With your baby’s rapid growth taking place, your bump will be growing quickly too. At this stage, the scale starts creeping up each week so don’t be alarmed. On average, you should be gaining around 500g a week (or 2kg a month) and should have already gained around 2.5kg (more or less) up until this point.
Your Baby
Your baby is the size of a lemon, 10cm long and weighs in at 70 grams. Your little one is growing daily and looking much more like a baby. So what’s your little one up to all day? Training … They’re training for the big day when they enter into this world. Training to breathe, swallow, suck and kick those limbs. In other developments, hair may begin to appear on their scalp and eyebrows. Their skin is also developing, but still remains very thin. And although you can’t feel it just yet, your baby is moving and squirming a ton, making full use of the space while it’s available.
Your Body
This trimester is all about enjoying being pregnant. The first trimester symptoms should hopefully have completely subsided, and your bump is still neat and compact enough for you to be able to move around freely. On another positive note, you may be surprised to find that your libido has picked up a notch or two. Your partner on the other hand may be a bit freaked out that you are with child, which is also completely normal. But rest assured it’s completely safe to have intercourse while pregnant (unless advised otherwise from your obstetrician). Pregnancy symptoms that may be rearing their ugly head include a stuffy nose, bloating, gas and bleeding gums. Heartburn may also be making an appearance.
Sensible Tips
- Start making a list of all the items you may need for the nursery. It would be advisable to go shopping while you’re feeling strong and energetic.
- Baby items can start getting costly, so ask around to find out what the essentials are before buying too many unnecessary gadgets.