Week Thirty-Three

Mother:

You can now probably distinguish the baby's knee from and elbow, even though the movements are smaller. You may also notice small bumps that appear to be rhythmic in your uterus. This is probably caused by the baby having hiccoughs and isn't cause for alarm. Continue learning all you can about labor, birth, postpartum, and newborns!

Baby:

Your baby has surfactant, which helps baby breathe after birth, coating the alveoli in the lungs. After this week, if your baby is born, you have less of a chance of apnea of prematurity. S/he weighs about four pounds (1.8 kilograms).

There are almost 2 pints of amniotic fluid in your uterus. You may have been told that you have polyhyrdamnios, or too much amniotic fluid. The opposite of which would be oligohydramnios, often associated with Intrauterine Growth Restriction (IUGR). However, it is important to keep in mind that everyone has varying amounts of amniotic fluid.

Twin Tips:

Average birth weights for twins are 5 lbs 5 oz, triplets weigh in averaging 4 lbs, and quadruplets average a bit over 3 lbs. Are you ready for labor with multiples?

Week Thirty-Two

Mother:

As you begin to have more and more Braxton-Hicks contractions you may begin to wonder more about labor and what it will entail for you. Most women have questions about labor and birth, for

example:
this labor?
When should I go to the birth place?
How do I time contractions?
What should I pack?
Will labor be really painful?

I want to address the last question specifically. About 10% of women will tell you that labor is extremely painful, while 10% of the women will tell you that they experienced no pain. The rest, 80%, will fall someplace in the middle of the two extremes.

Baby:

Your baby's movements will peak this week then change in quantity and quality. Remember to do your Fetal Kick Counts. Most of the wrinkles are disappearing from baby's face, and there may be a lot of hair! Your baby has put on about 2 pounds of weight, mostly fat and muscle tissue, bringing the total to about three pounds 11 ounces (1.7 kilograms), and 40 cms or 15.8 inches!

Babies who are born at a younger gestation than this will most likely having difficulties sucking or nursing. This also applies to babies who weigh less than 1500 grams. A good sucking pattern is a sign of neuromuscular maturity.

Twin Tips:

The majority of triplets will be born by now. If you haven't already looked for postpartum help, now is a good time! While the old fashioned thing to do was to have a baby nurse, now there are other professionals designed to help new families, called a postpartum doula. A postpartum doula will help you with all things baby related and home related, whether that be fixing meals, or learning to breastfeed, even taking an older child for a walk. Contact local doulas as soon as you can to learn schedules and prices. Some of these gems even spend the night!

Week Twenty-Nine

Mother:

As your baby is growing, so is your body. You may feel as if your internal organs are crowded. They are. The best way to deal with the discomforts of late pregnancy
are:
Good Posture
Proper Nutrition
Exercise
Rest (When you can!)

Most discomforts will occur in your back, your legs, and the amount of air you can take into your lungs. Hang in there!

Baby:

Your baby is busy getting ready for the birthday! The baby is beginning to regulate his own temperature and the bone marrow is completely in charge of production of the red blood cells. The baby is even urinating about a half liter of urine into the amniotic fluid everyday!

The movements that you feel will probably begin to change at this point. Once your baby held wild gymnastic parties, now as the space becomes cramped you notice smaller movements, such as elbows and knees. Try monitoring the baby yourself, using fetal kick counts.

Your baby weighs in at about two pounds nine ounces (1.16 kilograms)!

Twin Tips:

You're likely to be feeling very large by now. If you haven't found refuge in a swimming pool, even indoors, you should try it. The weightlessness is amazing.

Fetal development in pregnancy week 11

Maybe you’ve noticed… your baby is a super-duper grower! Your lil' fetus will be gaining a substantial amount of weight this week and has already achieved fruit-size-status comparable to a plum. What's more, your little scientist is already starting to explore their body, focusing most intently on touching their head, and especially their face and mouth. Their mouth in particular will provide them with hours of entertainment.

This happens not only because your baby is gaining coordination, and is therefore able to move a hand on command, but also because their palms have gained sensation and can actually “feel” what it touches.They're also developing their swallow reflex this week. And lastly, your baby's smelling and other olfactory senses will begin developing this week, which when combined with the maturing taste buds, will provide your baby with their first experiences of taste and smell.

And how's mom doing?

If you’re still enduring the joys of morning sickness, it should finally be subsiding to the point of non-existence by the end of this week. The growing placenta combined with your little one’s developing pituitary gland have given you a break on hormone production, so now your can focus on the fact you’re about to enter the second trimester of pregnancy, which can be most aptly characterized by lots of growth for both you and your little uterus-tenant.

