Pregnancy week 28

What’s happening to your baby?

Your baby, at 28 weeks pregnancy, is of the size of an egg plant. Her layers of fat continue to fill in, smoothing out her skin. If not for these fat deposits, she would appear wrinkled at birth. Here are some of the major developments happening to your growing fetus inside your expanding uterus this week:

If a baby was to be born at week 28, he or she can breathe on his or her own. The alveoli, important breathing components inside the fetal lungs, are matured enough now. A premature baby at this stage can survive with intensive medical aid though the lungs continue to develop until 8 years of age.

Bling! Your little sweet’s eyelids are open now. In fact, she can flutter her eyelashes. And, yes she can take a peek into what’s happening in the womb. Imagine you have twins. They are going to meet each other this week (yeah, even before you do!) and perhaps, touch and fondle too!

If you have an ultrasound this week, you can observe your baby doing a lot of surprising gestures - sticking out the tongue, hiccups, and you may even catch her in the REM sleep state with moving eyeballs under closed lids. Did you know that babies are believed to begin dreaming in the womb, even before they are born?

What’s happening to your body?

How is it going, Momma? You are stepping into your final – third – trimester of your pregnancy. Your OB visits will increase now from once a month to once every fortnight. It will soon increase to once every week.

Most often, third trimester is said to be a phase of increased weight and tiredness. Yes, you are not going to feel as light and in pink health as you did in the second trimester. However, feel awesome that you are getting closer to your baby. With more kicks and more bonding, your pregnancy may feel more real in the coming weeks. Continue to eat healthy, drink plenty of fluids, exercise moderately, take enough rest and remember to carry yourself gracefully irrespective of your weight, shape and energy, because you are carrying a whole new live l-i-f-e!

Your breasts are producing breast milk and in some women, it may start to leak through the nipples. The first milk from the breast is called the colostrum, a nutritious feed for the baby. If your boobs begin to leak now, it’s the colostrum that is coming out. Know that it shouldn’t panic you. Milking is absolutely alright during pregnancy. And don’t worry that colostrum is wasted. Your baby can still benefit from the regular breast milk. However, for most women, breast milk begins oozing out only after the baby is born; for some, it may come even much later like a couple of days post baby’s arrival.

Is your little champ kicking your ribs from inside? Now that your baby has started to move all around in the womb, you may often find your baby kicking at your ribs, which sometimes could be mildly painful. Try to get up and walk around to ease the pain, well if you really want to.

Did you hear your OB or sonographer talk something about the fundal height? If you have an ultrasound this week, your doctor might measure your fundal height. It is the distance between your pubic bone and the top of your uterus. In centimeters, the number usually is the same as your pregnancy week (from 20 weeks onwards). At 28 weeks, your fundal height will be expected to be 28 cm. However, it isn’t a hard rule and it may vary depending upon the amount of amniotic fluid and baby’s growth. 

Tips and advice for Pregnancy Week 28 Count the Kicks!

Beginning 28 weeks, your OB might ask you to start kick counts. Kick counting is important to make sure your baby is doing alright inside. Follow the steps below to do kick counts:

Ø  If you are sure of a time of the day when the baby will be active, stick to it every day. If you haven’t found one, choose a time when you feel your baby is active.

Ø  Most often, babies in the womb are active after food or just before bedtime.

Ø  Before starting to count, lie to your side and remain quiet. Do not make movements.

Ø  When you feel your baby’s movements, start counting. Count kicks, movements, rolls or whatever gymnastics your little thing is up to. Make sure you do not count in hiccups though.

Ø  The idea of this exercise is to count up to 10 kicks. And it shouldn’t take more than 2 hours to feel 10 kicks from your baby. No, you do not have to be still for 2 hours. If you get 10 counts in 2 minutes or 5 minutes, you are good. All we want you to do is count to the number of 10!

Ø  If it has been 2 hours but you didn’t feel 10 movements, it is an alert. You may want to ask your OB about it.