29 weeks pregnant: symptoms and baby development
Fully formed. Now they ripen.
Third trimesterMonth 75 min read
By Solesia, from public clinical guidanceUpdated
Everything is there. Every organ, every finger, every eyelash: by 29 weeks your baby is complete, and what remains is growing, maturing and filling out, for about eleven more weeks. What you notice is how little room is left. They take up enough of you now to press on your lungs and your bladder, so the stairs leave you short of breath and the bathroom trips are back at night. Their busy hours may not match yours, which is why they seem to wake the moment you lie down. It is also a natural week to let your thoughts drift forward to the birth itself.
How big is your baby at 29 weeks
About the size of a butternut squash
15.2 in long·3 lb
Baby development at 29 weeks
At 29 weeks your baby measures about 15.2 inches from head to heel and weighs around 3.0 pounds, roughly a butternut squash. Nothing new is being built now; the work has turned to maturing what is there. Their lungs, liver and immune system are all getting ready for the outside, and a layer of fat is rounding out their arms, legs and cheeks.
The greasy white coating on their skin, called vernix, has been protecting them from the fluid they float in. From this week it starts to thin, though some of it will still be there at birth, along with patches of the fine downy hair that covers them. Both are ordinary, and both go on their own.
There is less room to swim now, so their movements change character. The wide rolls of a few weeks ago become sharp pokes and jabs from an elbow, a knee or a heel, and you may be able to guess which is which. They are also settling into a routine of sleep and activity, and their busiest time is often when you are quietest.
Your body at 29 weeks
Breathlessness is expected now. The top of your uterus is pushing up under your ribs and leaving your lungs less room to expand, so climbing stairs or a quick walk leaves you puffing sooner than it used to. Your baby is getting all the oxygen they need; it is only you who feels short of it. Slow down, sit up straight to give your lungs the space they have, and sleep propped on pillows if it bothers you at night. It eases when the baby drops lower in the last weeks.
The nighttime bathroom trips of the first trimester are back, for a different reason: the baby’s weight is on your bladder. Cut back on drinks in the last hour before bed, but not during the day. Broken sleep is common, and the tiredness of the third trimester is expected: you are carrying a lot more than you were, and your body is working around the clock.
Your center of gravity has moved, and with your joints looser you may feel clumsier than usual, bumping into doorframes or misjudging a step. This is expected and passes after birth. Hold the rail on stairs, wear shoes that grip, and take your time getting up from a chair or out of the bath.
Common pregnancy symptoms at 29 weeks
- Breathlessness. The uterus is crowding your lungs. Slow your pace, sit tall, and sleep propped up.
- Bathroom trips at night. Weight on the bladder. Lean forward as you go to empty it fully; fewer drinks late in the evening.
- Clumsiness. A shifted center of gravity and looser joints. Rails, grippy shoes, and no rushing.
- Leg cramps. Often at night. Stretch the calf before bed, and stay hydrated.
- Round ligament aches. The bands holding the uterus are stretching. A sharp pull on turning or standing; move slowly and it settles.
- Hemorrhoids. Pressure on the veins around the bottom, plus constipation. Fiber, water, and a cold compress.
- Feeling hot. More blood and a faster metabolism. Light layers, and cool water within reach.
When to call your provider at 29 weeks
You know their pattern by now. Any change in it, or a stop, is a same-day call to your provider or maternity unit.
Two things are worth a same-day call at any point in pregnancy: bleeding that is more than spotting, and pain that is severe or does not ease. From the second trimester, add fluid leaking and any change in your baby’s usual pattern of movement. You do not need to be sure something is wrong to call; that is what the number is for.
What to do at 29 weeks
- Start on your birth preferences. Not a plan to hold to, but a sense of what matters to you: pain relief, who is with you, what happens right after birth. Your provider will talk it through at a visit.
- Childbirth class. If you have not booked one, book it now so it finishes before week 36. Hospital classes fill up, and online ones count.
- Tdap, if not yet given. The whooping cough shot goes between 27 and 36 weeks, and earlier in that window gives your baby more antibodies. Ask at your next visit if you have not had it.
- Pelvic floor exercises. Squeeze as if stopping a stream of urine, hold a few seconds, release; ten times, a few times a day. It pays off after birth, and it is never too late to start.
Common questions at 29 weeks
Why do I feel so out of breath at 29 weeks?
Your uterus has grown up under your ribs and your lungs have less room to expand, so ordinary effort makes you puff. Pregnancy hormones also make you breathe a little deeper than usual. Your baby is not short of oxygen. It eases when they drop lower into your pelvis in the last weeks.
Why is my baby so active at night at 29 weeks?
Two reasons. During the day your walking rocks them to sleep, and when you lie down that stops. And when you are still, you notice what you missed while busy. It is expected, and the same rhythm often carries on for a while after birth.
What should be in a birth plan?
Think of it as preferences, not a script. Who you want with you, how you feel about pain relief, positions you would like to try, whether you want skin-to-skin right away, and how you plan to feed. Keep it short, and expect to adapt on the day.
How many months is 29 weeks?
About seven months, and the second week of the third trimester. Eleven weeks remain to your due date. Months and weeks never line up neatly, because a month is closer to four and a half weeks than four, which is why nine months holds forty weeks.
Written from public clinical guidance, including NHS: Week 29, ACOG: How your baby grows, ACOG: Changes in your body, ACOG: The Tdap vaccine and pregnancy, NHS: Your baby’s movements and NHS: Tiredness. This page is general information, not medical advice, and does not replace your provider.