Twenty Nine Weeks Pregnant: Is Your Baby Kicking You Hard?
If you’ve been working, from 29 weeks you can legally start your maternity leave. It’s your decision how long to go on for, though: some women may work right up to the end of pregnancy, whilst others feel they need a break before the birth. Generally speaking it’s a good idea to keep as much leave for after the birth as possible. You might not be able to imagine it now, but once your newborn is here you’re very likely to want to spend as much time as possible with her before returning to work.
Lots of mums begin to flag in their third trimester. You may feel you’ve been pregnant forever and just want to get on with the birth. Or you may be dreading the birth, but still feel you’ve had enough of pregnancy.
Baby’s Development
During pregnancy week 29 your baby will reach almost 2 ¾ pounds and probably measures more than 16.5 inches long! Keep in mind every baby grows at his or her own pace. Some baby’s will be born weighing slightly more than six pounds, whereas others weigh in at a whopping 10 pounds or more! Size varies significantly from baby to baby. The average is between 7 and 8 pounds.
How do you know how big your baby will grow? Ask your mother how large her babies were. You may find you have similarly large or small babies! My mom told me all of us were over 10 pounds, so it didn’t surprise me that all my babies were 8 pounds or larger, even when delivered 2 weeks early!
Changes With Your Body
The majority of women at week twenty-nine of pregnancy will gain about 11 pounds or so. They can also break out in rashes due to ever changing hormone levels. Some of the other pregnancy symptoms include fatigue, mood swings, lethargy and heartburn all due to the increase of weight that you have and will continue to have until the baby is born.
As the baby grows you may experience some sciatica problems. The sciatic nerve runs from the entire length of the leg. It can be very painful when the baby puts pressure on in. Then the pain subsides as the baby moves. If you experience thus pain, try soaking your legs in warn water. If you soak in the bath, keep the water warm and never hot. If you feel this pain while you are sleeping, try switching positions or try placing a pillow in between your knees. There are some conditions that you would have to watch out for more than others. Bacterial Vaginosis is one of them. If not treated immediately it can cause pre-term delivery. You can avoid bacterial vaginosis, yeast infections and urinary tract infections but wearing loose fitting and clean clothes. If you start to sweat excessively, keep cool by taking a warm/cool shower.
Other pieces of advice the doctor may offer you is try to avoid sleeping on your back. Sleeping on the left side of your body is the best way to keep your blood circulation going. Beware of a lot of water retention; this is normal throughout this week of pregnancy. You will want to ask your doctor about a condition called Pre-Eclampsia. This condition if not detected right away can cause harm to the baby.
How Bad Is It?
Childbirth Horror Stories
You may have heard horror stories about childbirth that may have left you feeling, well, scared. Try not to let the stories scare you. You are going to have your baby and you can go into it feeling scared or you can keep an open mind. We aren’t going to lie to you and tell you that labor doesn’t hurt, but we will tell you that lots of women have babies and leave without a horror story to tell. Keep in mind that the moms that have bad experiences may be more vocal than the ladies that don’t. Moreover, for every bad labor story, you will find that there are countless more stories of beautiful and joyous experiences.
There are a lot of pain relief options when you go into labor. Talk to your doctor or midwife about your feelings on handling pain. When you arrive at your hospital or birthing center, talk to the staff right away about how you plan to approach pain relief during your labor. Be assertive. If you do not want to be in any pain, tell them. If you would like to avoid having an epidural or pain medication, speak up and ask for support. We will be discussing childbirth options more in upcoming newsletters. You won’t be able to know what childbirth will feel like until you actually experience it,but you can start preparing yourself by learning as much as you can about it.
Breastfeeding Horror Stories
If you think the childbirth stories are scary, wait until you start hearing the breastfeeding horror stories. Breastfeeding has become a big subject of debate amongst mothers. On the one extreme, you have the moms that love breastfeeding and claim it is a piece of cake. However, if it was so easy, why the horror stories? Right? The truth? For most women breastfeeding is easy. Many moms find breastfeeding completely natural and can’t understand what all the fuss is about.
Some women do have problems getting started with breastfeeding, but with support and practice, most breastfeeding obstacles can be overcome. If you are worried about breastfeeding the best thing you can do is take a breastfeeding class or talk with a lactation consultant. A lot of hospitals have a lactation consultant on staff who will be available should you need help with anything once your baby arrives.
Tips
As your pregnancy draws to a close, it is important to follow the doctors’ orders. If you are experiencing a difficult pregnancy, the doctor may order bed rest. Listen to your body and what it is telling you. Only you can know how you feel, if you feel something is wrong, call your doctor right away.