Week 34 of your pregnancy
Baby’s first days: sleeping
While you and your baby are in the hospital, your baby will likely spend most of her time sleeping. The average newborn baby spends 18-20 hours a day sleeping. When she wakes, she will cry periodically to eat but will not eat very much before falling back to sleep. This pattern may continue after you go home, or the baby may be awake more each day. It is hard to control a newborn’s sleep schedule, so don’t expect regular naps; she will eat and sleep when she needs to (do check with your pediatrician to see if you should wake your baby for feedings in the first days). Over several weeks or even longer, she is likely to fall into a two-nap-a-day schedule, waking only to eat during the night.
When you put your baby to sleep in her bassinet or crib, be sure to put her on her back; this can prevent Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). She may sleep more soundly on her back in her crib if you swaddle her. (Never put a baby face down or on her side when swaddled, and do not swaddle a baby who can roll over.) The AAP suggests that newborns sleep in the parents’ room in a bassinet by their bed, but not in the parents’ bed.
Preparing to breastfeed
Your breasts have been preparing to feed your baby since you conceived, growing larger as milk-making structures develop within them. Since the fifth or sixth month of pregnancy, your breasts have been able to produce milk for your baby.
You may have already noticed beads of deep yellow fluid on your nipples. This “liquid gold” is colostrum, your baby’s first food, and it usually appears sometime in the third trimester. This special, early milk is crammed with elements that protect your baby from bacteria and viruses. It is high in nutrition and easy to digest. If you nurse your baby early and often in the first days after birth, the colostrum will soon turn to mature milk, tailor-made to provide your baby with all the nutrients he needs until he is 5 to 6 months old, and beyond.
The only preparation for breastfeeding you need to do during pregnancy (other than learning as much as you can about how and why it is so good for your baby) is to check that your nipples can extend outward. To do so, squeeze gently just behind the nipple with your thumb and forefinger. This imitates the motion your baby will make while nursing. Do your nipples extend, or do they fold inward? If they do not point out when squeezed, let your doctor, midwife, or a lactation consultant at the hospital know and they can show you a few ways to encourage them to extend.
Your Baby’s Development
* Approximate length 16 to 18 inches, weight 4 to 5 pounds.
* Her arms and legs are continuing to fill out from fat accumulation. She’s dimpling at her elbows and knees and forming creases around her wrists and neck.
* The percentage of fat on her body is 8%, compared with only 1% of her body weight at 20 weeks. At birth, her body fat will be about 15%, helping her to keep warm.
Parenting Q&A
Q:”I read that a baby’s digestive system is slow to develop and function in utero, because the baby eats and eliminates through the umbilical cord. Is it true that the system is not fully mature until they are toddlers, age 3 or 4? And if so, what does that mean? ”
A:The digestive tract of the newborn is immature and cannot digest anything but breastmilk or infant formula. Babies are not able to digest solid foods until they are 4 to 6 months old; babies show their readiness with a clear interest in trying new foods. Until then, they will show they are not ready for solid food by pushing anything fed to them out with their tongue.
Research Briefs from The Parent Review
Air travel during pregnancy generally safe
If you have an uncomplicated pregnancy, don’t worry about occasional flying, says the American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists (ACOG) in a recent report. Healthy pregnant women should follow the same precautions as all passengers, including wearing a seatbelt while seated and taking measures to prevent blood clots, such as wearing support stockings, moving their legs periodically, and drinking water. To minimize abdominal discomfort, women should avoid gas-producing foods or drinks before flying (gases expand at altitude). Cosmic radiation poses negligible risk to the fetus, says the ACOG, unless the mother is a frequent flyer or a flight crew member. However, women who have a medical or obstetric condition that may be worsened by flight or could require emergency care should avoid air travel throughout their pregnancy. Most airlines allow healthy pregnant women to fly through their 36th week, but women should check with their carrier for specific requirements.
Source: Obstetrics & Gynecology 114 (2009): 954-55.
Courtesy: University of Virginia Health System
Tags: breastfeeding, sleeping