Your baby at week twenty eight of pregnancy
Now at just over 1kg and 38cm in length, your baby is a similar size of a large egg-plant. Your baby is now rotating around in preparation for being born; his or her head now pointing downwards towards the birth canal.
Your baby has become a lot more advanced in the past week, and is now perfecting behaviour needed for improved survival in the outside world. This includes frequent blinking to remove foreign objects from the eyes, coughing to clear the lungs and most importantly, breathing.
Just as you may be having vivid dreams during your pregnancy, your baby is also dreaming, your baby is experiencing different sleep cycles, including the REM cycle (rapid eye movement), which is the deepest sleep cycle where vivid dreams occur.
Eyesight has now developed to an extent that your baby will be able to focus on your face when breast feeding! Your baby started opening his or her eyes a week ago and now the iris’s should be pigmented even if they may change color in the first six months to a year of your baby’s life outside of your womb.
Your body at week twenty eight of pregnancy
You’ve made it to the home stretch, the third trimester of pregnancy! The tiredness you will feel in the third trimester will be mostly down to the ever increasing extra weight you are carrying around as well as any aches and pains.
The baby may also rest on the sciatic nerve in the lower part of your spine. If this should happen, you might feel sudden, shooting pains, tingling or numbness that starts in your bottom and radiates down the back of your legs. This pain is also known as sciatica. The pain can be quite intense at times, and though it may pass if your baby moves over a bit, it can also reside until you have given birth.
Try the usual remedies to sooth your sore back, heated pads, getting off your feet by having some rest time in bed , hot baths and stretches, maybe even go further and search for alternative or complimentary therapies. Always check they are suitable for pregnancy.
What you may be feeling at week twenty eight of pregnancy
You may find the interest in your baby bump intrusive if close friends and family feel they can reach out and touch your bump especially if this is without your permission. It can be upsetting to feel that your identity as a woman outside of the bearer of a bump is becoming overlooked. People do not mean to be insensitive and this time will pass. Before long people will be able to gaze and coo over your baby in a crib and you will have regained your old self!
It can feel that everything about you resolves around your pregnancy at the moment with either talk of the baby, plans for the baby and the ever present reminder of your pregnant state by the niggling aches and pains. It is normal to feel a bit overwhelmed by this as there still seems a long way to go before you give birth and equally that you have been pregnant for a long time.
Common symptoms at week twenty eight of pregnancy
- Swollen sore breasts
- Frequent urination
- Fatigue
- Dizziness
- Irritability or unexpected emotions
- Nervousness about the birth and impending parenthood
- Heartburn
- Decrease in appetite
- Clumsiness
- Sore ribs
- Bad dreams
- Constipation
- Blurred vision
- Pelvic discomfort
- Minor swelling of feet and ankles
- Braxton hicks contractions
- Trouble sleeping
- Changes in vaginal discharge
- Hemorrhoids
Tips for week twenty eight of pregnancy
- The time will pass quickly so try to make the most of it by doing things you enjoy, visiting places you will find it harder to visit with the baby once your baby is born and taking some much needed time for yourself.
- Book a holiday or a trip with your family if you would like to, now is a good time.
- If talk of your pregnancy and the baby are starting to irritate you mention gently that you would prefer to talk about something else; it is nice that people are interested and excited about your impending arrival but it can be a bit overwhelming.
If you have any symptoms that concern you it is important to consult your doctor as soon as you can.