Pregnancy Progress: Week 30

Today, I am 30 weeks pregnant!! Only 70 days (about) to go!! I have definitely felt hungrier this week but trying to curb my refined sugar intake since my glucose tolerance test results weren’t the best. I didn’t have to go in for the 3 hour test and don’t have gestational diabetes thankfully but I still want to make sure I am getting the best nutrition I can and don’t think that DQ every night would be in my best interest or the best interest of Cashina.

As for Cashina, she weighs approximately 3lbs and is about 15.7” in total length. Her growth in length will begin to slow down now, but she’ll continue to gain about a ½ lb per week from now until 37 weeks (I’m not ready to know what happens after that yet!!).

This week, her bone marrow will start to take over production of red blood cells and her brain will continue to develop. Much of the time her eyes are open and she is looking around, checking out the dark and limited environment. I am sure the most interesting thing is the umbilical cord or maybe even her own feet and hands. She can recognize my voice as distinct from other peoples now. In fact, research has shown that fetel heart rate slows down when the mother speaks, suggesting that babies not only hear and recognize their mother’s voice, but are also calmed by it. We shall see.

In other news, Cashina now has the ability to create tears, pees about a ½ liter of amniotic fluid each day, and has formed her first bowl movement, known as meconium, in her intestines. The meconium is made up of fine lanugo hair, mucous, amniotic fluid and old skin cells. She’ll pass it in the first 24 hours or so after birth and it will be a dark green and sticky…gross.

We have a tour of the Newton-Wellesley maternity unit tonight which should be interesting. Maybe we will get to see some little newborns and I am hoping we don’t hear any painful natural childbirth going on. We do need to get cracking on painting the nursery (we decided to just do it ourselves since the estimate from the painter was a little much), finding a pediatrician and finalizing our birth plan so these are at the top of the to-do list for the next couple of weeks.