Inside the Womb at 27 Weeks
Photo courtesy of Babycenter
Photo courtesy of The Bump
Photo courtesy of Parents
Photo courtesy of Your Baby Library
Child length: measures 14 1/2 inches (about the size of a lettuce)
Child weight: 2 pounds
At this stage: At 27 weeks, your baby is sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing her eyes, and perhaps even sucking her fingers.
With more brain tissue developing, your baby's brain is very active now. From here on out, baby’s brain will keep getting more complex, turning that 27-week fetus into a real smarty pants.
While her lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning with a lot of medical help if she were to be born now.
Big news that by the end of the second trimester, her hearing is well-developed and she'll even respond in utero to sounds outside the womb. Your baby may recognize both your and your partner's voices by now. His auditory development is progressing as the network of nerves to the ears matures though the sounds he hears are muffled thanks to the creamy coating of vernix covering them. So this might be a good time to read and even sing to your baby (or rather, your tummy) and a good chance to start memorizing those nursery rhymes and lullabies you'll need to be repeating (and repeating) pretty soon. While you're at it, here's another way to have some family fun at 27 weeks pregnant: If your partner presses his ear to your stomach, he might be able to hear the baby's heartbeat.
Your baby's taste buds are very developed now, too (with more than he will ever have outside the womb, actually). Need a taste test? If you eat some spicy food, your baby will be able to taste the difference in the amniotic fluid (but keep in mind that you'll have different mealtimes, with his coming about two hours after yours). Some babies will even respond to that spicy kick by hiccupping. And although hiccups (which feel like belly spasms to you) may seem like they're disturbing him, he isn't stressed at all. It's just one more sensation babies need to get used to.
You’re probably feeling a ton of kicks inside that 27 weeks pregnant belly twice as many if you’re 27 weeks pregnant with twins. You may even feel tiny hiccups, which are like patterns of little twitches. For now, sit back and enjoy the kicks and jabs. Next week, you should start counting kicks to make sure baby seems consistently active from day to day.
Most babies this age, yours included, still like to snuggle in a slightly curled position inside the uterus (thus the term "fetal position").
Now that the baby-to-be is growing rapidly, it's harder to get a complete profile in the womb (she just doesn't fit in the picture anymore!). Even though she has more than tripled her weight since this trimester began, there's still plenty of growing left to do. This week marks the end of the 2nd trimester, just one more trimester to go.
Your Body
The second trimester is drawing to a close, and as your body gears up for the final lap, you may start noticing some new symptoms. Along with an aching back, for example, you may find that your leg muscles cramp now and then. They're carrying extra weight, after all, and your expanding uterus is putting pressure on the veins that return blood from your legs to your heart as well as on the nerves leading from your trunk to your legs.
Unfortunately, the cramps may get worse as your pregnancy progresses. Leg cramps are more common at night but can also happen during the day. When a cramp strikes, stretching the calf muscle should give you some relief.
Aside from leg cramps, here are some of the pregnancy symptoms that you will be experiencing this week:
Backaches: Gentle stretching can help your back, too. Consider sleeping with one of those huge body pillows, which can ease some of the pressure on your hips and help you get into a comfy position for your back.
Constipation: If you’re stopped up and you’ve done all the usual prevention—eaten lots of fibrous foods, drank lots of water, and taken plenty of walks—ask your doctor if a fiber supplement or stool softener is safe to take.
Hemorrhoids: Straining to go to the bathroom and all the pressure baby’s putting on your lower half can cause this not-so-pretty 27 weeks pregnancy symptom.
Skin, hair, and nail changes: Notch this one into the unpredictable pregnancy symptom category. Your skin, hair, and nails might be thicker or grow faster (yay!) but they might also be more brittle (boo).
Snissing: This is what we call peeing when you sneeze. Baby is putting a ton of pressure on your bladder and there’s not much you can do about it except take frequent pit stops to empty your bladder and maybe wear a pantiliner if you’re worried about an unexpected achoo.
With the above pregnancy discomforts, mine were left lower back pains which I'd been experiencing as early as my pregnancy started. Some Braxton Hicks here and there, feeling tightness on my belly at times. I have never been constipated during this pregnancy compared with my two previous ones. Overall, I'm feeling good and energetic. Thanks be to God!
Days left to birth: 91 days left (68% of your pregnancy is completed)
Due date: 23 November 2017
Data Sources: Babycenter, The Bump, What To Expect, Parents.com, Due Date Calculator (YourDueDate.com)
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