Welcome to the 29th week of your pregnancy journey, now that you have officially started your third trimester, you might be feeling a little bit anxious, you might also feel a little nervous or even too excited! So many confusing feelings at this point.
The most important thing during this trimester is for you to speak about every little thing that worries you with your friends, family, partner, or even midwife. You will find that you have a huge circle of trust and support from everyone around you.
Talking about your worries and feelings will get you back on the right track after you get the proper support. So, make sure you always talk about it, let it pass, and go back to feeling stable and excited now that you are getting closer and closer to meeting your baby!
By your 29th week of pregnancy, your baby can now smile! Especially while he sleeps. Your baby continues to hiccup as well. Those hiccups are not uncomfortable for the baby, and for you, it feels like light rhythmic taps.
As your baby grows bigger and stronger, your womb is getting a bit crowded inside, which makes the hard baby kicks you used to feel are getting lighter now, they might even feel like little pokes at this point.
Changes Happening in Your Body by Your 29th Week
At this stage of your pregnancy, you will often feel breathless as the baby pushes up against your lungs. It is quite the extra weight to carry around.
You will find people telling you to enjoy your sleep now while you still can, but the annoying part is, you might not be getting any good sleep at all as you might experience leg cramps at night plus if the baby pushes against your bladder you will be going back and forth to the bathroom all night long, so it won’t be as easy to get some rest during this trimester.
For some reason, babies are usually active during the night time just when you are about to have some rest as they have their own sleeping and playing patterns. You have to be very lucky for both of your schedules to sync!
Keep track of your baby’s sleeping and playing patterns, try to get some sleep while he gets some sleep as well. Try as well to get some rest during the day while using a pillow under your belly and a pillow between your legs to support the extra weight and to get some comfy sleep.
If by any chance your baby’s movement patterns changed or got slower or even stopped completely, make sure to contact your doctor as soon as you can to get a quick check-up on the baby.
Finding Out Your Baby’s Sex
Do you want to know your baby’s gender before birth? While it is a good idea to have an anomaly scan to find out, it can still be tricky to get a proper look. But for more accurate ways to figure out the gender, try testing the placenta by doing a chorionic villus sampling or by testing the fluid around the baby (amniocentesis).
Those tests can carry some risks and are usually only offered in certain cases such as having a high risk of having a baby with Down’s syndrome. On the other hand, there is a blood test that you can take but it is not very common to be offered.
You might also be offered to do non-invasive prenatal testing. This test looks for small amounts of the baby’s DNA in your blood and accordingly gives you an accurate result. This is your best option as it is completely safe for you and your baby.
Symptoms of the 29th Week of Pregnancy
During this trimester, you might feel unbalanced and uncoordinated. It will take you some time to get used to the bigger bump. As your center of gravity changes, you might feel a bit awkward and might even fall over, if you do, do not panic as the baby has plenty of cushioning in there, however, let your doctor or midwife know about any small incidents.
Your 29th week of pregnancy symptoms might include:
- Sleeping problems
- Bleeding gums
- Snoring
- Backache
- Headaches
- Carpal tunnel syndrome
- Random pain around muscles
- Dizziness
- Tiredness
- Sore breasts
- Leg cramps
- Stretch marks
- Thicker hair
- Swollen gums
- Urine infection
- Bloating or constipation
- Spotty skin
- Feeling too warm
- Greasier skin
- Piles
- Vaginal infection
- Thicker hair
Your Baby’s 29th Week Development
Your baby has been doing a lot of growth over the past few weeks, he is now around 38.7cm in length from head to toe, and about 1.2kg in weight. That’s about the same size as a small chicken.
Your baby is now perfectly formed and he only has a few things to do over the next few weeks including letting his organs mature and getting bigger and fatter.
Your baby used to have a greasy white layer of fat called the vernix and its job is to protect the skin with soft downy hair to keep him warm. This layer is now starting to disappear as he gets ready for meeting the world about 11 weeks from now.
This Week’s Tips
Keep an Eye on the UTI Symptoms
During your third trimester, you might be more vulnerable to having urinary tract infections. So, if it starts to burn while you pee or if you notice any bad urine smell, even if it was bloody or cloudy, make sure to contact your doctor to get it treated as soon as possible.
Stock Up Breast Pads
Your breasts might start to leak a yellowish fluid called colostrum, you will need to have a stock of breast pads for when you are not breastfeeding to make sure your clothes are free of any stains