Canada's Largest & Oldest Cord Blood Bank
You are now in your seventh month of pregnancy. This is a good time to start checking things off your list like buying a car seat, stocking up the baby room and ordering your cord blood banking kit.
This Week’s Highlights
Your baby is now sensitive to light
Your baby’s bones are now starting to harden
You will have your multiple marker screening test
Your Baby at 29 Weeks
Your baby is baby is the size of a butternut squash, measuring about 15.2 inches (38.6 centimeters) long and weighing in at about 2.5 pound (1.2 kilograms).
Baby Development at Week 29
From now on, your baby will be putting on some serious weight. He or she is starting to plump up and is getting ready to support the enormous brain growth they will be going through in the next few weeks.
Your little ones bones continue to harden, which uses up about 200 milligrams of calcium a day (a small glass of milk has about the same amount of calcium). You want to make sure your diet contains enough calcium, so the baby won’t start depleting your calcium stores.
With the space running short in your uterus, you will likely feel your baby’s kicks and movements more often now. Your healthcare provider may ask you to keep track of these movements. Your baby should move about 10 times every hour. If you can’t feel your baby move, try drinking some ice water, orange juice or playing some music to wake your baby up. If you don’t feel your baby move after doing this, you should contact your healthcare provider.
Pregancy Tip
Have you decided who will help your through labour? A labour partner can help support you emotionally and physically through labour.
Your Bump at 29 Weeks
From now on, you will continue to gain approximately 1 pound per week in the rest of your pregnancy.
How Your Body is Changing
You may also feel the urge to clean the kitchen floor on your hands and knees. Nesting is normal at this point, but we urge you to relax instead.
Aches and pains, Braxton Hicks contraction, breathing issues and leaky boobs are normal at this stage of pregnancy. You may also be plagues with indigestion, constipation and heartburn. Just remember that these symptoms will disappear as soon as the baby arrives.
How Far Along are You?
29 weeks in, 11 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.
Don’t Fell Like Reading?
Exercise at 29 Weeks
If you haven’t been regularly exercising, this is a good time to take on an exercise routine to get your body ready for labour and delivery. Yoga is a great way to stretch, tone and relax.
Prenatal yoga classes will focus on breathing techniques that can help you through labour. You will learn how to stay calm and fight the natural urge to tighten up when the body is in pain. Remember that your center of gravity has now shifted due to your protruding belly, so make sure you use support (a chair or a wall) when you are doing standing poses that require balancing.
Crash course: Cord blood banking in 11 minutes.
Pregnancy Symptoms at Week 29
Heartburn and indigestion– Due to pregnancy hormones, your digestive system behaves differently during pregnancy. Relaxin, the same hormones that relaxes your muscles and joints, also relaxes muscles in your digestive tract. As a result, food is passed along at a slower rate through your digestive system causing bloating, gas and heartburn. This slow down is actually beneficial to the baby, since it gives your body time to better absorb nutrients from food, which can then be passed on to the baby through the placenta. You may want to keep a food diary and taking note of the food that lead to indigestion and heartburn so you can avoid them.
Constipation– Constipation is another symptom caused by the slow down of your digestive system. Food is passed along at a slower rate, which causes your system to be backed up a bit. Including fibre-rich foods in your diet can help.
Pregnancy brain – “Pregnancy brain” is another side effect caused by hormones, lack of sleep and maybe a bit of stress. Studies show that brains of expectant moms actually function differently. But no need to worry, your brain will resume its normal activity once the baby is born. Aren’t you glad you have your trusty phone to keep track of your to-do list?
Frequent visits to the bathroom– The need to constantly go to the bathroom will return this trimester. As the baby continues to grow, your expanding uterus pushes down on your bladder. Unfortunately, even if you drink absolutely no liquids, you will still need to visit the bathroom more often. Just be mindful of any pain or burning sensation when you are urinating since it may mean you have contracted a urinary tract infection.
Have you packed your hospital bag yet?
