Week 19
Your bump is growing, your legs are starting to swell, your lower back may be aching and you may start experiencing shooting pains across your abdomen – so what next? Insert leg cramps! These shooting pains across your calves are very common during your first and second trimester, and occur most often during the night (although can also occur during the day).
Your Baby
Your baby, now the size of a green pepper and weighs around 240 grams and measures about 15cm from head to rump. Your little one is currently in sensory overdrive as their brain is designating specialised areas for smell, taste, sight, touch and sound. Their limbs are also now in proportion to each other and the rest of her body. At this stage, your baby is also forming a waxy layer all around their body called vemix caseosa. This will form a protective layer around their skin to prevent them from pickling in the amniotic fluid.
Your Body
Your shift in body shape could be messing with your centre of gravity, so if you find you seem to be bumping into things or tripping over your feet more regularly, it’s time to start slowing down a bit until you get used to the front-loaded bump. Also if you haven’t felt your baby move, look out for gas like bubbles or butterfly kisses, as those may be the first signs of movement from your little one.
Sensible Tips
- Start practicing your Kegel exercises – these are pelvic floor exercises that’ll help strengthen your muscles that are part of the pelvic floor, in anticipation for the increased pressure placed on by baby.
- Sign up for infant CPR classes.
- Start your childcare search – it may seem early, but before you know it your baby will be in your arms and you won’t have the time to research as thoroughly as you would have liked. Placing your child in someone else’s care is a huge decision and should be done without the added pressure of time constraints.