Week 24 of Your Pregnancy
Baby’s Development
The fetus inside of you weighs more than a brick of butter and will gain a further 6 ounces this week! Your little one is putting on weight as it adds layers of comforting, healthy fat to its previously scant frame. Every day that goes by it becomes more proportioned and recognizable as the heart-melting little baby you’ve been waiting for.
Did you know that your baby can tell if it’s upside down? The inner ear is so well developed now, that the fetus can discern if it’s flipped upside down or right side up as it floats about the placenta. The brain grows more and more each day as your baby takes in this kind of stimuli inside your body and becomes more aware of stimuli outside as well.
If your baby were to be born prematurely at this stage, you would be relieved to know that it is considered officially ‘viable’ by the medical community. Of course, a great deal of medical help would be needed, especially as the lungs are not completed. However, babies born at twenty-four weeks are generally given an approximately fifty percent chance of survival.
Your Body and Emotions
Because your little one is getting longer and stronger limbs, you may start to notice more intense kicks this week. Depending on your baby’s individual activity level, this may be either amusing or irritating to you. Some babies have quiet temperaments and move very little in the womb, whereas others are high energy from the beginning and can keep you up pounding and rolling away inside of you. Try to enjoy this sensation! Once he is out, you may find that you miss it!
You may start to feel your first Braxton Hicks contractions this week. These practice contractions often cause mothers a great deal of stress as their labor approaches, especially if this is their first pregnancy. Is this the real deal or not? Anyone who has experienced childbirth can tell you…the difference between Braxton Hicks contractions and labor contractions is significant, to say the least! A Braxton Hicks feels much like a sudden, intense tightening of the abdomen, sometimes equivalent to a ‘skin crawling’ feeling as the muscles of your uterus ripple and flex. A labor contraction is far more painful and they gradually increase as time passes whereas Braxton Hicks come and go with no pattern. As mentioned, they are essentially practice contractions as your uterus gears up to expel your little one into the big, waiting world.
You’ll be tested for gestational diabetes this week through a glucose tolerance test at your local lab. The effects of untreated gestational diabetes are serious indeed and therefore all women are tested, whether they have a history of this illness or not. You’ll be asked to go to a lab with an empty stomach, having eaten nothing and drank nothing but water. You’ll then be given a liquid to drink that tastes a great deal like flat soda, only much sweeter. Your blood will be tested an hour after taking the drink to gauge the impact this has on your blood sugar. If your reaction is abnormal, you will be asked to return for an additional three-hour test. Don’t worry! Many times women who initially test positive for gestational diabetes turn out to be fine and don’t require any additional treatment.
Dad’s Tips
Even if you feel like an idiot holding a conversation with your partner’s giant belly, it’s an important thing to do and should be done daily. Just because you can’t see your little one doesn’t mean he can’t hear you! At this point, your baby can recognize your partner’s voice and familiar sounds. Make your voice one of them. Try reading aloud at night if holding conversations with bellies isn’t your thing or talking to your partner with your head resting gently on her. If you’re a musician, sing to it. If you’re a sports fan, read it the sports pages. Your job as a father doesn’t have to start when your baby’s old enough to hang out with, making that connection as soon as possible is the best way to ensure a happy, trusting relationship later on. |