At this point you should be making a conscious effort to gradually increase your consumption of healthy, vitamin-rich food, but remember: THIS DOES NOT MEAN LIFE IS NOW AN OPEN BUFFET. Think about it, if it’s not good for you, then it won’t do any good for your developing baby. If you’re finding that you’re still hungry after dinner, don’t simply default to having extra ice cream for dessert. Have a second helping of vegetables and fish, or whole grain bread with jam. Good nutrition is absolutely vital for your baby's brain and body development.

Additionally, make sure you’re taking “me-time” to center yourself and focus on your body’s interactions with your baby: listen to relaxing or inspiring music, read good books, think happy thoughts, you know, all the mentally stimulating stuff that puts you in a good mood and makes your pregnancy feel like a positive experience. In other words, watching international news isn't recommended. The better you treat your body and emotions now, the healthier and happier your child will be once “they’re on the outside.”

Pregnancy Week 10

Mother:

You are still tired, and nauseated, hang on only a few more weeks for most of you! Your abdomen may begin to pooch out, but it will be more from bowel distension than the uterus. Your waistline is slowly disappearing! Remember to measure your waist and belly now! Comparing later can be a lot of fun!

Baby

The baby now enters it's fetal period. The average size is approximately 27-35 mm crown to rump length (CRL), or 1.06-1.38 inches. S/he weighs in at 4 grams, or 4 paper clips. Tiny toes have formed. The eyes are largely open, but the eyelids are beginning to fuse, and will stay that way until 25-27 weeks. External genitalia is beginning to differentiate. External ears are completely formed, as well as the upper lip. The biggest accomplishment this week is the disappearance of the tail!

Twin Tips:

Try to find a time to rest each day, it's a great start on alleviating stress and lack of sleep. Even if it's 20 minutes, it's good for you and the babies! Try a body pillow as your belly grows, this can help you make the most of your down time.

Pregnancy Week 3

Mother:

You have ovulated and some how been exposed to sperm! When the egg implants some women have a tiny bit of spotting called implantation bleeding, where the egg burrows into the uterine lining, shedding a bit. This is nothing to worry about. Your body also releases an immunosuppressant protein called Early Pregnancy Factor (EPF) to prevent your body from seeing the baby as an invader.

Baby:

Implantation will occur this week! The egg and the sperm have met in your fallopian tube and will begin the 7-10 day journey to the uterus. Cell division begins immediately and continues throughout this journey. Once it has implanted your baby is called a blastocyst and is about 0.1-0.2 mm in diameter.

Dad:

You're probably blissfully unaware of what is going on at this point. Or you might be anxiously awaiting the results of the pregnancy test. Either way continue with good habits previously started or work towards forming new habits.

Twin Tips:

If you're having fertility treatments your chances of having multiples is increased, depending one which treatment. The rate of twins can be as many as 1 in 40 pregnancies.

Pregnancy Calendar

This Pregnancy Calendar is trying to help you understand your pregnancy and the fetal development taking place week by week through your pregnancy including ultrasound pictures. You will find lots of pictures from the smallest embryo to the largest baby!

Pregnancy Week by Week

1Week:

Your last period has just started and you may be considering a pregnancy. Preconceptional health planning is a good idea. However, if you haven't started before now, make sure that you "act pregnant" until you know other wise. Taking a prenatal vitamin (available at most drug or grocery stores), with 0.4 mg of folic acid (to help prevent neural tube defects) is a good idea. Discontinuing any form of chemical birth control, and avoiding other chemicals such as: alcohol, tobacco (even second hand smoke), x-rays, over the counter medications, and even discussing the prescription medications you are currently taking..

Baby: As the uterus sheds it's lining, the hormones are preparing another egg for release.
Dad: Many fathers-to-be also begin watching what they eat and drink. The health of dad does play an important role in baby's health and development. Now is the ideal time to stop smoking, develop some better eating habits and other healthful goals.

Twin Tips:

Early pregnancy ultrasound can usually diagnose multiple gestational sacs, and there by you know early on. However, early ultrasound can also miss an early multiple gestation. Some reports say that the appearance of sacs via ultrasound can be different by up to 4 days. Early ultrasound is also more helpful in determining how many sacs are present and whether or not your babies share the same sac (monoamniotic). Monoamniotic sacs occur only in identical babies and places the pregnancy at a higher risk for problems like cord entanglement.