Use our pregnancy calendar to see what’s happening in your pregnancy each week.

Tired out? You could be running on low on iron (not ironing!). Here’s what you can expect from week twenty eight of your pregnancy.

Your Baby:

Is the size of a canteloupe melon. Just take a moment to consider that and the fact it’s only going to get bigger. And then want to come out

Their heartbeat can be heard using a stethoscope now

Weighs about 2.5lbs, which is half the weight of a chihuahua. You’re welcome

You:

Should have a midwife or doctors appointment this week

Will get to hear the heartbeat again – hurrah!

Might want to think about taking some iron supplements

Week Twenty Eight

Let’s talk about health care. If you’re in the UK then this week you can expect your midwife appointments to start hotting up in the countdown to the big day (that’s LABOUR day, in case you were confused). First timers will have had an appointment at twenty five weeks, an appointment that disappears once you’re an established child provider meaning it’s been around twelve weeks since you’ll have last seen your midwife in some cases.

From here on out, you’ll be measured using a tape measure to gauge the size of your uterus before it’s charted in your notes to mark your progress. Your bump growth is expected to follow a pre-determined curve and any deviations from this will just mean that you’ll be checked again and may have to go for a precautionary scan to ensure your little one is growing as they should. As you should know by now, you’ll have attempted to provide a pee sample (it only gets harder as your bump grows… accept the fact you’ll probably wee on your hand at least once in the next few months) which will then be checked alongside your blood pressure.

It’s during this appointment that you’ll probably have a blood test performed in order to keep a check on your iron levels. Iron is one of the things our bodies struggle to absorb and during pregnancy, the baby will start to take from your iron stores meaning they can get depleted and you can start to suffer anaemia. In general this will just start to make you feel more tired and sluggish than normal as well as breathless but if it gets too severe it can cause huge issues for you. As such, your healthcare provider may suggest you start to take iron supplements. In my first pregnancy I had no such issues, but with a toddler in tow and a distinct lack of wanting to eat iron rich foods this pregnancy, I’ve had to tap up the iron supplements already. There are plenty of tablets you can take but my personal favourite is Spatone which you can get from supermarkets, chemists or even Amazon. It’s like a water which you can pour into your drinks and seems to be the only iron supplement that doesn’t leave me bunged up. Because pregnancy isn’t kicking my digestive system’s arse enough on it’s own….

Other fun things this week: still itchy. Fan-bloody-tastic.

Missed a week? Catch up on week twenty seven

Fancy sneaking ahead? Here’s week twenty nine