If you’re feeling rather like a beached whale these days, hang in there – it’s going to get a bit worse from here on. You may want to give a thought to labor positions if you haven’t done so already. Do you want an active birth, a water birth or any other preferences? If so, let your doctor, midwife and partner know about those, or put that in your birth plan.
Many early pregnancy symptoms such as mood swings, lack of interest in sex, irritability could manifest themselves again at this point. If so, have a heart to heart with your partner explaining your feelings, so that they don’t feel confused or rejected. Try to spend quality time together by going for a date, cooking a meal together, watching a favorite movie, or simply going for walks together regularly.
Changes in the baby
Baby is developing his or her own personality by now. If you have had a baby before, you may well find that this one is different – each pregnancy can be significantly different from every other pregnancy. Even with the same set of parents!
- At this stage baby can hear well enough to be soothed by your calming voice or react to loud noises. Many women report the baby’s sudden startled response to a loud sudden noise, and can also feel baby moving in response to being prodded.
- Baby weighs about 3 pounds now and is nearly 16 inches long.
Changes in the mom to be
You’re probably feeling more tired now and find yourself out of breath without too much of exertion. You may also be having problems sleeping because of your big belly and active junior.
- Though you’re feeling big and clumsy, you’re probably looking quite lovely!
- The extra blood circulating in your system probably lends your skin color and a glow, your hair is likely more thick and lustrous, and your burgeoning belly is beautiful too!
Tips for the 30th Week
With looser ligaments and the pressure that baby puts on your abdomen as well as other discomforts, here are some tips that may help:
- Deal with aches and pains by concentrating on a good posture and by supporting your back.
- Remember to bend at the knees rather than at the waist whenever required. This will help reduce strain on your back and prevent pain.
- You may find that you are more comfortable wearing a bra to bed at night. Your bra should be the right size – the size may have increased. It should offer sufficient support during the day, but a looser, less supportive bra may be more comfortable while sleeping at night.