The countdown begins, you must be eager to meet your little one. But he still has the most important thing; weight gain and the maturation of your lungs. It is normal for you to feel tired and for fear to invade your body. You will have already started the childbirth preparation classes. In them, the midwives in charge of teaching them will teach you everything you need to know for the day of delivery. They will also help ease any anxiety you may feel about your big day. Many of these classes talk about parenting. Soak up all you can these days to learn!
Your baby will be about the size of a pineapple and will weigh about 1 kilo and 500 grams. A fat has started to form under his skin that will help him stay warm after he is born. This fat also gives them a rosier color and makes all the capillaries and veins previously visible to be protected behind it.
The kidneys work daily and are capable of forming almost half a liter of urine a day. The composition of this urine is practically the same as that of the amniotic fluid. The lungs are almost fully formed, but until about 37 weeks they will not be ready to function on their own. The baby has less and less space in the uterus. By now it should be turned around. Babies at this stage only move by turning on their head in a circular fashion.
How am I going to be this week?
If you have had insomnia the first trimester, will surely appear again this quarter. Sleepless nights are normal; the nerves on the day of delivery and the hormones are doing their thing. It seems as if our body wants to get used to the few hours of sleep with a few weeks of training.
To avoid fluid retention, drink water throughout the day (avoid drinking it all at once) And ask your childbirth classes for some exercises for swollen hands and feet if you have them. You may start to notice milk secretions from your nipples. Do not stimulate the breast to remove the colostrum it is forming as it is possible to create an infection in the nipple and lead to mastitis.
The veins of your vagina have begun to bear a lot of pressure due to the weight of the baby and the uterus, so it is possible that vulvar varicose veins appear, which in addition to being annoying can become very painful. If your doctor sees a problem with them, they may send you a prepartum treatment.
What tests are you going to perform?
Your doctor may decide to make you the third ultrasound about this week of pregnancy. In it you will assess the amount of amniotic fluid and make sure the baby is in the correct position. You will also take some measurements to assess your growth. Thanks to this we will be able to know more or less the weight of our baby and also the estimated date of delivery.
And for what corresponds to week 31 a little more; Take advantage of this last pull to organize things before the day of delivery. You may experience the so-called "nest syndrome," which we will talk about in the next few weeks.