Pregnancy Guide for Couples: Week 29
This week, we’ll discuss how your baby is developing and briefly mention their positioning. We’ll also give Dad a great way to bond with baby during this final trimester!
What’s Going on with Baby
At Week 29, your baby is the size of a wine bottle!
Their muscles and lungs are getting ready to function outside the womb. The production of surfactant, the substance we’ve mentioned once before, is ongoing. Baby’s head is growing for their developing brain. Other ways your baby is growing include:
Muscles and fat layers continue developing
Nervous system is becoming more complex
Hearing and vision continue to develop
Baby is practicing breathing by moving their diaphragm and chest muscles
If they're not already there, your little one is probably moving into the head-down position in preparation for birth. We’ll talk later about baby being breech (feet down).
What’s Going on with Mom
As your third trimester progresses, your doctor will likely check your baby’s heart rate and measure their fundal height to assess how baby is likely doing in the womb. Here is how fundal height is measured and what it means:
It may be recommended that Mom empty her bladder before the measurement is taken (which will be the case if the doctor requests a urine sample at the beginning of the appointment).
Mom will lie comfortably on her back with her abdomen exposed.
The doctor locates the top of the uterus by feeling with their hands.
Once located, the doctor will use a soft measuring tape to measure from the top of the pubic bone to the top of the uterus.
The measurement is recorded (in centimeters) and corresponds to Mom’s gestational age (e.g., 28 cm corresponds to being 28 weeks pregnant).
What’s going on with Partner
Your baby can hear sounds inside and outside the womb now. Isn’t that crazy cool? They’re also moving around often. As a Dad, you can take advantage of these remarkable developments and start creating a bond with your little one. Here are some ways to do that:
Play music for baby
Continue talking to baby
Place your hands on Mom’s belly to feel baby move
Dance with Mom/baby
This can be fun to experiment with what makes baby move around the most. They may love a particular type of music you play or simply hear your voice.
RESOURCE OF THE WEEK
Have you signed up for our FREE training yet?
Even if you're not planning an unmedicated hospital birth but you are just a little curious, you should sign up because you'll still get a lot out of the information we give (especially the advocacy section... you gotta advocate for yourself in the hospital no matter what "type" of birth you choose).
