Good sleep for mother and baby
You have probably heard of new mothers struggling to catch a goodnight sleep. But the sleepless nights could start a ...
Breathe In- Breathe Out!
Overview of that week
Don’t be agitated when you hear the line “keep yourself hydrated.” Especially during pregnancy your body needs more water and fluids than usual to maintain a proper balance. So, make sure to drink the juices and soups along with sipping that water.
If you feel anxious, try simple breathing exercises to calm yourself. Your baby will follow you and will practice breathing along with you.
Baby development
The baby is 800 grams in weight and more than 13 inches in height. The amniotic fluid that your baby swallows and inhales through the nose is passed onto as pee to the amniotic fluid. The fetus will start to produce pigmentation on the skin. The digestive tract in your baby might begin to pass air and gasses.
New changes to your baby this week is that the eyelids are opening up and they will slowly start to move their eyes around to see. As for the hair color, those are bound to change until even adulthood.
Body changes and symptoms in mother
Thicker hair
Your hair will start to fall less resulting in thick hair. Don’t get too attached to the hair as it will fall down after you deliver the baby. This also means more body hair. So, it might not exactly be the positive symptom that you are looking forward too.
Restless leg syndrome
Are you making sure that you are getting enough iron and folic acid? Because restless leg syndrome (RLS) is one of the symptoms that might arise because of a deficiency in these nutrients. In some cases estrogen might also cause this.
Insomnia
All the changes going on in your body might make you feel restless. Even some stress might cause you to feel restless during the night. The uncomfortable body might cause you to start sleeping poorly and result in regular poor sleeping patterns. Make sure to make reasonable amends in your lifestyle to get enough rest.
Lower Back pain
As your belly grows dramatically bigger each week, your back will have to accommodate all the changes in the spine. This will cause your posture to
Contractions
Braxton hicks contractions are more common after you reach the 26th week in pregnancy. You aren’t delivering your baby right now but these contractions will prepare you for the actual labor.
What should you do and don’t
- Give your body enough rest and eat well.
- Make sure to take care of your dental health.
- Join breastfeeding, birthing and baby care classes at this point in pregnancy so that you are ready by the time your baby arrives.
- Be aware of gestational diabetes and take tests to rule out the possibility. If you are suffering from it, take proper care to avoid the symptoms affecting your pregnancy.
- Get massages to help with the aches and pain on your back and legs.
- Use cold packs to help with the swelling on your legs.
- If your lower back and lower back are aching you can take help of heating pads.
- Avoid coffee to stop your sleep disturbances.
- Maintain a proper and simple workout schedule to have a healthy pregnancy.