29 Weeks Pregnant: Breastfeeding or Bottle (or Both)?

29 Weeks Pregnant

In this article

• Pregnancy Week 29: All About You
• Pregnancy Week 29: All About Baby
• How Big Is Baby?
• Most Common Pregnancy Questions
• Multiple Madness
• For Your Partner
• Fun Fact

You're 29 weeks pregnant and it is time to make some decisions. Do you want to try breastfeeding? Will you go with formula? Or maybe a little of both?

You're making a turn towards the homeward stretch! Time to start considering some big decisions. In addition to the breast or bottle question, what will you do about circumcision? In some religions and cultures, circumcision, cutting a baby boy's foreskin, is a matter of custom and belief. In others, boy babies are never circumcised. For many people without clear cultural guidelines, circumcision is a difficult, but important choice to make.

It is also a good time to start working with your birth support partner or healthcare team to plan your birth. As part of your preparations, it's not too early to begin perineal massage to help prevent an episiotomy or tearing during delivery. You may not be able to reach by yourself—have your partner assist you.

Pregnancy Week 29: All About You

As your baby-to-be grows bigger, you may find your pregnancy pains increasing. By the end of the day your back aches and your feet become swollen. Frequent potty breaks are probably becoming a nuisance as your wiggly baby presses down on your bladder.

Ready for Breastfeeding?
Increased breast size is one of the first signs of pregnancy. Even before your bump makes an appearance, pregnancy hormones send messages to your breast tissue to get ready to feed your baby come delivery day. If this is your first baby, or you've had trouble nursing in the past, breastfeeding may seem foreign. You may still be unsure whether or not you want to breastfeed. Here are some things to keep in mind as you prepare to nurse your newborn.

When milk comes in: From the first days of pregnancy your breast tissue is building and readying to feed your baby. Between your fifth and sixth month of pregnancy you might notice clear to yellowish liquid occasionally coming from your nipples. This beginner milk, called colostrum, is made up of antibodies, the perfect diet for a newborn. After your baby's birth, your breasts will produce colostrum for three to five days until your milk comes in. Your breasts will most likely feel fuller and heavier as breast milk replaces colostrum.

Why breastfeeding is good for your baby: Breast milk is the perfect food for your baby—a carefully concocted mix of fats, proteins, and antibodies that help your child grow. The makeup of breast milk changes over time to meet your baby's growth needs and also changes during individual feedings. When your baby begins nursing, she first receives foremilk—a more watery, but still high-fat mix—which is replaced with regular milk in the middle of the feeding and then thinner milk as the feeding comes to an end.

Babies easily digest breast milk, which is why you should expect to feed your baby every two hours for the first few weeks. Her body breaks down the nutrients from your breast milk quickly and she's ready for more.

Why breastfeeding is good for you: When you breastfeed, your body releases a hormone called oxytocin, which signals your uterus to contract, explains Dr. William Camann, MD, director of obstetric anesthesia at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, and coauthor of Easy Labor: Every Woman's Guide to Choosing Less Pain and More Joy During Childbirth. These contractions pull at your uterus, bringing it back into pre-pregnancy position (these contractions may be painful at first). Along with pulling your belly back into place, breastfeeding requires calories. Your body will use up fat stores to produce breast milk, meaning nursing should help you lose pounds and return to your pre-pregnancy weight.

Breastfeeding can also help you grow closer to your baby. During feedings you can stare into his eyes and memorize his features while he in turn looks at yours. Nursing gives you an excuse to slow down and spend a few quiet moments together.

Convenience comes with nursing as well. You won't need to measure the right amount of milk into bottles or mess with heating up your baby's breakfast. Breast milk comes at the perfect temperature, ready to eat, and is free.

Breast evaluations by your physician: "There are two reasons a doctor will examine a woman's breasts during pregnancy," says Dr. Camann. "First, to check for any abnormal growth. It's not common, but some women have been diagnosed with breast cancer during pregnancy." And second, your healthcare provider will be looking for any anatomical issues that may make breastfeeding tougher, for instance if you have flat or inverted nipples.

How to Get Started
You may want to attend breastfeeding classes before your baby's birth. For some mother-child pairs, nursing comes naturally, but there are often difficulties for mother or baby. Learning more about how to nurse before your baby's birth will go a long way toward making nursing a success. In class you'll learn different ways to hold your baby for feedings and how your baby should be placed on the breast. This knowledge will help you feel more comfortable nursing from the start. Call your hospital's lactation consultant if you have any questions or concerns. The La Leche League is also a great resource for information and support.

Pregnancy Week 29: All About Baby

Your baby is filling out this week. She's adding fat to insulate her body for the day she leaves her cozy home. You can probably distinguish between feet and hands, head and bottom when your baby-to-be moves inside you. She takes practice breaths but won't breathe air until delivery.

Your baby's growth has begun to slow down now, but she will still gain approximately four pounds between now and birth. If she were born now, she would be able to breathe, but might tire easily and need assistance. Her little eyes are sensitive to light.

