Week 28 – Baby Begins Checkout Preparations That Can Be a Pain in the ….For You

As your third trimester begins you are finally headed into the last stretch of your journey to parenthood and your Baby is getting ready to check out of the uterine hotel. Although staying until their scheduled check out time at 40 weeks is the optimal outcome, should fate deem that they leave earlier Baby’s chances of surviving and thriving would be very good from this week on, thanks mainly to the fact that obstetric and pediatric medicine has come so far over the last few decades.

Your Baby in Week 28 of Pregnancy

This week Baby is on the move more than ever before as they are beginning to settle into the proper position to make their eventual exit from their womb world by making sure that their head is now facing towards the nearest exit! On average in Week 28 babies weigh just a little over a kilo (2.5 pounds) and are about forty centimeters (sixteen inches) in length, quite a jump in size even over last week!

This week Baby is still very busy, especially with breathing practice. Baby is learning more and more every day about how their lungs work and the organs are getting more efficient, although they still have a lot more developing to do.

Another skill that Baby will pick up this week is blinking. After having spent so many weeks with their eyes closed babies now spend a lot of time figuring out how these things really work and blinking will be important to help keep foreign objects out of the eyes when they get out into the big wide world in a couple of months time.

Baby’s sleep is now more like your own as well now, as they enter phases of REM sleep just like you do. Technically that means that they could be dreaming!

Your Body in Week 28 of Pregnancy

As Baby begins to settle into their exit position they are wonderfully comfy. However that is unlikely to be the case for you unfortunately. As they hunker lower Baby will begin pressing on all kinds of nerves and for many women the result of that is a rather painful condition called sciatica. Sciatica is the name given to a number of symptoms that can sharp, shooting pains, tingling, or vague numbness that begins in your buttocks and radiates down the back of your legs.

Some women find that pregnancy sciatica comes and goes as Baby shifts around – as they are certainly not going to spend the last twelve weeks of their confinement sitting around in one spot – while others find it becomes an unwanted but familiar presence almost constantly.

There are some things that you can try to relieve some of the pain and discomfort though. At home a warm bath, gentle stretching and the use of a heating pad can all provide some measure of relief. A visit to a massage therapist and/or a chiropractor can help a great deal as well, and some women find that acupuncture can provide them with some pain relief too. And then there is always the option of just kicking back on the sofa for a little while when the pain really gets nasty.

Tips for the Twenty Eighth Week of Your Pregnancy – Get Ready for Class

If you have not already now is the optimal time to start thinking about finding a childbirth preparation class that suits you (and your partner) Even if this is not your first baby everyone can usually benefit from brushing up on the basics and there is always something new to learn anyway.

These days you will find that there are more childbirth classes around to choose from than ever before. The best of these classes cover a lot more than just Baby’s big debut into the world however and are really parenting classes. Things like infant CPR and basic first aid are important skills to have and if you are planning to breastfeed when Baby is born then getting some pointers in that area can be very helpful as well, especially since this is one area where many women really do struggle at first.

Another benefit of taking this kind of class is the chance to get out and socialize a bit with women who are going through the same things as you are and the same goes for your hubby as well. At this stage many guys will not really share their own fears about impending Daddyhood with their partner because they feel like she has enough going on already, so having someone else to talk to who is in the same boat can be a big relief.

When choosing a class going on the recommendations of others can be helpful but do take the time to investigate and research the course yourself first as well before you make a final decision. As is the case with many things in life, what is great for one person may not always be the best option for another.