As both mother and child prepare for birth, the baby's motion slows as does the mother's waddling walk. Here's what happens in the exciting third trimester.

How Mom Develops

Uterus protrudes enormously during the third trimester, causing mother's spine to overcompensate with a swayback. Hip joints loosen further to prepare for birth. Weight gain slows down, but is replaced by generous helpings of water retention, backaches, and other symptoms of stress the extra weight is putting on the mother's body. Fetal activity decreases in the third trimester, as baby sleeps 90 - 95% of the time in preparation for birth.

Emotional symptoms may appear in some women during the third trimester. In preparation for taking care of a new life, many women worry whether they will be a good mother, as well as worry about the pain of labor and the safety of their child. Many of these symptoms can be alleviated with the help of childbirth educators, such as a midwife or a doula, or by talking with a physician.

How Baby Develops

Laguno, a fine hair, covers the entire baby's body at six months, and waxy covering vermix coats its skin. The baby breathes oxygen-rich amnionic fluid into its developing lungs.

Sleeping takes up almost all of baby's time in the seventh and eighth months, the baby sometimes experiences REM sleep, which causes her to dream.

The placenta has been feeding the baby for several months now by drawing nutrients from the mother's blood and sending it to the baby through the umbilical cord. At the time of birth, when the baby is ready to come through the birth canal, the placenta detaches itself from the uterus and the umbilical cord will cease to work and eventually be removed as baby's body takes in oxygen and prepares for breathing and feeding outside the womb.