Canada's Largest & Oldest Cord Blood Bank
Welcome to your third trimester! It won’t be long now before you hold your newborn in your arms.
This Week’s Highlights
Your baby’s nerve cells are putting on their protective coating (myelin)
Your baby may move into position
You will start seeing your healthcare provider more often
Your Baby at 28 Weeks
Your baby is baby is the size of a red cabbage, measuring about 14.8 inches (37.6 centimeters) long and weighing in at about 2.2 pound (1 kilogram).
Baby Development at Week 28
Your baby is now starting to look a lot like the newborn you will meet soon. This week, he or she may even start moving into the proper birthing position with his or her head pointing down. If your baby is still positioned with their legs and bottom facing down, your healthcare provider will inform you that your baby is in breech. But don’t worry, there is lot more time left for your baby to get into position.
Big news this week is what’s happening in the nervous system. The nerve cells and the spinal cord are being slowly wrapped around myelin, a fatty substance, which will protect the nerves from damage. Myelin also helps speed up the neural impulses that take place between your little one’s brain and the nerves around the body.
Now that your baby’s eyelids are unsealed, he or she will spend a lot of time blinking and looking around. Pigmentation will start to develop in your little ones iris. However, the final eye colour will not be established until a few months after birth.
The Rh factor blood test
If you haven’t done so, you will likely have your Rh factor blood test in the coming weeks, which looks for the presence of the Rh (Rhesus) factor on the surface of your red blood cells. If your cells have the protein, you are Rh positive, and if you don’t, then you are Rh negative.
If you are Rh negative, and your baby is Rh positive, this can result in complications. If this is the case, your healthcare provider will ask your to take a Rh immunoglobulin injection, which will prevent your body from making antibodies that will recognize the baby as foreign and mount an immune response.
Pregancy Tip
Thinking of purchasing a breast pump? Find out if your insurance company will cover part of the cost.
Your Bump at 28 Weeks
Your fundal height (distance from your public bone to the top of the uterus) will be around 26 to 30 centimeters this week. From now on, you will be visiting your healthcare provider more often to make sure everything stays on track.
How Your Body is Changing
Tiredness will return this trimester. Your body is sustaining another life, so this is not unexpected. Continue to eat healthy, exercise, and get as much rest as possible. Getting to sleep may also become difficult in the third trimester. Sleeping on your side and using pillows to support your growing belly may help you catch some shut eye.
As your bladder starts to feel more and more pressure from your growing uterus, you will likely need to start visiting the bathroom more frequently again. Crowding of the organs in the abdominal cavity may make it difficult to breath. But, rest assured your baby is getting plenty of oxygen. You may find it easier to breath when standing, as it gives your lungs more space.
If you haven’t experienced it already, your breasts may start leaking milk this week. Even though your baby isn’t here yet, your body is preparing for the events to arrive soon. You may want to invest in breast pads so the leaky boobs will not lead to any public embarrassment.
Aches and pains, Braxton Hicks contractions and the digestive issues that were noticeable in the second trimester will continue on from now on. If you have been lucky enough to be symptoms free so far, you may notice the emergence of heartburn, constipation, sciatica and carpel tunnel this week. Just remember, you will soon be meeting your precious newborn.
Top 10 Items for Your Baby Registry
A baby registry is a great way to make sure you don’t end up with three diaper pails and too many newborn outfits. But putting together a baby registry can feel overwhelming. How do you know what to include and, even more importantly, what not to include, so you can make sure you don’t end up with items that will never be used more than once? Here is a list of must-have items to include in your baby list to get you started on the right path.
Essential big-ticker items: Shopping for all the essential big-ticket items on your baby list can get expensive. But there are a few essential items that you would need for the baby. So why not include them in your registry?
Car Seat: The hospital will not let you bring the baby home (if you are driving) without a car seat. There are many different styles and brands to choose from. If you are a first-time mom, we recommend investing in an infant seat, as they come with a base, so you can easily click the seat on and off.
Stroller: Don’t cheap out when you pick your stroller. Find a good sturdy stroller that will fit your lifestyle. Go to the store and try out a few before you add it to your registry. Here are a few things you should consider when shopping for a stroller. Who will be using it the most? Will you be taking it on the bus? What type of terrain will you use it?
Nursing chair or glider: A rocking chair or a glider will be a great addition to the nursery. You will be able to relax and lull your baby to sleep in one.
Cord blood kit: Give your baby a gift that lasts a lifetime. Did you know that your baby’s umbilical cord and the blood left over are valuable sources of newborn stem cells? In the past, the umbilical cord and the placenta used to be discarded as medical waste. Now you have the option to collect the cord blood and the cord tissue after birth and preserve these stem cells. Adding a cord blood collection kit to your registry will give you baby (and your family) access to preserved stem cells that will last a list time. Read more about what’s inside the collection kit and why you should consider banking cord blood here.
How Far Along are You?
28 weeks in, 12 weeks to go! You are more than two-thirds of the way through your pregnancy. Even though pregnancy is measured in weeks this means you are now in your seventh month of pregnancy.
Diet at 28 Weeks
Iron deficiency anemia is one of the common nutritional deficiencies that affect expecting moms. Iron is necessary to make hemoglobin, which is the molecule in red blood cells that carry oxygen. As your baby continues to grow in the third trimester, he or she will start absorbing more and more iron, putting you at risk of iron deficiency.
Make sure you include iron-rich foods such as, spinach, beans, lentils, cashews and fortified breakfast cereals in your diet. Vitamin C improves iron absorption, so it’s not a bad idea to pair these with foods that are high in vitamin C, like orange juice or strawberries.
Pregnancy Symptoms at Week 28
Symphysis pubis dysfunction – Symphysis pubis dysfunction or pelvic girdle pain results when the ligaments that connect the pelvic bones become too relaxed too early in pregnancy. This relaxation is associated with excessive movement of the joints that connect these bones and can result in severe pain. Pelvic tilt exercises and Kagel exercises can help with pelvic girdle pain. You will want to talk to your healthcare provider about additional pain relief methods.
Braxton Hicks contractions – Braxton Hicks contractions are named after Dr. John Braxton Hicks, who first described them. They are the result of muscles in your uterus flexing, preparing your body for labour. However, unlike true labour contractions, they are not strong enough to push your baby out. Braxton Hicks contractions often go away when you shift your position. They are also irregular and do not last for more than 1 minute.
Leaky boobs – Your breast start making colostrum in the first trimester. Colostrum is is the term for that first milk, which is packed with antibodies that your baby, will receive. You may experience leaky boobs in the third trimester because the levels of prolactin, the hormone that revs up milk production, keeps steadily increasing. Small leaks in colostrum during this stage of pregnancy are normal. You may want to consider putting nursing pads inside your bra to catch the overflow.
Faintness and dizziness – You may find that the faintness and dizziness you may have experience previously are returning in your third trimester. Aside from having to share your blood supply with the baby, your growing belly is now putting pressure on blood vessels, further reducing blood flow. Make sure you don’t spend too much time in hot, stuffy rooms and aren’t letting your blood sugar levels drop too low.
Cord Blood Banking is Easier than You Think
What is Vapour Phase Storage?
Vapour phase storage is a advanced cryogenic preservation technology which allows your baby’s cord blood samples to be suspended in liquid nitrogen vapour, rather than immersed in liquid.
Healthcord is one of the first facilities in Canada to guarantee exclusive use of premium next-generation vapour phase storage for all cord blood and cord tissue samples.
