Third Trimester – What’s Going On

As week 29 starts, you’re stepping into the third and final trimester of your pregnancy. The fetus grows larger and the body organs mature. The brain and nervous system dare developed, the lungs practice breathing, the tastebuds can differentiate sweet and sour tastes, bowels are functioning.  The baby moves a lot more until he becomes too big and runs out of space (normally on week 32 onwards). By this time the baby will have settle into a head-down position in the uterus. The doctor’s visit will increase from once a month to once every two weeks, then once a week after week 36.

Week 28 – Into the Seventh Month

Time for another ob-gyn visit. This time I requested and got my blood and urine test, that in my opinion has been postponed for too long.

The ultrasound gave good readings of the amniotic fluid and placenta. The doctor also declared the baby to be in good condition, excellent growth in head size and good condition of the heart. This is good news since my brother and my uncle were born with heart defects so naturally I was a bit worried.

The baby is a whooping 1207 gr, well above the average weight for a 28-week old fetus. Yikes! It’s better to have a smaller baby for easier delivery, and also big babies carry the risk of diabetes. My friend Single Mom said I should cut back my sugar intake. I’ve always thought that I consume less sugar than any average Indonesians, I don’t like sweet treats and I don’t even put sugar in my tea. But turns out there are a lot of hidden sugar: in fruits, bread, jam, snacks, fruit juice etc. Now I have to do a double take before putting food in my mouth to make sure I don’t add any unnecessary sugar. This means cutting back on white rice as well.

Week 27 – it’s all in the mind.

Hand-me-downs start arriving… baby things start to pile up in our house, from baby crib to baby walker, a gazillion of clothes and rattles, cloth diapers, minuscule shoes,  stroller, car seat, baby bouncer and things I have yet to identify. Some come from faraway places like Makasar or Singapore. For a tiny baby, he sure needs a LOT of stuff! Looking at the mountain of stuff I am very grateful that we have friends and relatives to lend us these things, otherwise we’d have to spend a fortune. I am breathing a sigh of relief everytime I think of the money that we manage to save by having the hand-me-downs. Thanks to all my mommy friends! Hopefully next year or so another friend would have a baby so we can pass all this stuff on…

Seriously, having a baby is not cheap, and if you have friends who’ve had babies before you should not be ashamed to borrow stuff or ask for hand-me-downs for BOTH maternity items and baby items. It doesn’t matter if the clothes or baby stroller look a bit worn, the baby wouldn’t know it anyway. Even buying cloth diapers cost a small fortune (read why I chose clothes diapers here) as an initial investment so I’m really thankful we can eliminate this cost.

About Cloth Diapers.

Thanks to my friend Single Mom, I received a lot of cloth diapers so I don’t need to buy any. To some of you who may be wondering why I am stepping back in civilization and deciding to use cloth diapers instead of the practical and modern disposable diapers, here is the explanation. I think this info might be useful if you are clueless about diapers, like I was, having spent the entire lifetime walking past the diaper section of the grocery store without even a glance.

Why Cloth Diapers?

Two basic reasons: to save money and be kinder to the environment. Cloth diapers may cost a lot initially, but they last a lot longer and can even be passed down from one baby to another (like in my case). On average, disposable diapers here cost around Rp 2,000 per piece, and a newborn may easily go through 5 diapers a day. That’s already Rp 2,000 x 5 = Rp 10,000 per day, or Rp 300,000 a month. Cloth diapers cost around Rp 200,000 per piece yet they last for years with proper care.

Consider also the environmental value. True, cloth diapers takes up water and detergent to wash but you can minimize this by washing several diapers in one run and you only need to use 1/4 amount of detergent compared to washing normal clothes. You can dry out the cloth diapers under the sun to save electricity (we happen to have plenty of sunshine here). On the other hand, disposable diapers are a burden to the environment because of the sheer amount you throw away in the garbage every day. Not to mention the materials from disposable diapers often cause diaper rash on the baby, and some even contain dioxin which may be hazardous to health in the long run.

Week 25 & 26 – New Relationship

Chinese New Year came and went, the cool and windy weather has more or less set in much to my relief. I notice that time flies by so fast, soon I will reach the end of my second trimester. Gosh.. so many things that I still don’t understand, so many things to learn and discover.

We haven’t bought anything yet for the baby, as according to Indonesian custom it is bad luck to buy any baby stuff before the seventh month. But one weekend hubby and I visited several baby shops just too see what’s out there as we are still clueless when it comes to baby and mommy things. We were utterly SHOCKED at the prices. Apparently babies aren’t cheap. And more apparently we need guidance from experienced moms on what things the baby actually needs and what things he can live without (like the baby seat that has 16 different adjustable position settings or 5cm matress support with bamboo cloth lining and hypoallergenic filling). After that baby shop survey I contacted my friends who’ve had babies and shamelessly asked them to send me stuff that their babies aren’t using anymore. I have mentioned this to them before, but this time I was practically BEGGING: give me EVERYTHING that your baby has outgrown! Our strategy will be to compile all the hand-me-downs then buy the things we don’t already have. Of course we will take good care of the things and pass them on to the next baby that pops out from our circle of friends.