36 weeks pregnant what should i be doing

If insomnia strikes, it can also help to make your bed and bedroom as comfortable as possible. Try leaving your smartphone in another room before you go to bed, and perhaps try some light stretching or meditation to help you fall asleep.

Numbness in legs and feet. Your growing body can put increased pressure on some of the nerves in your legs, feet, or even hands. This can cause a numbness or a tingling feeling from time to time. These symptoms should subside once you give birth, but if you find them troublesome until then, talk to your healthcare provider. She may recommend ankle or wrist splints, or that you simply rest your hands or feet as much as possible.

Leg swelling. Comfortable shoes and even support hose or stockings can also help. Lower back pain. Consult your doctor before deciding to use infant formula or if you have difficulty breastfeeding. The content on this website is intended as general information for Singaporean residents only and should not be used as a substitute for medical care and advice from your healthcare practitioner.

The HPB recommends that infants start on age-appropriate complementary foods at around 6 months, whilst continuing breastfeeding for up to 2 years or beyond to meet their evolving nutritional requirements. If no longer breastfeeding, toddlers can switch to full cream milk after 12 months. This should be complemented by a good variety of solid foods from the four main food groups fruits, vegetables, grains, meat and alternatives.

For more information on the nutritional requirements of infants and young children, please visit www. Lately, it might seem like your body has a mind of its own.

And maybe it does! See what's up — and what's next — with our week-by-week guide. At the end of 36 weeks of pregnancy, your baby will be considered full-term! Although he has more growing to do after that time, it's exciting to know his arrival is approaching quickly. Your body continues to make both physical and mental preparations for the big day that's fast approaching. That new walk is not in your imagination; it's in your connective tissue, which those hormones are loosening and softening.

And that's particularly important now that you're nearing your due date. Your baby — who's grown quite large by this point — needs to fit through your pelvic bones, so it's good that they're more flexible at this stage.

It's your body's way of getting ready to squeeze a big baby out of a small space. The downside to all this joint flexibility, besides the resemblance you now bear to your feathered friends, is pelvic pain. Add the pressure from your baby's head burrowing deeper and deeper into your pelvis and your heavier uterus weighing you down, and it's no wonder it's a pain to walk around these days. To relieve the discomfort, relax with your hips elevated, do some pelvic exercises , take warm baths, apply warm compresses, get a prenatal massage from a certified therapist or try some complementary and alternative therapies.

A belly sling may be helpful too. There is a happy upshot, believe it or not. As your baby drops into your pelvic cavity — and keep in mind that not all babies drop before labor begins — the upward pressure of the uterus on your diaphragm is relieved. Once this "lightening," as it's known in the pregnancy business, strikes, you'll be able to take bigger and deeper breaths. Your stomach also won't be so squished anymore, making eating a full meal more comfortable.

Your cutie has less room for calisthenics now. Be sure to call your doctor if there's a change in fetal movement frequency or an unusual change in the pattern of baby's movements. Be prepared to lose your mucus plug , which will look like thick, yellow discharge tinged with blood. It can happen weeks, days or hours before labor begins.

There's no need for concern if your mucus plug dislodges well before your due date — it could still be a few weeks before labor actually starts. So you can have sex, take a bath and otherwise go about your business as usual. One less thing to do once baby arrives! Chase your protein with an adequate supply of pyridoxine. Never heard of it? It's the vitamin also known as B6, and its function is to help your body and baby use all that protein to do its cell-building job.

Think of it this way: If protein is the brick, B6 is the mortar. You'll find B6 in prenatal vitamins and foods like bananas, avocados, wheat germ, brown rice, bran, soybeans, oatmeal, potatoes, tomatoes, spinach, watermelon and meat. See, there's overlap with your protein sources, making your job even easier.

There are three phases of labor : early, active and transitional. The first of these stages is usually the longest. It can last from a few hours to several weeks, often without any noticeable or bothersome contractions. The second stage, or active labor, usually lasts a few hours. The third and last stage is called transitional labor, and it tends to be the most intense phase. No, not the kind of strep that causes throat infections.

During week 36 or 37, your doctor will test you for group B strep GBS , a type of bacteria that's found in the vagina. GBS bacteria is usually harmless to the many adults who carry it — and an estimated 1 in 4 pregnant women do, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC — but it can cause a serious infection in a newborn during childbirth. BabyCenter's editorial team is committed to providing the most helpful and trustworthy pregnancy and parenting information in the world.

When creating and updating content, we rely on credible sources: respected health organizations, professional groups of doctors and other experts, and published studies in peer-reviewed journals. We believe you should always know the source of the information you're seeing. Learn more about our editorial and medical review policies. Prenatal development: How your baby grows during pregnancy. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

Mayo Clinic. Fetal development: The third trimester. Fetal development. What are the stages of labor? Labor and birth. Join now to personalize. Getting ready to head out Most babies are head down by now. Signs of preeclampsia Go to the hospital right away if you have abnormal swelling, severe headaches, vision changes, or upper abdominal pain.