You are 37 Weeks and 3 Days 18 days to go…
It’s a good idea to give some thought to life after the birth, and ensure you have adequate help and support lined up.
Your baby today
With each day that goes by delivery is becoming ever more
likely. You may experience Braxton-Hicks’ contractions, which help to
soften the cervix and prepare for labor. The amniotic fluid that
surrounds your baby ensures she’ll hardly notice these mild tightenings.
Even at this late stage of pregnancy,
it may still be hard to imagine your baby being born and living in your
home. You and your partner may settle into life with your newborn with
ease, and manage without any help, but it’s still a good idea to have
backup support just in case.
What you may not be
prepared for is the fact that you’re likely to be exhausted after weeks
of poor sleep during pregnancy, and the rigors of labor itself. Add to
this interrupted nights’ sleep and the whole adjustment to being a new
parent, and you may well find you’ll need to call on people to help
practically and emotionally.
It can help enormously to
have a good support network set up in advance. Ideally, this will be
close family and friends who you know you can rely on to drop in to
help, but who will also know when you need to be left alone. Even an
hour’s help to prepare you a nutritious meal, or hold your baby while
you get a much-needed rest or a shower, can give you some welcome
respite.
Have the number on hand
for your lactation consultant, so that you can ask for advice. Also get
on the phone to moms-to-be whom you’ve met at prenatal classes; they
more than anyone will be able to relate to how you’re feeling.
Don’t be too proud
to accept help with housework and shopping. Knowing these tasks are
taken care of will help you relax and focus on your baby.
Try to limit the
number of guests you have in the early days, and make sure that they are
warned that visits will be short. Although you will be desperate to
show off your new baby, visits can be draining so it’s better to wait
until some routines are more established.
… Nutrition
Healthy snacking
Large meals are likely to leave you feeling uncomfortably full,
especially late in the third trimester. If you go long periods of time
between meals, you may become light-headed and feel weak from
hypoglycemia—low blood sugar. This is because the baby is constantly
drawing glucose from your bloodstream.
Healthy snacking is the key to eating well and comfortably:
Keep lots of fresh fruit on display in a bowl so you’ll remember to eat it.
Stock your cupboards with a variety of dried fruits and nuts.
Hard boil eggs and keep them in the fridge. Try eating them with a sprinkle of salt to quell that salt craving.
Buy or make some frozen juice pops and keep them in the freezer. Some women also find it refreshing to suck on these during labor.
Yogurt is a nutritious and healthy snack for any time of day. For variety and additional nutrients, sprinkle granola or dried fruit on top.
You are 37 Weeks and 4 Days 17 days to go…
Gradually, each of your baby’s bones is becoming strengthened thanks to adequate amounts of calcium.
Your baby today
What exactly triggers the start of labor is still a mystery.
Does the signal come from your own body or does the baby play a part in
the decision? Every labor is different, and the timing of your first
labor can be quite different from your second.
Your baby’s bones are strengthened
by the process of ossification in which hard bone is formed from
calcium. To meet this increase in demand, you absorb calcium much more
readily from your diet.
By this stage of
pregnancy, the baby’s humerus in the upper arm, femur in the upper leg,
and tibia in the lower leg have undergone this process. As ossification
occurs at specific weeks in your pregnancy, ultrasound can use these as
markers to estimate the date of the pregnancy, if necessary.
The time at which this
ossification occurs may be seen a few days earlier in girls than boys
and, interestingly, the patella (knee bone), does not ossify until after
birth.
Just because your partner weighed above average at birth, it doesn’t mean your baby will too.
The birth weight depends
on the mix of genes your baby inherits. So, if your partner is tall and
big boned and you’re petite and were a tiny baby, keep your fingers
crossed that you have the more dominant genes!
… Doctor
| Q: |
I’ve had a small amount of bleeding. Should I be concerned?
|
| A: |
Bleeding in late pregnancy may be serious since it can be due
to the placenta partially, or totally, detaching from the wall of the
uterus, known as placental abruption, or to a low-lying placenta, known as placenta previa. If you have a mucus discharge tinged with blood in late pregnancy, this may be a “bloody show” .
Always seek medical advice for bleeding at any stage of pregnancy to rule out any problems.
|
Bach Flower Remedies
Flower essence blends are designed to calm and center your energy,
which some think can help you relax and encourage you to focus. Rescue
Remedy and Emergency Essence, types of Bach Flower Remedy, are thought
by some to be effective when used in labor, and in the weeks prior to
and after the birth. The remedies are taken for a variety of symptoms
including anxiety, shock, worry, stress, or simply for a boost during a
long or painful labor.
A few drops may be taken
on your tongue as required or mixed in water, as shown above. Both of
these blends also come in cream form, to apply topically, or as a spray,
to spritz yourself, and your environment.
Ask your doctor before you try these or other natural remedies, since they haven’t been thoroughly studied.
One way to take Bach Flower Remedies (see Bach Flower Remedies)
is to put four drops into a glass of water and sip it at intervals.
Alternatively, you can put the drops directly on to your tongue using
the pipette. Always talk to your doctor before using any remedy.
