Week 13 of pregnancy | Second Trimester

Welcome to the second trimester of your pregnancy – week thirteen is finally here! Break out the banners and the sparkling grape juice and announce to the world that you’re having a baby! Let’s take a look at how the pregnancy is progressing….

MOM
As a mom-to-be, you are no doubt coming into your own. Your morning sickness and fatigue should be a thing of the past, and you should start feeling healthy and full of energy. Around about now your uterus shifts up and in a forward direction as  the baby grows and is roughly the size of a grapefruit.

This week, you might have scheduled an appointment with your Obstetrician or  Gynecologist. You and your partner will have the opportunity to hear your baby’s heartbeat for the very first time, and the doctor will check that your baby is growing healthily.

BABY
Baby is having a rather busy week this week. All twenty teeth buds have formed and are waiting to give you sleepless nights (in about a year’s time, that is!). Tiny hairs called villi form inside the intestines and will aid the movement of food in future. The intestines will also move from the umbilical cord to the abdomen at this time, and the pancreas has begun to produce insulin already. Your baby now weighs in at approximately 28 grams and is about nine centimetres in length.

DAD
Dad, you might be feeling a little left out when your partner seems to talk more about the pregnancy with her sister, her mother and her girlfriend, than with you. Don’t be afraid to broach the subject with her – she may simply feel that you don’t want to hear about the baby every moment of every day. Maybe bring up the subject of your favourite boy and girl name just to let her know that you are, in fact, more than interested in your new bundle of joy.

Such a busy week it was with all that dentistry and uterine shifts. Next week we take a look at Mom’s physical changes as well as the amniotic fluid that Baby calls home. Until then, enjoy the beginning of your second trimester!