Hey there, pregnant mamas and dadas-to-be! You’re 35 weeks pregnant! Getting there, right? As discussed in recent weeks, I unexpectedly gave birth to my sixth baby Bracey at 30 weeks of pregnancy, so I’m no longer pregnant. But I’m tapping into my previous five pregnancies and up-to-date research to continue to develop this series for you. I’m staying by your side to be bitter end! Smile. You never know when your baby will pop out, so get your nursery and hospital bag ready to go. Let’s dive into your 35th week of pregnancy!

Increased Breath Capacity

I can breathe again! Literally! As described during Week 34, baby dropping occurs when your baby moves into your lower pelvis. Once baby dropping occurs, your uterus and other organs will be putting less pressure against your lungs, allowing them to expand more. During my prior five pregnancies, I often found myself out of breath, so being able to take a nice deep breath again at this stage was a great feeling.

At week 35, your baby weighs 5.5 pounds and is 18 inches long, about the size of a honeydew. Beginning this week, your baby’s liver will begin to process small amounts of waste, no longer leaving you to clean up the messes! Along with your baby’s weight, your baby’s brain still has a lot of growth ahead before birth. By the end of week 40, your baby’s brain will have grown ten times its size from this week.

This week also marks the completion of the kidneys and the complete descension of a baby boy’s testicles. Over the coming weeks, your baby will be focusing on adding additional fat and brain cells.

As someone who has been placed on forms of bed rest during each of my previous five pregnancies, I wanted to set forth the different categories of bedrest. In some ways, the trend had shifted away from bed rest since research has shown that pregnant women actually have better results when not assigned to bed rest, and since there are potential dangers linked to the state of being sedentary for prolonged amounts of time. The four main categories of bed rest are activity restriction, pelvic rest, modified bed rest, complete bed rest. Complete bed rest might entail hospitalization. (I was hospitalized during a few of my prior pregnancies, and during my first pregnancy for an entire week from week 32 to week 33! I then managed to eek it out until midway into week 37!). Below, I have a guide that walks you through each type of bed rest.

Here are the prenatal tests that are available during Week 35:

Biophysical Profile

Group B Streptococcus Screening (Group B Strep) (GBS)

Group B streptococcus is a type of bacteria that lurks around the vaginas of approximately 25% of women. This bacteria is harmless to us, but when the baby passes through the vagina during birth and this bacteria is present, there is a 1 in 200 chance that the baby could pick up the bacteria and contract a severe infection. Administered between weeks 35 and 37 of pregnancy, the Group B Strep Test (GBS) uses a rectal and vaginal swab to test you for this bacteria and to provide an accurate depiction of your vaginal ecosystem during birth. If you test positive, you will be given a dose of antibiotics during labor.

Contraction Stress Test

Fetal Acoustic Stimulation

Nonstress Test

Please head over to Week 4 and Week 5 for the detailed guide of what foods to eat and not eat during pregnancy, and check back in each week for a healthy pregnancy recipe.

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Being 35 weeks pregnant means you are around 8 months pregnant. Keep in mind that this is just an approximation because months have a different number of days and weeks.

• What to Expect & What to Expect When You’re Expecting – 5th Edition (2016)
• The Bump
• Baby List
• Parents.com
• Healthline.com
• WebMD
• The Mama Natural Week to Week Guide to Pregnancy & Childbirth (2017)
• Mayo Clinic’s Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy – Second Edition (2018)
• American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists