Your Pregnancy at 28 Weeks

Welcome to the beginning of the third trimester! You're finally in the long-awaited homestretch of your pregnancy! Here's what's going on with you and your baby this week!

Your Body at 28 Weeks Pregnant
The top of your uterus is approximately 3.2 inches above your navel, or eight centimeters. This means if you were to measure from your pubic bone, your uterus would be 11 inches or 28 centimeters from your pubic bone! By this time, the average pregnant woman has gained between 17 and 24 pounds, but this amount varies greatly from woman to woman, so don't stress if you aren't within this range!

You may be noticing stretch marks appearing across your expanding abdomen, thighs and buttocks. These stretch marks are the result of tears in the lower layers of the skin, and they can't be prevented. Despite what some people (and skin care companies) may say, if you're going to get them, you're going to get them. Eating a diet rich in vitamin E may help, and lotions such as cocoa butter or vitamin E lotion may help relieve the dry and itchy skin that often comes with stretch marks.

If you are rh-negative, your caregiver may give you a rhogam shot this week. This shot helps protect your baby and future pregnancies by preventing sensitization of your body should yours and your baby's blood mix during pregnancy or delivery.

If you've been experiencing back pain, you may notice the symptoms of this pain might be worsening. A massage might be just what you need to help relieve this pain. You may even consider visiting a chiropractor with experience helping pregnant women with back pain.

At this point, your caregiver may request that you make appointments more often than previously. Around this time is when women usually start seeing their caregiver every two weeks, rather than once a month.

Your Baby at 28 Weeks Pregnant
Your baby is over just a little under 2.5 pounds and is just shy of 16 inches long! Your baby is now the size of a small to medium head of lettuce!

Your baby's eyes opened just a few shorts weeks ago, and she can see differences in light! If you were to shine a flashlight on your belly, it's likely that she would respond to this change in light! Her eyes are now capable of blinking and even have tiny little eyelashes! Just as her eyes are developing quickly, so is her brain! The grooves and ridges within the baby's brain are developing and neurons are being formed at an incredibly fast rate!

Your baby is developing fat during this week. This fat will serve to protect and insulate your baby from the much-colder outside world after birth! Not to mention, this fat makes for some adorable little dimples and baby leg rolls!

Your baby is growing hair! Although babies grow hair at different rates, the roots have begun to form and start producing strands of hair! Some babies are born in desperate need of a haircut, while others are born with just a bit of peach fuzz!

If your baby were to be born at this point, in a hospital, the chances for survival are very good.

References
Curtis, Glade B., and D. F. Hawkins. Your Pregnancy Week by Week. Shaftesbury, Dorset: Element, 1996. Print.

"Pregnancy Calendar Week 23." Pregnancy: Week-by-week Calendar and Free Pregnancy Tickers. Web. 21 Oct. 2010.

"Pregnancy Week 23 - Weeks Pregnant." Pregnancy Week by Week, a Guide for Mothers to Be! Web. 21 Oct. 2010.

"Pregnancy Week - 23 Weeks Pregnant - Pregnancy Week by Week." Women's Healthcare Topics Is Your Source for Women's Health, Beauty and Nutrition,pregnancy Health and Pregnancy Week by Week Guide. Web. 21 Oct. 2010.

"Your Pregnancy: 23 Weeks | BabyCenter." BabyCenter | Homepage - Pregnancy, Baby, Toddler, Kids. Web. 21 Oct. 2010.

"Pregnancy Week 23 - A Week By Week Pregnancy Calendar." Babies Online - Baby, Pregnancy, & Parenting. Web. 21 Oct. 2010.