36-weeks pregnant: baby development and diet tips
From now until they make their grand entrance, your baby will continue to grow. They are already 45 cm long and weigh about 2.9 kg! Read more about this week.
Baby development
Your baby is getting their nutrition from you, through their umbilical cord right now. After they are born, they’ll be getting their nutrition from breastfeeding, specifically colostrum, the early breast milk already being produced by your breasts. Similarly, at birth the placenta ceases to “act as a lung.” The amniotic fluid that was in their airway will be pushed out of their nose and mouth by pressure on her chest from going through the birth canal. Everything will “kick in” the way it’s supposed to as they take their first breaths independently.
Your body
With your baby bump now so prominent, it can be hard to bend down to do up your shoes; you might want to wear shoes you can slip in and out of easily. Even easy tasks can be tiring when carrying a large belly. Maybe parents or friends can help a bit with the housework, doing the shopping or even cooking once in a while? If you feel tired, you could always ask for a bit of help and support as a present for the baby’s birth.
Nutrition
Although most women that are pregnant have a bigger appetite than before they were pregnant, if you are feeling too tired to eat, or suddenly have lost your appetite, try to eat small mini-meals or healthy snacks including a variety of healthy foods throughout the day. Be sure to stay hydrated by drinking about 8 glasses of water each day. Continue taking your prenatal multivitamin that your doctor prescribed, but stay away from over-the-counter energy boosters or meal replacement drinks not designed for pregnant women unless advised by your doctor. Women that started pregnancy as underweight are recommended to gain more weight than others. If lack of appetite is a problem for you, speak with your health care professional.
Tips
For some couples, naming the baby is a breeze. For others, it can be a source of friction. It doesn’t have to be! You can find inspiration everywhere – naming books (which often have mythical and exotic names as well as more traditional ones), family trees, characters or performers from favourite films. One possibility is to approach the selection process slowly by using lists, for example. You make one and your partner makes one. If there are names that are on both lists…well, that would be too easy, wouldn’t it?! A little tip: Don’t get too many friends or relatives involved in the hunt for a name. Nothing gets more tiresome than hearing a variation of “Oh, I used to have a Chihuahua called that!” every time you mention a name you like!
References:
Health Canada. Canada’s Food Guide: Healthy eating when pregnant and breastfeeding. Healthy eating when pregnant and breastfeeding - Canada's Food Guide Accessed September 2021.
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