28 Weeks Pregnant

Welcome to the first week of your third trimester! Weeks 28 through 40 signal your last several doctor’s visits and plenty of plans for baby’s arrival. While this week is not ideal for your baby’s delivery, keep in mind that anything can happen. He or she would be very small if born right now, butyour baby’s chances of survival could still be positive with intensive care. Certainly it would be best for baby to remain in your body for the next several weeks.
Doctor visits should be every two weeks now, as they continue to monitor both yours and your baby’s progress.
If you haven’t done so already, there are plenty of prenatal classes that you can enroll in. In these classes, you will help you learn what to expect for the rest of your pregnancy, your birth and during your postpartum period. While these classes are optional, they may be beneficial– especially if you have very little experience with babies.
You may have already started getting the nursery ready for the baby and your list of names has probably grown. Do not hesitate to use this time to begin bonding with your baby and have not already done so.

Baby’s Development
By now, the baby is about 16 inches long and will weigh approximately 2-1/3 pounds. Now packing around 2 to 3 pounds of body fat, your baby is beginning to plump up. Covered in a fine, downy hair known as lanugo, your baby is warm and happy in their watery home. This week, baby’s eyes will Be open and the eyebrows and eyelids are very well formed. The eyelids can open in the eye is fully developed.
Though still extremely premature, babies born during this week have the potential to survive with intensive care that could last weeks or even months. Your baby is continuing to practice his or her breathing movements, strengthening their muscles by kicking rolling and stretching and getting ready for their life outside.

Changes With Your Body
The last trimester may bring on a variety of troublesome symptoms. Hemorrhoids, varicose veins, leg cramps, backaches, and oh yes—the arrival of your baby! Don’t worry, not everything is bad during these last few weeks.
Your weight gain should be between 17 and 24 pounds during this week. While certainly there are many women who are far below are far above this average, research has proven that women who gain too little weight are more likely to deliver a low birth weight and preterm baby. And women who gain too much weight may struggle with the prolonged or difficultlabor. It will be to your best interest to keep your weight in check.
Your belly is now very easy to distinguish. Rising about 3 inches above your belly button, it may seem like every stranger in town wants to pat your stomach. Do not be afraid to say “hands off” when necessary. Thanks to the increasing weight of your uterus on the blood vessels of your lower extremities, you may be struggling with hemorrhoids, varicose veins and leg cramps. If any of these are interrupting your day (or your night) talk with your doctor about options to relieve your discomfort.

What To Expect
If your doctor has not already completed a glucose tolerance test to check for gestational diabetes. You may expect to have that completed during your 28th week. This test may be conducted in a variety of ways, which include either a finger stick or a complete blood draw from your arm after you drink a highly concentrated, sugary liquid. If your test is abnormal for any reason, your physician may order an additional screening of the same type for diagnosing you with gestational diabetes. Remember not to eat or drink anything on the morning of your test.
Your expanding uterus is now pressing up against the diaphragm or the muscle that helps you breathe. Many women experience shortness of breath because of this. If you have any shortness of breath, that last for long periods of time or keeps you from being able to get any breath all make sure to report this to your physician. The typical shortness of breath will simply leave you feeling like you have just run a race and you are trying to recover.

Tips/Advice
This may be a good week to begin considering a pediatrician for your baby. If you have not already found one and might be a good idea to talk with those around you can get an idea of what doctors may be available. If you anticipate that your baby may have any special needs such as a genetic or birth defect. It would be especially important for you to schedule an appointment with a pediatrician before your baby’s delivery to talk about any special needs or care that may be required.
Source : www.pregnacyweek.us

27 Weeks Pregnant

Congratulations, you have entered the third and last trimester of your pregnancy. If you are planning to enroll in any prenatal classes, now is the time to do so. The hospital will send you admitting forms in the next few weeks and they recommend taking child birth classes. These classes will teach you breathing techniques during childbirth and some exercises that will make childbirth a bit more relaxing than stressful. At this stage of your pregnancy, you should discuss with your doctor your birthing options.

If you have not been eating healthy all that much throughout the pregnancy now is the time to start. At the last few weeks of pregnancy, you want the baby to get as much nutrition as they can. Empty calories are not going to keep the baby healthy. Remember the food that you are eating is what is feeding the baby. Try eating a bit healthier at least until the end of the pregnancy. Try adding in more fruits and vegetables and less fried food and processed foods.

