3rd trimester: Week 30

Red blood cells are now produced by the baby's bone marrow, faintly visible in this X ray of a fetus framed by the mother's pelvis.

Your Baby

Rock-a-bye baby, indeed--your baby goes to sleep now. When she's not asleep, she's busy making faces, bopping around, hiccuping, and nudging you. She weighs almost three pounds and is about 14 1/2 inches long. She's close to having a fully functioning nervous system that regulates the body, and her nerve fibers are now encased in myelin, which allows impulses to travel faster.

Your Body

The not-so-pretty side of pregnancy reappears in the third trimester. Constant urination, swollen feet, painful hemorrhoids, searing back pain, and burning acid reflux. It's no surprise you aren't getting much sleep, giving rise to yet another complaint: insomnia. In fact, some experts say prenatal insomnia prepares you for life with a newborn. But in about ten weeks, your aches and pains will fade away, to be replaced with a cooing baby in your arms.

Do's and Don'ts

Do avoid harsh soaps that rob your skin of its natural oils. If your skin is itchy, take a soothing, warm oatmeal bath; you can buy prepackaged sachets at most drugstores. After your bath, generously apply cocoa butter or vitamin E-based moisturizer all over your body.

Health

Research shows that pregnant women suffer from sleep problems mostly during the third trimester, in large part because they have to get up at night to urinate. To get more nighttime rest, drink most of the fluids you need before 6 P.M.; just make sure to drink plenty of water during the day.

Mom to Mom

I wish I'd known that..."I could have asked for a different nurse. I had one from hell. She said I was being overly dramatic and asked if I was an actress!"--Thei Johnson Cherry, Brewster, NY