VELOURA

You’ve made it to the third trimester! Your mind and body has been challenged, but you are strong and made to do this! During the third trimester, your baby continues to grow in size and weight. It’s almost time to meet your baby!

                3rd TRIMESTER BABY DEVELOPMENT

The third trimester ranges from 28- 40 weeks, or until you give birth. Full term is considered 40 weeks. By the end of the trimester, your baby is about 20 inches long and weighs, on average, 7.5 pounds.

A protective layer on your baby’s skin that helps prevent drying of the baby’s thin skin is called vernix caseosa. This begins to form early in the third trimester.

Your baby will also be opening his or her eyes around 28 weeks. During the 30–34-week period, your baby has almost doubled its weight from the previous month. At 32 weeks, the baby is about 16 inches and almost 4 pounds, on average. From this point onwards, the baby’s weight will increase faster than its length.

You will be able to listen to your baby’s heart rate (normal is 110-160 bpm) during your visits and may also have an ultrasound scheduled to measure fetal weight and make sure the baby is growing on track.

As the lungs are still maturing, your baby begins to drop into the pelvic area, positioning itself head downward. By the end of the third trimester, your baby is about 19 to 21 inches long and weighs, on average, 6 to 9 pounds. In fact, your baby undergoes the most rapid gain in weight during the 36th week, gaining nearly half a pound a week until delivery.

Other exciting developments throughout the final trimester includes:

• The ability to see and hear
• The brain continues to develop
• The baby can suck its thumb
• The baby’s lanugo (soft hair on the body and limbs) has disappeared almost completely at around 38 to 40 weeks
• The baby is covered in vernix caseosa (or simply called vernix) — a creamy, protective coating on the skin.

Changes to Your Body

You may start to feel more uncomfortable now as you continue to gain weight and begin to experience Braxton-Hicks contractions (false labor contractions). Some women find difficulty in taking deep breathes or getting comfortable enough to sleep.

At 28 weeks, your baby will be almost 15 inches long and weigh a little over 2 pounds.

Your bladder is under pressure due to the pregnant uterus and the rapid increase in the baby’s size can attribute to bladder problems for you. You may often find it difficult to hold your urine. In fact, it’s quite common for women to experience urine leakage during pregnancy.

Urinary tract infections can also occur, so it’s important to stay well hydrated with water and avoid caffeine, carbonated or artificial drinks. Kegel exercises can be helpful too.

Your estrogen levels will peak around 32 weeks. Due to this, you might notice some swelling around your ankles and feet, as estrogen is indirectly involved in making a pregnancy hormone related to salt and water retention. Similar to estrogen, your progesterone levels will peak around 32 weeks. This may cause some women to experience constipation.