Continue to take your vitamins and stay hydrated. You want to continue to build up your immune system as well as the baby’s. Stay away from strenuous activity such as heavy lifting and anything that makes you exert yourself.

Baby’s Development

At week Twenty-Seven of your pregnancy, the baby should be about 14-1/2 inches and weigh in about 2 pounds. In the last weeks of pregnancy, the baby will gain ½ a pound per week. The baby’s skin is wrinkled only because they have been surrounded by water for the last 5 months. The baby’s skin will look wrinkled until at least a few weeks after the baby is born. The skin will stretch out and will look and feel smooth.

The baby’s retina’s are developing at a good pace, they will soon be able to help the baby adjust to light images. These layers are considered to help the brain receive light and some images as well as be able to transmit them the information of what they are seeing to the brain. The membranes that have been covering the baby’s eyes will start to separate and in a few weeks, the baby will be able to open their eyes.

As everyone knows all baby’s eyes are blue when they are born. If the eye color is going to change to another color they will do so a few weeks after birth. At this week in pregnancy the baby will continue to begin their own sleeping patterns and waking up patterns. You will soon see that their sleeping patterns are opposite as yours. Most of the time you feel the baby kick is when you are trying to get some sleep.

It has been said that baby’s start to dream while in the womb. The brain is still active and the grooves on the surface of the brain will begin appearing as the brain tissues start to develop. You will also notice the baby hiccuping more and more because the lungs are maturing and they are practicing breathing.

Changes With Your Body

At week Twenty-Seven your body will need more caloric intake. It would be safe to start with 300 to 350 calories. You will gain a bit more weight right up until the 36th or 37th week of pregnancy. By now many pregnant women think they look fat and it can be a bit depressing for them. But never alter your diet to take in fewer calories, by eating less you are depriving the baby of less calories as well.

If you have any concerns about your weight, now is the time to talk to your doctor. Remember you are also carrying a baby, so some of the weight you will loose when the baby is born. Stay on track with your prenatal vitamins and any nutritional supplements that you may be taking. At this week, the uterus is leaning on the rib cage. If notice you may be out of breath from just getting dressed everyday. This would explain why. The uterus will prevent the lungs from full expanding cause some breathing problems. Talk to your doctor but you should not worry, there is nothing to worry about.

As you enter into the third trimester, talk to your doctor about the warning signs of premature labor. This tends to happen more in the summer months due to lack of hydration. It is very important to stay hydrated, carry a water bottle around with you at all times. You may spend more time in the bathroom but you are doing what you have to, to stay hydrated.

Some of the warning signs to look for are bright red blood from the vaginal area. If you experience a sudden rush of a watery discharge from the vaginal area, contact your doctor right away. You may experience severe pain in the pelvic area or a very dull pain in the lower back. Some women have felt contractions for more than an hour or so. If your hands and feet start to swell, it could be a sign of premature labor. It is your body and you will know when something isn’t right, contact your doctor or go to the nearest emergency room right away.

What To Expect

When you reach this stage of pregnancy, may women will feel comfortable and confident that everything is well with the baby from the baby’s movement. When we feel the baby kick or hiccup we take that as a great sign that things are OK. We tend to panic when we don’t feel anything, but don’t panic just yet. Your body may have put on some weight in the abdominal region that would cause you not to feel the baby kick.

If you think that the baby was active a bit and you aren’t feeling the same, contact your doctor right away. It is always better to be safe than sorry, especially in the last trimester. You will continue to see the symptoms of pregnancy such as constipation, leg cramps, round ligament pain and frequent urination. As you continue to go to your doctors’ appointment they will continue to monitor your blood pressure, weight gain and urine.

In the last trimester, you have to be careful of a condition called Hypertension or Pre-Eclampsia. This can be determined through the urine tests, it happens when there is too much protein in the urine. As the condition progresses, the placenta is not able to grow. It caught in time it can be treated but if left untreated it could lead to premature labor or fetal death.

Tips/Advice

This stage of the pregnancy is the important stage. You have to keep healthy both physically and mentally. Continue to take the prenatal vitamins and add more fruits and vegetables to your diet. If you feel that something isn’t right, then contact your doctor or visit your local emergency room right away.

