Week 28: U Smile

Welcome to week 28, Mama! With the continued growth of your baby, you will again start to notice an increased need to urinate more often. Your little one is taking up more space and needs room to stretch out. It may help to make a habit of emptying your bladder every couple of hours to avoid your little one suddenly kicking your bladder and causing added discomfort. Another proactive habit you can set is avoiding overuse of your abdominal muscles. Start pushing yourself up from your side when getting out of bed in the morning, and bend your knees when lifting objects off the floor. Setting these habits now will help your body the bigger you get. Additionally, at this point in your pregnancy, your healthcare practitioner will see you more frequently. They will recommend different tests and monitor you for complications in pregnancy. There are potential factors in pregnancy that may be out of your control: gestational diabetes, high blood pressure in pregnancy, placenta previa, etc. It can be frustrating, or even fear-provoking, to not be in control of everything in your pregnancy. Seek out resources, information and trust your body.

Your baby is 28 weeks old and already developing their personality. Your baby can make facial expressions in response to environmental changes. Your baby can smile, grimace, and yawn. Reflexive responses can cause your baby to close her eyes when exposed to light changes and jump (or startle) when exposed to a sudden loud sound. At this point, in your abdomen, there is plenty of room for your baby to change positions, roll around, and stretch out all the limbs. In the coming weeks, your baby will settle into a more consistent position in preparation for labour.