9 months pregnant: how your pregnancy is progressing

If you are 8 months pregnant, it won't be much longer until your baby is born. Your belly is getting bigger and bigger, which makes everyday life slowly become arduous. Your baby grows significantly in the 8th month of pregnancy and thus presses more and more on your bladder and your organs. You should take care of the final preparations this month and prepare yourself for the upcoming birth.

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In this post, we summarize how your baby develops in the 8th month of your pregnancy and how size and weight change. You will also find out which symptoms are typical in this phase of pregnancy and which check-ups are due this month.

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Development of your baby in the 8th month of pregnancy

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The 8th month of pregnancy extends from the 29th to the 32nd week of pregnancy. During this period, your baby gains a lot of weight. You will also notice this in your growing baby bump and your weight gain.

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In addition, your baby's brain develops rapidly during the 8th month of pregnancy. Brain activity increases significantly, which means that your baby's sensory organs become more and more pronounced. However, the head circumference does not increase, but remains small enough to fit through the birth canal.

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If you are 8 months pregnant, your baby's lanugo hair is now receding. Instead, its actual hair, which it will also have at birth, is slowly growing. You probably realize more every day that you are an expectant mother and will soon be holding your baby in your arms.

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It is best to take care of a sleeping place for your baby now. The automatic baby hammock from swing2sleep offers your baby a cozy nest: Your baby lies snugly in the hammock while it swings intuitively. The movements are adapted to your baby's activity in order to calm it in the best possible way and rock it to sleep.

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Size & weight: This is how big your baby is in the 8th month of your pregnancy

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You are in the 3rd and final trimester of your pregnancy. In the coming weeks, you will notice that your baby is gaining a lot of weight and your belly is growing further as a result.

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We summarize for you how big and heavy your baby is in the eighth month of pregnancy:

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Week 29

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Your baby weighs between 1,250 and 1,300 grams. It has a size of 37 to 38 centimeters. You can imagine its size like that of a pumpkin.

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Week 30

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Your baby's weight is 1,350 to 1,400 grams and it is 38 to 40 centimeters tall. This makes your baby about as big as a cabbage.

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Week 31

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In the 31st week of pregnancy, your baby should weigh between 1,550 and 1,600 grams. It is 40 to 42 centimeters tall. Its current size is reminiscent of a coconut.

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Week 32

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Towards the end of the 8th month, your baby has a weight of 1,750 to 1,800 grams and a size of 41 to 43 centimeters. This makes it roughly the size of a Chinese cabbage.

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While the baby's development continues to progress, it gains significant weight. If you are 8 months pregnant, your baby will gain around 500 grams in these four weeks.

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These symptoms are typical in the eighth month

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In the 8th month of pregnancy, many expectant mothers tend to retain water. If you are active all day, your arms and legs will swell. This makes it all the more important that you allow yourself enough rest and drink plenty of water. This helps your body to break down the water retention.

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Other symptoms in the eighth month of pregnancy are leg cramps caused by magnesium deficiency. Due to the hormonal changes in your body, constipation and bloating can also occur. Therefore, make sure to drink enough and move around after meals. If you suffer from heartburn, you should increasingly adopt an upright position and sleep with your head elevated.

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It's not just your body that slowly starts to trouble you from the 8th month onwards. Your emotional state is also subject to large fluctuations throughout the pregnancy. You may find that fear of the birth is slowly creeping in. You wonder if your baby will be okay and if you will be able to bear the pain. Discuss the topic with your midwife or gynecologist to reduce the fear.

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If you want to distract yourself with the final baby preparations, you should take a look at the automatic baby hammock from swing2sleep. The intelligent and silent automatic baby hammock motor rocks your baby to sleep with gentle up and down movements. This makes it easier for your baby to fall asleep and promotes sleeping through the night. Especially in the first few months with your newborn baby, our automatic baby hammock makes a real difference.

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Examinations in the 8th month of pregnancy

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The third and final major check-up with your doctor is due when you are 8 months pregnant. You will see your baby on the ultrasound one last time before birth. As part of the examination, your doctor will measure your blood pressure and weight, measure your belly, and check your urine.

