30 Weeks Pregnant

Things are getting bigger and he's a right old kicker as well.

Apart from the extreme tiredness, all is going really well. What has been on my mind all week though is the fact that the baby's still transverse (or at least I think it is). The head and the kicks seem to be all over the place and having looked at the Spinning Babies website I'm pretty sure I'm right.

According to the site it is normal for a baby to be transverse in the first and second trimester. We hope that the baby is in a vertical position between 26 and 31 weeks gestation. Most babies are head down by 28-30 weeks gestation; a few babies wait to settle head down until 31-34 weeks. And only a few babies who aren't head down after 36 weeks can get there on their own. After 30 weeks, it may be good to do some exercises to help your baby get head down.

Late in pregnancy it is more difficult to help the side ways baby to become head down.
When the baby has been transverse in the last trimester, the womb becomes shaped for a transverse baby. Conversely, the baby will stay transverse when the pelvic inlet (brim) is not symmetrical or the lower uterine segment (the lower part of the womb where the head would normally settle) is not symmetrical. Crossing our legs, holding toddlers on our favorite hip, a fall, etc. can put a twist in the lower uterine segment.

"Gravity helps, but there is less room to navigate the womb. First time mothers and women with tight, sturdy musculature, spasming ligaments or  tight fascia can do exercises or have body work or both to loosen these soft tissues and allow more fetal movement. Women who have birthed before, and who have loose soft tissues (this includes a few first time mothers, but mostly experienced mothers) may actually need to prop their wombs and abdomens up to let the baby get head down!"

After 32-34 weeks, I am quite concerned to find a transverse baby – except when the baby was breech recently and is now in a leisurely process of flipping to head down. The breech to head down process shouldn't take more than 3 days (when it doesn't happen instantly).

So, this is me, 30 weeks pregnant:

According to BabyCentre this week, my baby now measures a little more than 39cm from crown to toe. His growth in terms of his length will soon slow down but he will continue to gain weight until he's born. He probably weighs about 1.3kg at this stage. My baby's lungs and digestive tract are almost fully developed. He continues to open and shut his eyes. He can probably see what's going on inside my uterus, tell light from dark and even track a light source.

Some researchers think baring your stomach to light stimulates visual development. But your baby won't be able to see much when he's born. Newborns can see a distance of only between 20cm and 30cm. Children with normal vision don't reach 20/20 vision (the same as an adult) until the age of about eight. To complete the picture, my baby now has eyebrows and can bat his eyelashes! About a litre of amniotic fluid now surrounds him, but that volume decreases as he gets bigger and has less room.