You are 36 weeks pregnant

Your baby

Since your baby is still rapidly putting on weight, you may gain about a pound this week, but soon, your weight is likely to stabilize and gain may slow or even stop. Her once-wrinkly skin has now ...Read more

Your body

At this point, you may be wishing you could fast-forward through the next four or five weeks and be done with it. Between your mega-belly and pregnancy issues like oedema (swelling) and trouble sle...Read more

Your life right now

Eating nutritiously isn't just for proper foetal growth or maternal weight management. Studies indicate that good nutrition helps to prevent Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) or cot death. Th...Read more

Mums like me

‘To help our puppies adjust to the baby, our vet told us to take a brand new blanket (just a small one) to the hospital. We wrapped baby Ian up in it for a few hours and then I sent it home w...Read more

Since your baby is still rapidly putting on weight, you may gain about a pound this week, but soon, your weight is likely to stabilize and gain may slow or even stop. Her once-wrinkly skin has now been plumped up by a healthy layer of fat, and her face has rounded out as well (oh, those chubby little cheeks!). By this week she has also developed strong sucking muscles - which will enable her to down her first meal shortly after birth. It’s pretty amazing how the sucking reflex in babies is instinctive, even though it can take a few tries (or weeks) before both mum and baby figure out just how to do it.

At this point, you may be wishing you could fast-forward through the next four or five weeks and be done with it. Between your mega-belly and pregnancy issues like oedema (swelling) and trouble sleeping, life may not be the most comfortable. Your uterus is now probably right up under your ribcage and you may feel like you can’t possibly get any bigger. Though this week you may still gain a pound, the good news: weight gain plateaus or slows for many women in the final weeks. At your regular exam, your doctor will check the baby’s position and whether her head, bottom or legs are presenting first. Starting next week, she may do a pelvic exam to see if your baby has dropped lower into your pelvis, and if your cervix has begun to soften and thin (efface) and dilate at all - and if your baby has dipped lower down into your pelvis yet. But don’t get discouraged if nothing seems to be happening down there. It’s not uncommon for a woman whose cervix is ‘closed’ one day to go into labour and give birth the next. Likewise, a mum-to-be who is partially effaced and several centimetres dilated, with a baby whose head is engaged, may go to full term despite these signs of readiness. You just never know!

Eating nutritiously isn't just for proper foetal growth or maternal weight management. Studies indicate that good nutrition helps to prevent Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) or cot death. The risk of cot death peaks in incidence between two and four months and affects about 5,000 babies each year. When caring for a baby, to reduce the risk of cot death: Stop smoking - fathers too Place your baby on his or her back to sleep Do not let anyone smoke in the same room as your baby Do not let your baby get too hot or too cold

‘To help our puppies adjust to the baby, our vet told us to take a brand new blanket (just a small one) to the hospital. We wrapped baby Ian up in it for a few hours and then I sent it home with my hubby. He left the blanket for the pups to check out and smell. When we finally brought Ian home, we made sure they could smell his car seat before we brought him to them. We did put both of them on leashes, and I held Ian while standing. We let them smell his feet, and then I gradually sat down with him so they could get a little closer. They did really well.’ -ians-mom

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