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The position of your child and the placenta are also examined. The amount of amniotic fluid is measured and documented. Mother and child are thoroughly checked during this examination in order to identify possible risks at an early stage. Your doctor can also perform a Doppler ultrasound and examine your placenta more closely. In this ultrasound, the blood vessels are visible, so that the supply and blood flow to the placenta can be checked more precisely.

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8 months pregnant: The baby's position is determined

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The time of birth is getting closer and closer. As part of your check-up, your doctor will check which position your baby is currently in. In the 8th month of pregnancy, many babies already take their position for birth. However, this does not apply to all of them. It may well be that your baby has not yet turned and will only take its final position later.

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It can be in the following positions:

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Cephalic presentation

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The cephalic presentation is the ideal position for birth. Your baby's head is in your pelvis and its face is pointing towards your back. Your baby's legs are in your upper abdomen.

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Breech presentation

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In the breech presentation, your baby's head is at the top and the feet are at the bottom. So it is exactly the other way around than in the cephalic presentation. Even if this position is not optimal, a natural birth is still possible for many pregnant women.

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Transverse lie

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In the transverse lie, your baby lies sideways and its head and legs point to the side. The transverse lie is not a suitable birth position. Your midwife may be able to encourage your baby to turn with skillful maneuvers.

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Oblique lie

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If your baby is in an oblique lie, its position is unstable. The angle to the birth canal is acute, which could make a natural birth problematic. However, many babies in an oblique lie turn on their own.

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As you can see, your baby can lie in different positions in your belly. Ideally, the head points down and the legs point up. If this is not the case, you can encourage your baby to change position with special exercises. Talk to your midwife: she knows various ways in which your baby can still turn. However, it becomes problematic from the beginning of the 9th month, because then babies often no longer have enough space in the uterus to change their position.

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With the beginning of the 9th month, the end of the pregnancy is getting closer and closer. Your baby will be fully developed in a few weeks and will only gain weight. As the due date approaches, the physical strain on the expectant mother also increases in many cases. The last few weeks before birth are often arduous.

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We summarize for you how your baby develops in the 9th month of your pregnancy and how its size and weight change. You will also find out how expectant mothers feel in the 9th month, how the first contractions announce themselves, and what needs to be considered now.

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How your baby develops in the 9th month of pregnancy

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When you are 9 months pregnant, the focus for your baby is on weight gain. It grows only a little in length, but gains significant weight. In this month of your pregnancy, your baby will gain between 700 and 800 g. The space in the uterus is getting tighter and tighter: that's why your baby may not move quite as much anymore.

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In the last few weeks before birth, further details develop. It is particularly important that the lung function continues to mature. From the end of the 9th month, the alveoli are ready and your baby could already breathe independently outside the womb.

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Your baby's senses are already mature. It hears you and much of what takes place outside your belly. Your baby is now also opening its eyes and reacting to light or darkness. In the last weeks of pregnancy, however, the focus is primarily on weight gain.

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You should now take care of the final preparations for the arrival of your baby. So that your baby can sleep well and restfully, it needs a cozy sleeping place. For this, we recommend the automatic baby hammock from swing2sleep. Our sleep aid offers your baby a secure nest and rocks it to sleep with gentle movements. This makes it easier to fall asleep and promotes sleeping through the night. Over 150,000 parents are already convinced.

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Size & weight of your baby in the 9th month of your pregnancy

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The ninth month extends from the 33rd to the 36th week of pregnancy. During this time, your baby will grow a few centimeters and gain a lot of weight. In the course of the 9th month, it will gain fatty tissue in particular, until this makes up about 16 percent of the total body weight.

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We summarize how your baby's size and weight will change in the coming weeks:

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Week 33

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Your baby weighs between 1,900 and 2,000 grams. Its size is 42 to 43 cm. It is thus the size of a pineapple.

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Week 34

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Your baby weighs about 2,200 to 2,250 grams this week, having gained 200 to 300 grams in just one week. The size is about 44 to 45 centimeters and your baby is the size of a cantaloupe.

