By week twenty eight, the baby weighs about two pounds and measures about ten inches from the top of his head to his butt. By now the baby may be head down in the womb. Your health care provider can tell you what position your baby is in. If it is bottom first (breech position), don’t worry. The baby still has time to change position. Also at this stage the folds in the baby’s brain keep growing as does the baby hair. They also are continuing to lay down layers of fat.
Early in your pregnancy your doctor ordered some blood tests to see if everything is ok. One of the tests they did was to measure RH factor. This is a substance found in the red blood cells of most people. If you are RH negative but your baby is positive, your baby may have the potential to have health problems, jaundice and anemia to name a few. You can prevent this by getting a RH immune globulin vaccine at twenty eight weeks from your doctor.
By your twenty ninth week you should be feeling your baby kick and jab and move around a lot more than you have. With the baby growing at a faster rate, the limited room in the womb makes the kicks and jabs hurt more and may take your breath away. If you notice that your baby isn’t moving at least ten times a minute by this time, call your health care provider. Vitamins are very important during pregnancy and you should already be taking a multivitamin and a folic acid supplement, but your health care provider will check your iron. You should be getting at least thirty milligrams a day, if you fall below this amount your health care provider might put you on an iron supplement.
As week thirty approaches your baby is now around three pounds and measuring from the top of his head to his but, at around 10.8 inches. As your baby grows he will lay down layers of fat to look less wrinkly and to help him stay warm after birth. At this stage your baby will mimic breathing and may even get the hiccups which you might see as twitches in your uterus. This is nature’s way of getting baby ready for the outside world. A common complaint towards the end of your pregnancy is constipation. This can be due to hormones that allow you to maintain your pregnancy. It also shows the digestive process considerably. This can be helped by eating food high in fiber like fruits and veggies. Whole grain breads and cereal are also good sources of fiber.
It’s week thirty one. This is when your baby starts urinating several cups a day into the amniotic fluid. This is replaced several times a day completely. Your baby is also swallowing amniotic fluid. At your ultrasound your health care provider will check your levels of amniotic fluid. If there is excess fluid (known as polyhydramnios) in the amniotic sac, it could mean that there might be a gastrointestinal obstruction or the baby isn’t swallowing normally. Your health care provider will let you know if anything is wrong.
By week thirty two your baby is 11.4 inches and around four pounds and is almost a fully developed little human. Their eyelashes, eyebrows and the hair on the top of their head is now evident. The hair that has covered your baby since the beginning of the second trimester is starting to fall out. But don’t be alarmed if some of this hair still remains on your baby’s shoulders and back. This should lighten and fall out.
Thirty three weeks down. You only have a few weeks left. At this stage your baby’s lungs are almost completely matured. He can hear, feel and even see a little.
At thirty four weeks most babies are in the position for delivery. At your next visit ask your health care provider if your baby is in the correct position for delivery. Babies, at this point in development, are around five pounds and 12.6 inches long from the top of his head to his butt.
When you get down to about seven weeks you may get easily tired. So slow down and nap when you can. Remember to take your vitamins. Your baby is still growing and will get what he needs from you. So you need your vitamins because you don’t want to have an iron deficiency. This can be not only bad for you but also bad for your baby.
At your thirty sixth week the baby just about looks like the plump baby you’re going to see in six weeks. The baby now weighs just under six pounds.
Have you ever wondered why a baby that is born vaginally has a head shaped like a cone? This happens because the bones that make up your baby’s skull are soft and they overlap each other when your baby’s head is inside your pelvis. This helps the baby as it goes through the birth canal. Don’t worry, your baby’s head will not be pointy forever, only a couple of days at the most.
The last month or so before your baby is born, they gain about a half ounce a day. At birth most babies weigh between six and a half and eight and a half pounds and average about twenty one inches long from the tip of his heads to the bottom of his toes.
