Week 24

Mum

Your feet and fingers may swell up around this time of your pregnancy. If you’re in the habit of wearing any rings (like the wedding ring) day and night, keep an eye on it and take it off before it’s too late. (You may need to use soap to get it off.) If you want to continue wearing it, try your little finger or put it on a chain around your neck.

Dad

If you want her to recognise your voice after she is born, so talk to her, sing to her, read books out loud to her mother. This way, you’ll feel closer both to your baby and your partner. If you worried she won’t be able to hear over the noise that her mum’s heartbeat and digestive system make, invest in a simple daddy-to-baby telephone: A Pinard horn. It’s made of wood or metal, and it’s shaped like a trumpet. In the olden days, elderly people would hold it to their ear to hear better. Traditionally, you’d put the narrow end on the bump and listen to the baby’s heartbeat with the other, but you can also put the wide end on the bump and speak into the narrow neck.

Baby

You are the size of a corn on the cob, and you’re still very skinny – nothing like those chubby babies in photo calendars. Not to worry though, you will start plumping up soon. Your lungs are splitting into bronchia and bronchioles, and developing the air sacs.