28 Weeks pregnant - What to expect?

This week, you are embarking onto your third trimester. Can you believe you’ve made it this far?! It’s nesting time. Relax and take some rest as this is an important stage in your baby’s lung development. Read a book, drink chamomile tea or listen to some soothing music!

Changes your baby is going through

Your baby is speedily growing up in your 28th week as it is putting on weight and filling out beautifully. Your baby is now about 14.80 inches from crown to heel and weighs about 2.22 pounds or 1kg. Your baby continues to take practice breaths.

He’s breathing amniotic fluid in and out of his lungs and swallowing it as well. He can also suck, blink, roll, kick, grasp and hiccough.

Your baby's brain is changing. It’s changing from being soft and smoothly rounded to having the familiar grooves and indentations on its surface. Your baby's hair may be growing. Some babies are born bald or with fine, almost invisible hair on their head. Others are born with a thatch of hair.

Physical changes you will experience

Stretch marks could be appearing on your tummy abdomen, breasts, hips and thighs now. There is nothing you can do to stop them from forming. Because squatting and bending down is getting harder, you'll discover the easier way of doing things in a hurry.

If you have a desk job, organise your work station to suit you. Your computer chair may need to be adjusted a couple of times a day.

Colostrum is an early form of breast milk which is a clear to yellowish coloured thick fluid and is very high in antibodies. It is a sign that your breasts are starting early lactation and getting ready to produce milk for your baby.

• You could find yourself rushing to the toilet every five minutes. This happens because the baby is lying in a particularly prominent position on top of your bladder. Watch out for indigestion and heartburn.
• Things will improve as your body stops making high concentrations of relaxin and progesterone.
• Ease that back pain with strengthening exercises. Check with an obstetric physiotherapist about how you can target the muscles and joints which are causing you grief.
• Always on your foot? Wear a maternity support belt.
• Seeking your last break? Book a holiday before the baby is born.