The weather has been quite warm lately, and my ankles and lower calves have been swelling a bit most evenings. So far this is the only discomfort I’ve experienced as my cramping calves haven’t returned. I’m sleeping through the night without any problems, so most of the info from Birth.com.au this week doesn’t apply yet. It does seem like my belly has just exploded in the last couple of weeks! I weighed myself thismorning and found that I’ve now put on 5 kg, which is a massive 3 kg in the last month!!!
Andrew has made up a couple of CDs to play to the baby, and we are trying to play them regularly. They are mostly made up of classical music.
I had an appointment with the obstetrician yesterday, and after another doctor from his surgery did all the routine stuff I saw Dr. Buist about my blood test results. Apparently I carry a gene that means that I could be more susceptible to clotting than the general public. This means that he wants me to change the vitamins that I take, so that I’m getting a high dose of folate and vitamins B6 and B12. He also wanted me to have another ultrasound to check on the fibroid in my uterus, so at 34 weeks (just before Christmas) we get to see Bugalugs again!!! That was unexpected!
Info from Birth.com.au:
You are now 26 weeks pregnant, which is the beginning of week 27. Your baby has grown to be about 35 cm long from head to toe and approximately 950 grams in weight. Your baby now recognises your voice and may be calmed by the sound of it (observed by their heart rate slowing). They may also recognise your partner’s voice and different types of music. When observing unborn babies with ultrasound they can respond to relaxing music by turning towards it, and curl up and away from very loud rock, rap and pop type music. Studies have also shown that newborns may be soothed by particular sounds after birth (as long as the baby is not hungry). One soothing sound is ‘white noise’, a mixture of low, middle and high tones from the full spectrum of the human ear. White noise can be created by the sound of a vacuum cleaner or the inside of a car travelling! Your newborn baby may quieten when listening to songs played regularly to them during the last three months of pregnancy. One study showed how a group of babies were calmed when they heard the theme song of the TV soap show “Neighbours”, presumably because their mother watched it daily during pregnancy!
Backache and sciatica. Many women now find their posture noticeably changes to compensate for their increasing belly size. This can affect your centre of gravity and balance as well as possibly leading to back pain. Around 50 to 75% of pregnant women complain of backache at some stage during their pregnancy, with 33% finding it a problem, inhibiting their lifestyle. Pain may be felt in the upper or lower back (or both) and is sometimes complicated by sciatica (a shooting nerve pain down the buttock and back of one leg).
The later months of pregnancy can bring tiredness and insomnia, perhaps with difficulty getting to sleep, or waking frequently because of pregnancy discomforts or needing to urinate. Lack of sleep can be quite distressing for some women, although it is generally Mother Nature’s way of preparing you for caring for your new baby!
Many women experience mood swings and sometimes cry for no apparent reason during pregnancy. Having a baby is an amazing transitional life change, along with birth, puberty and menopause. Life changing times often involve immense emotional release. Think back to puberty and all the emotional and physical changes you may have experienced along the way. Pregnancy is very similar, even though we often feel we must be rational and predictable. It helps if you can ride the roller coaster and surround yourself with understanding people. For partners, it can be hard at times to understand why she starts crying uncontrollably while watching the news or a video, or why she is more sensitive about your relationship or insistent of having things ‘just right’ for the new baby. This is her natural maternal instinct (hence, the ‘nesting’ process begins).
