27 Weeks

Your Baby This Week :

You’re nearly in the home stretch. Your baby is growing steadily as he prepares for delivery day. This week he weighs about 2 pounds and is between 12 and 15 inches long. He’s acting more like a newborn now, too. He opens and closes his eyes, sleeps and wakes at regular intervals, and may suck a finger or thumb. He may also be hiccuping a lot this week, which explains that odd rhythmic sensation you’ve probably been feeling.Sweet dreams, little baby! Some experts believe that babies begin to dream by the 28th week. What do they dream about? No one knows for certain. But the brain is active this week as well. The characteristic grooves on the brain’s surface start to appear, and more brain tissue develops.

Chalk up any rhythmic movement you may be feeling to a case of the hiccups, which are common this week and throughout the pregnancy. Your baby has them, but is breathing in amniotic fluid rather than air. A paper bag can’t cure her hiccups, obviously, but an episode usually lasts only momentarily. Besides, it may feel like a belly tickle, so enjoy.

Since your uterus is now up near your rib cage, you may now find yourself short of breath if you haven’t already. Starting now, and continuing through the last three months of pregnancy, you may be plagued by leg cramps, hemorrhoids, varicose veins, and an itchy abdomen. If you were found to be Rh-negative earlier in pregnancy, you’ll probably be tested for Rh antibodies this week or next and get an Rh-immune globulin injection to combat the incompatibility.