Week 27 of Your Pregnancy
Baby’s Development
Your little one is in the home stretch, development-wise, as he enters the third trimester. These last weeks are a time of increasing growth for your baby as his organs are almost completely developed. He’ll start to put on fat and inches at an astounding rate! His lungs of course, will not be considered complete until the first moments outside the womb when their function can truly be tested.
Now that his eyes are open, his retina will start to develop layers. These essential parts of the eye receive light and transfer this information into his developing brain.
His brain is growing rapidly at this point as tissue expands even further. The characteristic grooves and bulges of the brain start to appear this week as neural pathways and connections continue to form.
Your Body and Emotions
As your second trimester comes to a close, you may be noticing a drop in energy. Some people consider these last few weeks to be a farewell to the glory days of pregnancy as the third trimester usually brings a whole new host of complaints and symptoms.
It’s important to keep your prenatal exercise routine up at this time. Although it may be a chore to get started, taking daily exercise will help to alleviate a lot of the symptoms you will experience as you move into the third trimester. You simply won’t have the same amount of vigor as in the previous months, so it’s worth it to look into more relaxed forms of movement. Swimming, prenatal water aerobics, walking, prenatal yoga and Pilates, with any necessary modifications, are all exercises that allow you to adjust the intensity and can be continued up until your delivery date. In fact, many women find walking to be an excellent way to speed their due date along. Shorter, easier labor is another reason to continue your exercise routine, despite feeling ungainly and tired. Studies have shown that women who exercise all the way through their pregnancy are better prepared for the demands of labor.
If you haven’t already, you might want to consider taking a mini vacation with your partner. Your energy is only starting to wane and your size, although substantial, shouldn’t be causing you too much discomfort. You can still enjoy moderate hiking, sight seeing and days of shopping at this point without collapsing from exhaustion. Consider taking a trip that the two of you have always wanted. Paris? Las Vegas? Mexico? When you get into your third trimester, it becomes a bit more risky to fly and not many women want to be too far away from home as their due date approaches. Indulge in one of the last trips the two of you will take before baby arrives.
Dad’s Tips
One of the most important things you can do for her as she gets closer to her third trimester and due date is to stay calm. She may be relying on you more than ever to put on a brave front as your lives begin to change. Compound this with the fact that her hormones are starting to influence her moods and anxiety level again and it’s easy to see how much she’ll need you to be placid. This is easier said than done! Your life is about to change forever too and it’s only natural that you start to get anxious as the deadline approaches. The best advice is to stagger your panic attacks. If she is starting to lose it because she can’t find the perfect booties, try to retain your anxiety until she is calmer. Not only will she be more able to support you and talk you through it, she won’t become angry when she feels she’s not being listened to. Consider practicing calmness now to be training for your time in the delivery room. When she’s in pain and pushing through labor, she’ll need you to keep it together more than ever. |
