You’re 30 weeks pregnant, and it’s time to start counting kicks! Here’s what else is going on this week with you and baby.
📏 How Big is Baby?
Measuring slightly over 15 ½ inches now, your baby has grown about a half-inch in the last week and likely weighs more than 2 ½ pounds.
👶🏼 What’s New with Baby?
Baby’s hands and feet are fully formed, with fingernails and toenails. They’ve even been practicing gripping and grabbing. You may see your little one grabbing their foot in an ultrasound! Baby can now open and close its eyes and even sense changes in light coming from outside the womb—and might have a good head of hair by now! Plus, their brain is developing at a very rapid rate.
🤰🏻 What’s New with Mom?
At 30 weeks pregnant, you may experience back pain, shortness of breath, leg cramps, swelling in your legs and feet, and changes in your skin, in addition to heartburn and frequent urination, says Dr. Catherine Spong, a Maternal-Fetal Medicine specialist at UT Southwestern Medical Center. “If this is not your first baby, you are likely to experience more pelvic pressure. Your body is working very hard to support the growth and development of your baby. All this hard work can leave you feeling very tired, even more so than in your first trimester.”
❤️ Fun Fact
Baby is much more active now, and many providers recommend counting baby’s kicks to assess baby’s wellbeing. Apart from the joy of feeling your little peanut moving around (this is likely baby hiccupping!) and responding to you, it’s also a way to monitor fetal movement. “The goal is typically to feel at least ten distinct movements (kicks, rolls, flutters, etc.) within a two-hour period,” Arias-Franklin says. “Any time you feel that baby is not moving as frequently as before, we recommend that you sit or lay in a quiet place for at least one hour and count baby’s kicks. If you notice a significant decrease, contact your provider for an evaluation.”
