30 weeks and 1 day pregnant

From this point in the pregnancy your baby will yawn just as often as during the first few weeks after birth. Exactly why babies yawn before birth remains unknown, but seeing your baby yawn on a scan is quite likely to make you yawn as well.

It’s well worth giving some thought to where your baby is going to sleep before you actually bring him home from the hospital.

It’s recommended that your baby sleeps in a cot or crib in your bedroom for the first six months. See the box below, if you’re considering co-sleeping. With your baby in your bedroom, you’ll be close by when he cries in the night and able to attend to him easily. This is especially useful if you’re breastfeeding.

Remember that babies are not necessarily quiet sleepers: they may wriggle, grunt, and move around and these noises may disturb you or your partner. If your partner has to go to work the following day this extra disturbance may affect him. It will affect you, too, but you may have a chance to “catch up” on some sleep, or at least rest, when your baby naps. You should do what is best for all three of you, even if that means your partner spends some nights in the spare room. Some new parents find that they are so exhausted by life with a newborn that they sleep, regardless of whether their baby is snuffling or not.

If the baby is in his own room you may worry that you may not hear him cry, but you will if you use a baby monitor. When he does cry, yet again at 3am, be aware that a short trip along the landing can seem like a mile.

You may want to put your baby into your bed with you, especially if you’re breastfeeding. This is not recommended before a baby is three months old, if he was born prematurely, if he weighed less than 2.5kg (5.5lb at birth), or if you or your partner smoke, have drunk alcohol, taken sedating medication, or are extremely tired. If you put your baby in your bed to sleep when he’s older, be reassured that you and your partner are highly unlikely to roll over on to him.

In the third trimester, your breasts will begin to prepare themselves for feeding your baby, and you may experience some discomfort and changes that you had not anticipated. Your breasts will become fuller, and may actually feel very heavy; your areolas (the area around your nipples) will become darker, and you may feel lumps and bumps in your breasts, as the first milk, colostrum, begins to be produced. This may leak out a little.

The small glands on the surface of your areolas (known as Montgomery’s tubercles) will also become raised bumps. You may have darkened veins along your breasts, due to their increased blood supply. Your breasts may also feel more tender and sensitive than usual, especially if touched.

Your breasts will change in preparation for breastfeeding, whether you intend to breastfeed your baby or not. They become fuller and heavier, the areolas (dark areas around the nipples) become darker and the veins under the skin more obvious.