The Third Trimester

15 inches long, weighing between 2 and 3 pounds, your baby is now opening and closing her eyes. He sleeps for about 20-30 minutes at a stretch. He is becoming rather athletic and some of his kicks may take your breath away! His bones are still flexible but getting stronger every day.

Practice breathing is taking place inside the womb as your baby practices for the real world outside. You may feel tiny jerks and twitches if your baby gets the hiccups during practice. While the lungs are not fully developed, they are getting closer. Babies born at this point in pregnancy can survive but would probably be on a ventilator.

Your baby's protective coating of hair (lanugo) will start to disappear, and her lungs are nearly fully developed. Her pupils are functional and will constrict and dilate when exposed to light and dark.

Your baby is gaining weight more rapidly now as he adds fat to his body to prepare for the rigors of birth and the outside world. You will feel lots of stretching, kicking and rolling now!

At about 36 weeks into your pregnancy, your child is approximately 6 pounds and 18 inches long, and is practicing sucking in preparation for nursing in the real world. If you are on target for delivery, your baby may 'flip' this week and turn over into the 'heads down' position for birth.

Anytime now! If you deliver during the next few weeks, you are pretty average in terms of the length of your pregnancy. Every week you continue to carry your child, she will gain more weight in the womb and get stronger though she is running out of room to play so her activity and kicking may seem to slow down.

At 38 weeks, if you have not delivered, your baby is nearly 7 pounds. Did you know that your baby's brain and nervous system are still developing, and WILL throughout his childhood and well into adolescence? Now that your baby has finished storing fat, his body temperature will hold stable when he is born. And the antibodies he receives through your placenta will help him get through the first few months after birth in good health.

At 40 weeks, if you haven't delivered yet, your baby will probably be about 7 or 8 pounds and around 20 inches at birth. Don't be too concerned if your due date passes without labor. Only about 5% of pregnant women delivery on their due dates and your doctor will probably not recommend induction for a week or two after you are due, unless you or your baby are in jeopardy.

As you pass through your third trimester, your body is changing more quickly.

Nearly all pregnant women get stretch marks, those streaks that appear on your stomach and thighs as your body expends.

There is no 'cure' for stretch marks, but they do fade after pregnancy.

Keep your skin hydrated by drinking plenty of water and use a good non-greasy moisturizer on your abdomen, and legs to prevent dryness and keep the worst of the stretch marks at bay. This moisturizing will also decrease itching which many pregnant women report during late pregnancy.

You may also see varicose or spider veins during your late pregnancy. These most commonly appear around your ankles and feet where you have lots of swelling, but they can appear in other places as well.

Wear maternity pantyhose and put your feet up often to reduce swelling.

If you find that you perspire more easily, use powder and wear well-ventilated clothing so that you don't get a rash or increase perspiration and odor during these late months.

About one in 150 women encounter pruritic urticarial papules (PUPP) during late pregnancy. These are red, itchy patches that usually appear on your stomach. Talk to your doctor to get a good cream to treat these patches.

Be careful not to get overheated or hold your breath for long periods of time when you are in late pregnancy. This will affect the blood vessels in your body which are already working overtime to provide oxygenated blood to you and to your baby.

Every woman complains about sagging breasts in late pregnancy and after pregnancy but you should know that gravity will take its toll even if you never had a child.

So relax!

There is no way, short of surgery, to make your breasts small and perky again but you should acknowledge the changes by wearing a supportive bra, and you can help yourself by using good poster and by lifting arm weights and doing arm exercises to give your chest muscles more tone.