Blog@Reginabally.net

Your baby continues to accumulate fat and get rounder. His brain and nervous system are working better every day and will continue to develop through childhood and adolescence. The placenta continues to supply him with antibodies that will help fight infection for the first six months after birth. By week 40 he is ready to be born and may weigh about 3-3.5kg and may be 19-21 inches long.

Source: htttp://www.mayoclinic.com/health/fetal-development

Since last week, I’ve been starting to experience Braxton Hicks contractions especially at night. At first, I thought it was one of the signs of labour. After a few research on the Internet, I found out that it’s just some kind of “training” before the actual contractions occur in labour.

Apart from that, I feel easier to breathe as Cavin’s head is already moved down into a position for birth. Also, his movements are not so obvious and strong as before. But the most suffering part would be extreme ache at the pubic area, I can hardly walk or move when it pains. These few signs show that my actual labour will be coming soon, perhaps in 2-3 weeks.

However, I still have one worry: Cavin’s weight. Last week Cavin’s ultrasound scan shows that his weight is approximately 2 kg only, which was a bit lighter than previous scan (2.2kg). This worries me. Luckily one very helpful and kind nurse at the clinic told me it’s okay for Cavin to be born during this few weeks, it’s just that he’ll need more care than those who achieved standard weight.

So, nothing can be done now except maintain the intake of food and nutrition.

The pasty white coating that protects his skin, called vernix, is getting thicker. His face and body is slowly becoming rounder as he packs on the pounds and stores fat all over his body. He can suck now. The crowded conditions inside my uterus may make it harder for him to give me a punch. To prepare for birth, he may descend into the head down position.

Source: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/fetal-development

When Cavin was in week 33, I was told by my obstetrician, Dr. Jaspal, that Cavin was underweight. He was only 1.5 kg which he should weigh around 2.2 kg at that time.  Dr. Jaspal advised me to undergo a detailed scan on Cavin to see if any abnormality of his organs.

After the scan, I was diagnosed with slight calcification of my placenta (which is quite normal in third trimester of pregnancy), low index on my Amniotic Fluid Index and perhaps some gene problems in Cavin. However, the detailed scan shows that Cavin has no problem in his organs. Dr. Jaspal suspects that lack of nutrition might be one of the reasons why Cavin was underweight. He suggested I consume two cups of maternal milk each day to provide enough nutrition for Cavin to grow.

Who ever knew this news was quite worried about me and Cavin, especially my sister-in-laws and parents-in-law. They advised me on taking Chinese traditional medicine in order to “boost” Cavin’s size. I listened, but I didn’t follow completely.

In the coming weeks after the scan, I did nothing special but continue to drink 1-2 cups of maternal milk plus soya protein powder everyday. Luckily this Sunday (8/11/09), Cavin’s weight went up to 2.2 kg. It’s such a relief to me, at least Cavin might not required to stay inside an incubator / ventilator after his birth. However, Dr. Jaspal said it’ll be safer if Cavin can weigh more than 2.5 kg before the delivery.

These few days, Cavin is having some training in my uterus as I can feel few contractions each day. He’s preparing himself to squeeze out from my uterus to experience this exciting world. I’m getting more nervous everyday as he’ll come to me anytime!

Cavin, come to mommy when you’re ready.