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Pregnancy Week By Week
Week 28, Week 29 and Week 30
Week 28
Baby: Your baby measures about 10 inches from crown to rump, or a total length of about 15.75 inches from head to toe, and weighs about 2.4 pounds. Brain waves show rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, which means your baby may be dreaming. Eyelids are opening. Branches of lungs are developing, so there's a good chance that baby would survive if born prematurely now.
Mother: Your uterus extends well above your navel. As baby gets bigger and stronger this month, you may be experiencing leg cramps and mild swelling of ankles and feet, difficulty sleeping, shortness of breath, lower abdominal achiness, clumsiness or scattered Braxton Hicks contractions (hardening and relaxing of the uterus, like rehearsals for labor). You may also be urinating more frequently again as the uterus continues to push on your bladder.
Dad: The name game.
What role do you have in choosing baby's name? Some couples prefer the mother naming the girls, and the father naming the boys. Others choose one parent to name all the children, with some input from the other parent. We think it's great to jointly choose baby's name. With so much emphasis put on naming your baby, we think two minds are better than one!
Check out our awesome baby naming lists for some great baby name tips and ideas!
Do's and Don'ts: Do beware of joint pain. If you're at a computer for long stretches, take frequent breaks to give your fingers, wrists, and arms a rest. Your body's retaining fluid, causing nerves to swell and pinch, which could result in carpal tunnel syndrome. Also, check that your setup is ergonomically sound: Your forearms and wrists should be straight and run parallel to the floor as you type, neither reaching too far up nor down.
Exercise: For an easy arm stretch, stand or sit and clasp your hands behind your back. Pull them back and down, then release. Repeat ten times.
Tips for this week: Even if your husband is planning on being with you in the delivery room, you might want to consider hiring a doula -- a professional labor assistant who provides support, but not medical aid, for the mother and her partner. Studies show that doulas can shorten a woman's labor and reduce the likelihood of needing pain medication, forceps deliveries or a Caesarean section.
Week 29
Baby: Your baby measures about 10.4 inches from crown to rump, or a total length of about 16.7 inches from head to toe, and weighs about 2.7 pounds. At this stage a fetus's eyes are almost always blue and can distinguish bright sunlight or artificial light through the uterine wall. Baby is performing fewer acrobatics as conditions in the womb become more cramped, but still doing a lot of kicking and stretching.
Mother: Your uterus is about 3.5 to 4 inches above your navel. Weight gain is probably between 19 and 25 pounds. As odds improve that baby could survive outside the womb -- although in a neonatal intensive-care unit -- you may be feeling relieved and excited, or anxious about motherhood, your baby's health, and labor and delivery. If you do experience premature labor, signs include menstrual-like cramps or lower back pain, a trickle of amniotic fluid, or a watery pinkish or brownish discharge preceded sometimes by the passage of a thick, gelatinous mucus plug. Your practitioner often can stop labor from progressing with bed rest, muscle relaxants or other drugs, possibly requiring hospitalization.
Dad: Nice to meet you...uh...Keanu.
Some parents choose to name their kids after their favorite celebrities. Sometimes, the name turns out to be a great fit. But more often than not, naming your baby after a celebrity can yield years and years of unwanted name association.
Do's and Don'ts: Do feast on fatty foods, just not the ice-cream-and-greasy-bacon type. A "good" type of fat, called docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), helps brain and nerve cells develop. DHA can be found in canola, flaxseed, and walnut oils--and in fatty fish like salmon. Try using walnut oil in your salad dressing.
Exercise: Ask your doctor how to check your rectus abdominus, the central muscle that runs down the front of the abdomen and supports the back. During pregnancy it may separate by more than the width of two finger lengths, but don't worry--the gap usually disappears after birth. Note that you should not be doing exercises that work the abdomen at this stage.
Tips for this week: Your blood pressure typically may rise a little around the seventh month, but contact your practitioner if you get severe headaches, blurred vision or severe swelling of hands, feet or ankles, or if you experience severe weight gain. These symptoms could signal the beginning of preeclampsia, a dangerous condition marked by high blood pressure and high levels of protein in the urine during pregnancy.
Week 30
Baby: Your baby measures about 17 inches from head to toe and weighs about 3 pounds. Baby is growing plumper and beginning to control its own body temperature. Eyebrows and eyelashes are fully developed, and hair on the head is getting thicker. Head and body are now proportioned like a newborn's. Hands are now fully formed and fingernails are growing.
Mother: Your uterus is about four inches above your navel, and it's hard to believe you still have about 10 weeks to go as baby continues to push on your ribs. You may be feeling more discomfort in your pelvis and abdomen. You'll probably be gaining about a pound a week.
Dad: Showers: not just for women anymore?
Yeah, we know, even mentioning the words 'baby' and 'shower' in the same sentence probably makes you shudder. But have you considered having a couples baby shower? By inviting your favorite friends and their significant others, the idea suddenly becomes much more inviting. Look at it more as an excuse to get together with your buddies than a gabfest about babies, bonnets, and diapers. Sounds better already doesn't it? IndianMomsAndBabies.com has some fun and creative ideas to make your couples baby shower an occasion to remember.
Do's and Don'ts: Do avoid harsh soaps that rob your skin of its natural oils. If your skin is itchy, take a soothing, warm oatmeal bath; you can buy prepackaged sachets at most drugstores. After your bath, generously apply cocoa butter or vitamin E based moisturizer all over your body.
Exercise: Hormones continue to soften the tissues around your joints, making it easy to overextend them. If you lift weights, lighten your load by 5 to 15 percent.
Tips for this week: The membranes around the baby that contain the amniotic fluid are called the bag of waters. They usually do not break until just before the onset of labor, but if it does break prematurely, your risk of infection increases so call your practitioner immediately.
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