How Big Is Baby?

At 2 1/2 pounds and around 15 inches (crown to heel), your little one is growing fast!

Most Common Pregnancy Questions

I feel sick and dizzy when I have to sit for a long time or stand up. What's going on and how can I manage this?
The large blood vessel that runs behind the uterus, called the vena cava, is responsible for carrying the blood from the lower part of your body back to your heart. It can also be the cause of your feelings of nausea and dizziness. Why? The vena cava is located towards the right side of your body, but your uterus, as pregnancy progresses, may tilt toward the right as well, making things a little cramped inside. If you lie on your back or recline too far back while sitting down, this may compress the vena cava, compromising blood flow, and resulting in dizziness or nausea. (This may also decrease the efficiency of blood flow to the placenta.) When rising from lying down to a standing or sitting up position, some pregnant women experience dizziness as a result of orthostatic hypotension (a sudden drop in blood pressure due to a position change). To combat dizziness and nausea upon moving, try these tips:

• Sit in an upright, rather than reclined, position
• When lying down, find a comfortable position on your left side
• Change positions frequently (get up and move around)
• Don't make sudden position changes

Here are some additional common causes of dizziness and what you can do to prevent them:

• Anemia (low hemoglobin): Your doctor will test you during pregnancy for anemia. To help prevent developing it, you can regularly take a prenatal vitamin.
• Low blood sugar: Eating small frequent meals throughout the day will help you manage hunger, balance your metabolism, and prevent low blood sugar.
• Fatigue: Listen to your body. Take naps when you can and slow down if you feel dizzy or tired.
• Becoming overheated: Pregnancy hormones, increased blood flow, and expending more energy to move about with the added weight of your baby can make you feel hot fast. Dress in layers so you can bundle up or shed a layer as needed.
• High blood pressure: If you have preexisting high blood pressure prior to your pregnancy, be sure to speak with your doctor to develop a health plan that's right for you.

Always ask questions when you go for your regular visits with your doctor or midwife, but if you experience symptoms between visits and you are not sure if they are normal, check in with them to ease your mind and come up with strategies for coping.

Multiple Madness

The Nursing Question
Many women pregnant with multiples wonder if they can breastfeed more than one baby. The answer is a resounding yes! (And if you don't believe me, be sure to read this.)

Mental preparation is of paramount importance to your success. Accept that learning to breastfeed two babies takes time. Both you and the babies will be learning. Vow to be patient with yourself during the initial weeks.

There also may be some challenges if one or both babies are in the NICU. If this is the case, be sure to use your hospital's lactation consultants. They are experts, they've coached moms and babies through nearly every challenging situation, and they're there to help. Be sure to take down the number of the hospital's lactation consultant when you and the babies leave, so that you can contact her once you're home with questions or concerns.

Be sure to let close friends and family know that you plan to breastfeed. Let them know how much their support means to you. Having a cheerleader during your more trying days makes a huge difference. If you have a friend who has breastfed—or, even better, you know someone who has breastfed twins—put her on speed dial. She'll have tips and tricks that will save the day.

Finally, be sure that your pediatrician is supportive of your desire to breastfeed, too. Having him or her in your corner will be a huge asset. Some pediatric groups even have lactation consultants on staff.

You can do it!

For Your Partner

Nursing: Not As Easy As You'd Think!
Breastfeeding is one of the healthiest things parents can do for their baby. It is not only good for your little one's growth and development, but is equally beneficial for your partner. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends mothers breastfeed at least through Baby's first year and preferably for up to two years (while giving complementary foods after six months).

However, nursing can be very difficult for some families. Many people think breastfeeding should just happen naturally, so when a new mother has trouble, she may blame herself and feel depressed and guilty. But the truth is that nursing is a skill both babies and mothers need to learn together. And this is where dads can help!

Help your partner nurse by making sure she has enough to drink during the day and especially during or just after she nurses. If she has trouble nursing, you can help her seek out a lactation consultant (a professional who can facilitate the breastfeeding process; many make home visits) by calling her OB office, the hospital where she delivered, or your newborn's pediatrician. But the most important thing you can do is to remind her that she is not at fault if trouble arises. Many women struggle with breastfeeding, and some are never able to successfully nurse. Listen to her and offer her lots of love and support throughout the experience.

Whether nursing goes smoothly or not, talk with your partner about pumping milk once breastfeeding is well established so you can do one or two feedings a day (or at night!). One of the most important ways fathers bond with their babies is by meeting their core needs. By feeding Baby, you're showing her that you're not just a supporting role, but a primary caretaker. This can make a real difference as you begin building a strong relationship with your child.

Fun Fact

Here's another advantage to breastfeeding—it makes your baby less stinky. Well, not exactly your baby, but your baby's poop. According to Dr. Jane MacDougall, MD, author of The New Pregnancy: Week-by-Week, formula-fed babies' diapers are smellier than those of their breastfed friends.

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