Mom and Baby at 29 Weeks Pregnant

BABY DEVELOPMENT

It won't be long now until you meet your little boy or girl. Only eight weeks to go until your baby is considered "full term" and less than eleven weeks until his/her estimated due date. At pregnancy week 29, your baby weighs 2.5 pounds and he/she is probably over 15 inches long from head to heel.

• Your baby's head is growing larger this week to make room for his/her developing brain - which is busy forming billions of neurons every day.


• From week 29 and onward, your baby continues to pack on the body fat. The more fat your baby has on his/her body, lanugo (fine, downy hair that insulates and regulates your little one's body temperature in the womb) starts to shed.


• The bones in your baby's body are full developed now, but they continue to be soft and pliable. Your baby's skull will be flexible until the very end so that your baby can easily go through the birth canal during delivery.


• You may have noticed that your baby has a regular sleep-wake cycle now. Did you know that he/she has started to develop REM (rapid-eye-movement) sleep - aka, the dreaming stage of sleep?

Fun Fact:

If your baby were born premature this week, he/she would have a 90 percent chance of survival, thanks to the advances in neonatal intensive care.

MOM'S CHANGES

At 29 weeks pregnant, you definitely look and feel pregnant. Your uterus may be 3 or 4 inches above your belly button, and your pregnancy weight gain may be anywhere between 15 and 20 pounds, possibly more. You should expect to gain at least a pound or two with each week that passes until you deliver.

Now that you are in the third trimester, it's more important than ever that you continue to eat a healthy and nutritious diet. To meet your baby's increasing nutritional demands, you need to eat plenty of quality proteins (such as lean meats, fish, cheese, legumes, grains, and eggs), vitamin C, folic acid, and iron. You also should be drinking plenty of milk or enriched orange juice, because your baby's bones need a good supply of calcium to make them strong. (With every day that passes, about 250 milligrams of calcium is being deposited into your baby's skeleton. This process is called "ossification.")

If you're battling constipation, you may want to boost your intake of fiber-containing foods. This includes fruits, berries, legumes, and beans. You should also drink plenty of water and keep well hydrated. This may lessen your constipation and possibly prevent hemorrhoids (which are also quite common during pregnancy).

By pregnancy week 29, you may have noticed that your baby is rather active now. You may want to start paying attention to your baby's movements every day. Your doctor may even recommend that you spend some time counting kicks. You should contact your healthcare provider immediately if you notice any abnormal movement patterns or a substantial reduction in your little one's movements.

Get some much needed rest this week and in your third trimester. Whenever you sit down or lay in bed, be sure to keep your legs and feet elevated. This may help reduce your edema (or swelling during pregnancy). Walking or light exercise may also help with swelling. If your partner is willing, ask him to join you on a short walk around the neighborhood. This will also give the two of you some time alone.

Helpful Tip:

If you have other children, you may consider hiring a babysitter for a few hours and going out on a romantic date with your significant other. It's important for you to spend as much time with your partner as you can before baby comes.

PREGNANCY 411

Benefits of Breastfeeding

At week 29 of pregnancy, you still have some time to decide whether or not you are going to breastfeed your baby, but this is a great week to start thinking about it. The decision is up to you, though most doctors do recommend that you breastfeed instead of bottle feed. In fact, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that moms exclusively breastfeed their babies for the first six months of life (though any amount of breast milk is beneficial for baby).

Breast milk is nature's perfect baby food, since it contains all of the vitamins and nutrients that your baby needs. Breast milk is also packed with antibodies (disease-fighting substances) that protect your baby from illness. Many studies from all over the world have proven that breast milk reduces your baby's risk of getting stomach viruses, lower respiratory diseases, ear infections, and meningitis. And when your baby does get sick, their illness is less severe than in babies who are bottle fed.

It's also interesting to note that a large study by the National Institute of Environmental Health Services showed that breastfed babies have a 20 percent lower risk of dying between 28 days of life and one year old, compared to babies who are bottle fed.

Interestingly, research has also shown that breastfeeding's benefits don't stop. They last for the rest of your child's life. Breastfeeding can reduce your child's risk of developing certain childhood cancers, as well as lowering his/her risk of type 1 and type 2 diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure.

How does breastfeeding protect your child from so much? Well, breast milk contains a substance called "secretory immunoglobulin A," which guards against disease by forming a protective layer on the mucous membranes of your baby's nose, throat, and intestines.

Breast milk is also individual to each baby, which formula just can't compete with. It's not only more easily digested by your baby, which may reduce colic and spitting up, but breast milk constantly changes and adapts to your baby's needs.

Researchers have also found a link between breastfeeding and intelligence. Babies who were exclusively breastfeed tend to have higher IQs and perform better on tests than babies who were bottle fed.

Fun Fact:

Breastfeeding helps contract your uterus after you deliver, reducing your risk of postpartum hemorrhage and it helps you lose that pregnancy weight faster!