IMPORTANT: You may have heard that in your third trimester you should abandon using hair products and other beauty treatments. This is not true! All you have to do is find options that are suitable to use when you are pregnant. There are many available meaning you don’t have to stop your usual regime.
IMPORTANT: By now, you probably can’t really fit into any of your old clothes. Don’t worry, there are many beautiful maternity options out there in the stores. Just make sure you are now wearing comfortable clothes that don’t restrict or put pressure on your abdomen.
IMPORTANT: If this isn’t your first child, be sure to include your other kid or kids in the whole process. Make sure they know that you aren’t replacing them, but adding to the family. It can be a confusing time, especially for a young child.
By week 35, your baby is able to move around quite a lot. You may actually be surprised by how much it does and by how vigorous the movements are. In fact, other people will now be able to feel very definite movements when placing a hand on your stomach.
Fetal development now is virtually complete. Your baby has all of its features in place and all of its organs are working – except the lungs. These will complete their full development usually just before you go into labor as they are not actually able to work until after birth. The next few weeks are all about growth and your baby can put on up to 30gm per day now.
At 35 weeks, your baby should measure about 44cm and should weigh roughly 2.2kg. It’s in the final stretch of development and will get bigger very rapidly now. You’ll find that things start to feel quite tight in your abdomen as your baby fills up all of the available space in the womb. You’ll also notice that any movements from your baby are very pronounced now.
It’s the last leg of your pregnancy and you’re nearing the big moment. This means that your anxiety levels can definitely start to go up. It may feel like the time is just dragging now, but try not to let it become a big deal. Take a moment to enjoy the quiet before the storm.
If you are pregnant with twins or more, just know that you might be closer to going into labor than you think. Twins usually only go to week 35 or 36 because there is just too little space for them to grow anymore inside the womb.
Unfortunately, all this growing and filling up of the space inside you means that you could be in for some sleepless nights. You might also start to get cramps in your muscles. Braxton Hicks or training contractions are also likely to start hitting you at irregular intervals from now on.
Be sure to make time for resting in your daily life. This is especially important if you are still at work and haven’t gone on maternity leave yet. An afternoon nap might not be possible, but taking a break from sitting at your desk can be a big help. Take a little walk, stretch your legs a bit and relax.
By now, your gynecologist has probably requested prenatal appointments as often as once a week or once every two weeks. This is also the stage when you will be tested for Group B Streptococcus (GBS). If you test positive, you will be given antibiotics to take when you go into labor in order to protect your baby from infection.
By week 35 you may very well feel like the queen of urinating! Your baby is now very large and is pushing down heavily on your bladder. It’s important to stay hydrated, but also try to limit the amount of diuretics you drink, like tea for example. Water, coconut water and fresh juice are all good things to drink.
At this stage you should also have decided what kind of delivery you want to have. Your gynecologist will help you to decide based on how healthy both you and the baby are, and how the pregnancy has progressed.
