Week 24: Pregnancy Week by Week

Week 24: Getting ready for baby's arrival

Please think of the children first. If you ever have anything to do with their entertainment, their food, their toys, their custody, their child care, their health care, their education-listen to the children, learn about them, learn from them. Think of the children first.

-Fred Rogers, Mr. Rogers Talks to Parents

What's Happening in Your Body?

A surge of feelings of good health, good appetite, and good spirits often marks this phase of pregnancy. Take advantage of this energy to gather together items you'll need for the baby. In the next few weeks, you will continue to steadily gain weight and moving around may be more of a chore!

What's Happening with Your Baby?

Your baby now has distinct periods of sleeping and wakefulness. His eyes, which have been shut since early pregnancy, now open and close accordingly.

Getting Ready for the Baby

Many women report a strong urge to get ready for the baby as they approach the third trimester. This is the ideal time to think about what you will need to acquire (to buy, borrow, or ask for as gifts).

Nourish Yourself

We talked about the importance of omega-3 essential fatty acids to general health in the early weeks. It's worth revisiting now because omega-3 is particularly important for pregnant women in the third trimester, and for women who are breastfeeding. These are both times when the baby's brain is developing at amazing rates. Babies deficient in omega-3 may have a greater risk of autism, attention deficit disorder, and depression, or adult degenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's or Lou Gehrig's disease.

To find out how to incorporate omega-3 into your diet, follow this link.

Body Wise

If you are beginning to gather things for the baby, think twice before investing a lot of money in items such as baby swings, bouncy infant seats, or costly newborn strollers. Instead, purchase one or two types of baby carriers that can keep your baby amused, soothed, and help you get back into shape.

Natural Soothers

Your beautiful belly: To help prevent stretch marks and enhance the natural resilience of your skin, add essential oils to your skin-care preparations and massage yourself regularly. Lavender and neroli are particularly helpful in preventing stretch marks. Find out how to make a homemade belly butter that can also soothe the skin all over your body.

Higher Ground

Birth Story: Three in a Bed
By Deborah Jackson

My bed feels somewhat empty now. I lie scrunched up in one corner, like a kitten in an oversized basket, and I wonder how it came to this. My husband, Paul, is away again, working on the other side of the country, and my children are downstairs, asleep. There's Frances, 12, sprawled easily across her loft bed (she's going to need a bigger bed soon). Sharing her room is Alice, buried invisibly under the covers-she's still small for her nine years. Then there's Joseph, lying in his very own bedroom, his five-year-old limbs and mouth open to the world in a gesture of absolute surrender. Read more…

Image by Durga Yael Bernhard

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