What’s going on?
With this being the last week of the second trimester, your baby makes progress once again in terms of his/her growth. Meanwhile, your swollen feet and ankles seem to be growing at their own rate as well.
Baby at Week 27
Your baby is now 36cm long and weighs 875g – he/she is about the size of a head of cauliflower. At this point, your placenta is almost fully developed and is hard at work in providing nutrients and oxygen to your baby. The same goes for your baby’s taste buds too. So, if you eat spicy food, your baby will be able to taste it too in the amniotic fluid. He/she might respond to that by hiccupping, which can feel like belly spasms to you. Do bear in mind that both you and your baby do not share the same mealtimes – he/she will get the share of the meal two hours after you.
As your baby’s eyes are open now, he/she will be able to distinguish between night and day. You can also figure out your baby’s daily activity by observing the patterns of movement though all those kicks and jabs, and moments of inactivity. We’ve included some tips when it comes to tracking your baby’s kicks – do check them out at the end of the article.
What is mum up to?
The second trimester is coming to an end, and your body is preparing for the final leg. With this, you may start to notice some new symptoms such as leg cramps every now and then. Your leg muscles are bearing the extra weight of your pregnancy, as your expanding uterus puts pressure on the veins that return blood from your legs to your heart and nerves leading from your trunk to your legs. Unfortunately, these cramps may worsen as your pregnancy progresses and commonly occur at night.
Here are some things you can do to relieve the pain when a cramp strikes:
- Stretch the calf muscle by straightening your leg
- Gently flex your toes back towards your shin
- Getting up to walk for a few minutes and massaging your calf can be helpful too
On top of those leg cramps, your appetite is set to increase during the last few months too, as your body uses up more energy. Do listen to your body by eating healthy and try to keep active to prepare your body for delivery day.
Top tips for Week 27
With all the kicking that your baby has been doing lately, those periods of inactivity in your womb might cause you to worry, especially if you are keeping track of the number of kicks for the day.
To ensure that your baby is doing well in utero, you can do an average “kick count” by doing this:
- Lie on your left side (early evening after dinner is the best time)
- Check and see how long it takes to feel 10 kicks/movements
- Do this for a week and take an average number of kicks to expect for each day
Do keep in mind that your baby’s movements will change in the final month as his/her “home” becomes more cramped.
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