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Week 35

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Your baby's weight this week is about 2,500 grams and it grows to 45 to 46 centimeters. Your baby is now the size of a honeydew melon.

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Week 36

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Your baby's weight is now around 2,700 grams and its size is 46 to 47 centimeters. This makes it as big as a white cabbage.

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By the due date, your baby gains significant weight. Sometimes even several hundred grams per week. Should your baby be born prematurely, it is already fully developed towards the end of the 9th month. It will simply be lighter and smaller than babies born around the 40th week of pregnancy.

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How you feel as an expectant mom when you are 9 months pregnant

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In the past few months, your body has performed at its peak. The fetus has now grown into a real baby that needs more and more space in your belly and presses on your organs. Your pregnancy becomes increasingly arduous in the 9th month.

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Your belly is large and can restrict you in everyday life. Many women also feel very tired. Remember what your body is achieving and give it enough rest. You could be suffering from an iron deficiency, which further increases the fatigue. Talk to your gynecologist if you want to clarify this.

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Many women have difficulty finding a suitable sleeping position and coming to rest in the 9th month of pregnancy. You are now only allowed to sleep on your side and will be woken up again and again by your baby at night. Try to find the most comfortable position possible with a side sleeper pillow or a nursing pillow so that you can recover. If heartburn is bothering you, you should sleep slightly elevated.

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Shortly before birth, you also have to visit your gynecologist more frequently. The check-ups now take place every two weeks. You and your baby will be examined closely. It is also checked whether your baby is already in the correct birth position. With the help of a CTG, it is determined whether you are already having the first contractions. Your baby's heart sounds are also monitored.

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Many pregnant women feel a strong nesting instinct towards the end of pregnancy. You will certainly want to make the final preparations for the arrival of your baby now. The automatic baby hammock from swing2sleep helps babies who don't fall asleep well to drift off. It swings up and down in gentle movements: this calms your baby and ensures more relaxation.

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First contractions are announcing themselves

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In the 9th month of your pregnancy, you will probably feel the first contractions. These are usually not labor contractions, but practice contractions. There are different types of contractions that can be difficult to assess, especially during your first pregnancy.

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In the ninth month, Braxton Hicks contractions (practice contractions) are not uncommon. Your uterus is simply practicing for the birth and your body is preparing to bring your baby into the world in a few weeks. Practice contractions cause a slight pulling sensation and your belly becomes hard. However, they do not initiate labor.

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This also applies to lightening contractions. These are also considered practice contractions and help your baby to slide into your pelvis. Lightening contractions usually occur four weeks before birth and ensure that your belly drops noticeably. You may notice this by the fact that you can breathe better again.

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Pre-labor contractions occur about three weeks before the calculated due date. Your cervix is thus prepared for the birth. If you have the first pre-labor contractions, the birth is getting closer and closer. This is initiated by labor contractions. They ensure that your cervix opens and your baby comes into the world through the birth canal.

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What you should consider in the ninth month of pregnancy

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The last weeks of pregnancy are often very exhausting for expectant mothers. Therefore, you should take care of the final preparations sooner rather than later. We summarize for you what needs to be considered during the 9th month of pregnancy:

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Pack your hospital bag

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As you approach the end of the 9th month, you should pack your hospital bag. The birth can start at any time soon. Therefore, get everything for your hospital bag and pack it in advance. This way you are well prepared.

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Register for the birth

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If you haven't already done so, you should register for the birth at the hospital of your choice. During the consultation, you can also find out about the different birth methods and then think about how you would like to bring your child into the world.

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Plan the birth

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If you already have one or more children, you should create a plan in advance as to who will look after them during the birth. Talk to your relatives or friends who will take on this important task.

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Look forward to maternity leave

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Maternity leave begins for you six weeks before the birth. You are surely already looking forward to finally having more time for yourself and being able to enjoy the last time before the birth. Maternity leave lasts until eight weeks after the birth.

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In the ninth month of your pregnancy, you should make the final preparations, but also allow yourself enough rest. Stress and great exertion could trigger premature labor. Therefore, try to enjoy the time as much as possible and get through the last few weeks well.

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