted a motto:

Treat. Yo. Self.

But on the flip side, it's nice that there is no second guessing I'm pregnant. This means being offered a seat on public transportation, words of sympathy from total strangers.

Though I have moments when I wonder if my body will ever be the same again... witnessing my body go through such changes throughout this pregnancy got me to thinking about how amazing this body of mine is. How does it know exactly what to do? How is my belly growing to be so large? How do all the rest of my organs continue to function while a baby takes up prime real estate? God is a wonderful creator, a perfect designer.

Even the fact that I've been struggling to stay asleep - this is preparation for when baby comes: sleep deprivation training.

During week 33, Y & I took a birthing class at our hospital and things got real! The nurse giving the presentation had Y along with the other dads "push" as an empathy exercise - legs spread apart and everything - and let's just say there was a lot of giggling, on my part. (He was completely serious.) Afterwards, we made our Friday night a "date" and went to McDonalds. Yes, classy. The trip was initially for their [fried] apple pie but we ended up consuming 2 cheeseburgers, 1 hamburger, 3 [Korean large] fries, and 2 cokes. Throughout our entire indulgence, we kept saying, "I can't believe we just took a birthing class." Actually, we are still stuck on, "I can't believe we're pregnant!"

Baby,
We're a matter of weeks away from meeting you. Mommy & daddy are prepping away with classes and exercising and stacking and packing. We can't wait to meet you!