Source : www.pregnancyweeks.us

26 Weeks Pregnant

You are now entering into the last stage of pregnancy. By now, your baby bump is showing and others will notice that you are pregnant. At week twenty-six of pregnancy, you can feel your uterus about 2-1/2 inches above the belly button. The new mom to be may be experiencing Braxton Hicks Contractions, these are tiny contractions but nothing that can cause premature birth. These contractions are the tightening of the abdomen. At this stage you may be feeling these more and more. They are perfectly normal, ask your doctor to go into a more detailed explanation about what these are and what they mean for you.

At week twenty-six you may notice that that you are feeling more tired and this is due to the weight gain. You will feel more pain and aches in the rib cage, heartburn, cramps and muscle pulls. These are all normal pains of pregnancy, but if they are lasting a longer period of time then you may want to talk to your doctor in order find out if what you are feeling is normal or not.

New moms should be keeping track of the baby’s development. This can be done by attending all of your doctor visits as they are scheduled. You may be due for some shots yourself, so make sure that whatever you need to get done that you do it before the baby is born. Most new moms at this stage are preparing their nurseries and narrowing down baby names. There is a lot to be done here but the most important thing here is to get a lot of rest. Don’t over do it.

Light exercise and activities are ok but you should limit the amount of strenuous activity that you may be used to. The last stages of pregnancy are imperative to the health of the baby.

Baby’s Development

The baby’s growth and development are picking up again at week twenty-six. The baby is about 9 to 10 inches in length and the baby weighs about 2 pounds by now. The baby is measured from crown to rump (head to bottom). The baby will soon start to open their eyes and they can even blink too. The eye development at this stage is now complete. The eye color is a pre-determined blue but after the baby is born the eye color can change.

If you have another sonogram at this stage of pregnancy, you will see that your baby actually looks like a baby. The baby’s development that is taking place this week is sense of touch and reacting to touch. The heart has started to pump blood and a more prominent heartbeat can be heard. The lungs are starting to develop blood vessels and the baby is making breathing movements like the chest moving up and down.

The circulation system of the baby is 100% fully functional. The umbilical cord has grown in size and is circulating blood to the baby. The placenta has become the size of the baby now. If the baby is a boy, the testicles will drop down to the scrotum down.

Changes With Your Body

Your body will continue to change throughout the twenty- sixth week of pregnancy. Your will experience more weight gain but your doctor should have discussed any issues that he may have had with your weight with you by now. So if you have not had that talk with your doctor then continue on doing what you are doing. Your weight gain at this stage should be about 20 to 23 pounds. But the weight may go up and down depending on water retention and bloating. The uterus is about 2-1/2 inches above the belly button and will grow even further in the next few weeks.

Some new moms to be will experience some Braxton Hicks Contractions; these are harmless growing pains that won’t have anything to do with the baby being born. Now the baby may be kicking their legs out and straightening out their arms. You may see the baby protrude from the belly. It really is an amazing thing to see. The baby depending on where he or she is sitting can cause some discomfort to you. You will have to try a position to sit or sleep in where it is most comfortable to you.

You can also alleviate these aches and pains by doing some light yoga exercise or some swimming or walking. You don’t have to over do it, but by stretching your muscles and your body, can really help you take away the aches and the pains.

What To Expect

There are so many changes to you physically in this stage of pregnancy. Some women go into a depression but keep a positive outlook. These changes are all happening because of the baby. Your body will go back to the way it was before the baby but the weight gain and all of the aches and pains are due to the baby. Remember some of this excessive weight gain is from water retention and bloating.

A few days after the baby is born, you will see some weight come off without even trying. It is important to not put any stress on your body, get plenty of sleep and stay hydrated. If you feel up to it, try very light exercises like walking or some yoga. You will feel much better about yourself if you move around a bit. If you notice stretch marks, try using a moisturizer or some cocoa butter. This will help reduce stretch marks as well as help keep your skin hydrated and smooth.

Tips/Advice

Now is a very critical stage in your pregnancy. If the doctor offers you advice or gives you some orders to follow, do them. You may feel like you can accomplish anything, you may feel great but the more stress that is put on the body is put on the baby. Remember you don’t have to superwoman; it is ok to rest every now and then.

Article Source : www.pregnancyweeks.us