Here is my as-yet-unfinished-and-sadly-being-added-to-all-the-time list of
THINGS THAT SHOULD NOT BE SAID TO PREGNANT WOMEN
- “Are you having twins?”
- “So how overdue are you?”
- “Are you bigger than you should be?”
- “Wow, you must be getting ready to give birth to a three-year-old.”
- “I can even tell you’re pregnant from behind now!”
- “You must be a lot bigger with this one than your last one.”
- “I told that girl that you only LOOK 8 months pregnant. Because you know. You’re only 6 months pregnant. But you LOOK 8 months. Right?”
- “Why would you plan your babies for the summer?”
- “Is it normal to be that big already?”
- “Not much longer, I bet!” Particularly heinous to say when one is not yet 40 weeks pregnant.
- “Wow. Just wow.”
- “Again? Already?”
Anyone else have any that they’d like to add???
You are now 27 weeks pregnant (or in your 28th week if that’s how you prefer to count it).
Now that you’re approaching the final stage of pregnancy — your third trimester — your baby is really starting to grow and fill the available space in your uterus. She can now open and close her eyes, sleeps and wakes at regular intervals, and may suck a finger or thumb. Although they’re still immature, your baby’s lungs will function with some medical help, if she’s born prematurely.
Your baby now weighs nearly 2 pounds/ 875 grams and measures 14.5 inches/ 36.6 centimetres from head to toe. Her eyes open and close, she sleeps and wakes at regular intervals and she may suck a finger or thumb.
Sweet dreams, little baby! Some experts believe that babies begin to dream by the 28th week. What do they dream about? No one knows for certain but the brain is active this week as well. The characteristic grooves on the brain’s surface start to appear and more brain tissue develops.
Chalk up any rhythmic movement you may be feeling to a case of the hiccups, which are common this week and throughout the pregnancy. Your baby has them but is breathing in amniotic fluid rather than air. A paper bag can’t cure her hiccups, obviously, but an episode usually lasts only momentarily. The sensation for you may be strange but not unpleasant.
Since your uterus is now up near your rib cage, you may now find yourself short of breath if you haven’t already. Starting now and continuing through the last three months of pregnancy, you may be plagued by leg cramps, hemorrhoids, varicose veins and an itchy abdomen.
